How to get rid of soil flies - saving plants from small but harmful insects

Help with advice on how to get rid of soil flies? For the summer I take out all my flowerpots on the terrace, and in the fall I transplant what I need and take it back into the house. This year, I changed the land of almost all plants, so I was very surprised when I saw that small flies were flying over most of them. Where they came from, I don’t know, because the soil is new everywhere. What will we do?

For humans, small insects flying over flower pots are not dangerous, and it is not easy to notice them. But your green pets, they can pretty much harm. And although the pests do not eat the aboveground part of the plants, if they start, you should definitely know how to get rid of soil flies. Their home is soil, and this is where insects live, feed and reproduce. Females lay eggs in the ground, and rotted roots and humus serve as food for the colony. But when food is scarce, midges and their offspring begin to destroy healthy roots, germinating seeds and even young leaves.

Soil flies are very small and look like miniature mosquitoes. In the scientific literature, they are called sciarids. Among flower growers, insects are known as midges, black flies, soil or mushroom mosquitoes.

Why sciarids start in flowers

Sometimes we ourselves become the culprits of the appearance of midges, diligently watering our flowers. And an excess of moisture in the soil is ideal conditions for the development of not only diseases, but also the reproduction of mosquitoes. They will also like them in flowerpots, where limescale is located on the soil surface or there is a green moss rug.

At the same time, insects quite often come to the house from outside, for example:

• they already live in a purchased flower;
• the store substrate is infected with sciarides;
• pests arrive from the street or through ventilation.

It is possible to "diagnose" indoor plants about the appearance of pests without even looking into the pot. Just touch the flower with your hand and you will see a whole cloud of insects fly up. If they have lived there for a long time, then the plant itself will change. It will slow down in development, stop blooming, start to hurt.

How to get rid of soil flies with folk remedies and is it possible

Many gardeners claim that folk methods are powerless against mushroom mosquitoes. Indeed, if insects have long settled down and managed to lay eggs, it will be impossible to destroy them without special preparations.

But at the initial stage, when the midges are still in single specimens and have not had time to multiply, you can try to do without chemistry. Since the pests are located in the top layer of the earth first, replace it. Let the soil dry well, and then treat:

• potassium permanganate;
• soapy water;
• garlic infusion.

You can also sprinkle ashes on the soil and place the crushed orange zest in the pot. Matches also give a good result, Stick them with sulfur into the substrate and water it a little so that it dissolves.

Preparations against soil midges

Chemicals are indispensable in a mass attack. Special traps with adhesive tape are very convenient and effective. But the best result will still be given by insecticides:

• Fly eater;
• Raptor;
• Thunder 2;
• Fitoverm;
• Actellik;
• Inta - Vir.

When using drugs, carefully read the instructions.Some of them cannot be used indoors, and exceeding the dosage will kill not only midges, but also flowers.

Methods for the destruction of soil mosquitoes - video