what are these little bugs crawling in the soil?

ive seen these little winged bugs crawling in and out of the soil and i water the plant and they disapear untill the soil is dry again. what are they and how do i get rid of them

 

Oooh...sounds like a fungus gnat infestation.

These winged pests lay their larval colonies within the dirt. Generally they are a product of overwatering, as the larvae cannot develop in dry soil.

If you have seen pictures and can diagnose this as a fungus gnat problem, killing them is easy. First, wait for the dirt to be completely dry. Once the dirt is dry, use 1 part hydrogen peroxide (the stuff you get at the supermarket for disinfecting cuts is fine) to 8 parts water. Once you have watered, all the larvae will die on contact. I have heard of much stronger and much weaker solutions yielding good results so I just suggested what I have used and worked.

Killing the adults is easy too. Simply use sticky traps.

Good luck,

-ZB

 

hmm, peroxide. Will that work on any soil pest?

I have whiteflies in my flowering room (they never bother the vegitative plants strangely) and they have a tendency to take over the soil. when i cut my last plant and chucked the dirt, there were probably HUNDREDS crawling about in there.

maybe thats another possibility of his pest? were they white and very tiny?

 

You can also make a nicotine solution to use as a root drench by soaking cigarettes/tobacco in water. This will take care of the eggs/larvae in the soil. A stronger solution sprayed around the rims of the pots where the adult flies often run about will take care of them too.

 

yep yep...