This morning I noticed dozens of little tiny flies crawling around the soil at the base of one of my tomato plants. They are so small that I couldn't even trap one to look at it closer. I didn't see any of them actually flying (but they difinitely have wings) or any on the foilage, just on the soil around the plant. They look greyish-black and maybe about the size of the head of a straight pin.
Does anyone know what these might be and if they're harmful? If so, how can I get rid of them? Thanks!
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Fungus gnats. The gnats live on fungus in the soil and aren't really harmful to your plants, BUT they lay eggs in the soil that hatch into larvae that eat the roots of plants and are very destructive.
To have fungus gnats, especially outdoors is usually a sign that the soil is staying too wet. Just let the soil dry out thoroughly and that should take care of them.
When you need to water again, put some cinnamon in the water you water with. It is a natural anti-fungal. If there's not fungus in the soil, then there won't be fungus gnats. But continue to let the soil dry out a little bit between waterings.
To have fungus gnats, especially outdoors is usually a sign that the soil is staying too wet. Just let the soil dry out thoroughly and that should take care of them.
When you need to water again, put some cinnamon in the water you water with. It is a natural anti-fungal. If there's not fungus in the soil, then there won't be fungus gnats. But continue to let the soil dry out a little bit between waterings.
Thank you for answering. I had no idea how many critters there are to deal with trying to grow healthy maters. Glad I found this site!rainbowgardener wrote:Fungus gnats. The gnats live on fungus in the soil and aren't really harmful to your plants, BUT they lay eggs in the soil that hatch into larvae that eat the roots of plants and are very destructive.
To have fungus gnats, especially outdoors is usually a sign that the soil is staying too wet. Just let the soil dry out thoroughly and that should take care of them.
When you need to water again, put some cinnamon in the water you water with. It is a natural anti-fungal. If there's not fungus in the soil, then there won't be fungus gnats. But continue to let the soil dry out a little bit between waterings.
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jemsister
- Senior Member
- Posts: 248
- Joined: Mon May 27, 2013 7:15 pm
- Location: Western Washington, USA
One more thing--in our region, fungus is everywhere, especially in our lawn, and we have the gnats all over when the weather is wet. So is it just coincidence that they are landing in the tomato bed, or is that a sign of fungus in the soil? If not fungus in the soil, can they *spread* fungus to the soil, and subsequently my tomato plant?
I should add that the tomato is in a bed separate from the lawn with all new soil in it.
I should add that the tomato is in a bed separate from the lawn with all new soil in it.