purplegardener
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Posts: 17
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:08 am

WHAT ARE THESE Tiny bugs and flies

Help! I'm new to this, and I'm totally in over my head. Also I hate bugs, so yeah.

(1) I recently noticed tiny bugs ALL OVER my soil. They are very small, but I can see them. they are light brown. they never stop moving. There don't seem to be any bugs on any of my plants. I thought spider mites, but there are SO MANY and no webbing. My plants all seem to be fine, with the exception of my cucumbers (which took a hard hit in the sun and got a bit scorched, but the new leaves seem OK. These tiny bugs seem to leave the plants alone. new sprouts are popping up. Should I be concerned? What could they be?
IMG_5843.JPG

(2) Flies. Flies everywhere. Not white flies, but small flies all over the soil but again, not on the plants. Could they be there eating the tiny bugs? or are they there waiting for my plants to grow stuff or feeding on the leaves.
IMG_5842.JPG
The weirdest part:
I took out some soil AFTER I noticed the bugs and put it in a container with 2 small sprouts (for my kids to water so they don't kill everything else). There were bugs when I did it, and that container no longer has any bugs. The sprouts are still there, but no flies or tiny bugs.

bri80
Senior Member
Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Bugs exist in the world. They exist in the garden. If you want to garden, you will come into contact with bugs. If they're not harming your plants, let them be.

purplegardener
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Posts: 17
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:08 am

But there are SO MANY. theyre all over the place. Is that normal?

bri80
Senior Member
Posts: 282
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:12 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Impossible for me to say based on the pictures/description, sorry... Maybe find someone local who gardens to take a look, who is familiar with your area?

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

There has to be food for them to hang around. Are you using organic stuff like fish emulsion, manures, or kitchen scraps in the garden? They may be attracted to the decaying matter especially if the ground is staying wet.

purplegardener
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Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:08 am

No, but I did use compost tea- would that attract them?

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

When there are swarms of bugs, to me it usually means there was a hatching event or there is a source of food. If these tiny red bugs which may actually be mites are not stationary on plants, it's very possible they are predatory and hunting down their prey.

The flies sound like the kind of flies that come to freshly dug ground. I don't know which one -- some are bad like carrot flies and onion flies, but some are just doing their thing. I see them all the time UNDER the insect screen netting so they come out of the ground, I think.

...funny you two got your posts in while I was writing...



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