Indoor seed sowing - small black flies

[GeorgieP]

The last couple of years I have sown seeds indoors in compost under propagators. However, after a while there is an abundance of these little black flies which go mental whenever I water the seedlings.

Before I get into the sowing, I wondered if anyone knew what these little annoying things are and how to stop them? (I think they ate my onion seedlings last year , although not sure - growing from sets in future!)

Thanks

[BrideXIII]

I always get them, never noticed they cause any damage though.

they keep the cats amused.

[starloc]

Sprinkle the soil with cinnamon powder......,
i thought it was a joke but tried it.....
i had hundereds of fungus gnats on some plants saw a post on a citrus forum and tried it, it worked, within an hour or two there were less and within a couple of days no flys at all, just sprinkle every now and then.

It even works on the mushroom boxes to get rid of fungus gnats

[BrideXIII]

Sprinkle the soil with cinnamon powder......,
i thought it was a joke but tried it.....
i had hundereds of fungus gnats on some plants saw a post on a citrus forum and tried it, it worked, within an hour or two there were less and within a couple of days no flys at all, just sprinkle every now and then.

hmm, i shall try that, seeing as i have to sprinkle a fair bit round this time of year anyway...........hot chocolate

[GeorgieP]

Excellent, will try the cinnamon powder. I think they annoy my other half more than me, especially when they take up residence on the windowsills every now and then

[Two_Sheds]

Fungus gnats, caused by over-watering

[Two_Sheds]

Prevention of Fungus Gnats
Remove any old, dead leaves and fungal growth from the top of pots.
Water plants only when required to prevent the build up of fungal growths, and water from the bottom of the pot, not into the top
Cover the surface of pots with sand as a barrier against egg laying female gnats
BBC - Gardening - Advice - Non interactive Pest and Disease Identifier

[SlugLobber]

Thanks for posting this! I had similar problems last year and ended up putting all my herbs into the PVC greenhouse. The last straw was finding one in a cuppa!