Tiny insects in compost

[esrikandan]

I'm guessing this is the right place to post this - not a new thing but some of my indoor plants have millions of tiny creatures in the compost. My Devils Ivy, indoor Cayenne and a few others seem to have this aflicition, but other plants are left well alone, including those right next to affected plants.

I guess my questions are:

1. What are the critters?
2. Do they do any harm?

Not that it's troubling me that much but I am curious and whether I should be concerned!

[Digger-07]

Could you give a bit of a description of the critters?

[esrikandan]

They're really teeny tiny. If you blow on the compost you can see them scurry about. They dont look like flies, but are only about 2 or 3mm in size so hard to say.

[Two_Sheds]

Probably Fungus Gnats (flies and maggots)
Over-watering doesn't help.


"Always use sterile potting soil to prevent introduction of fungus gnats. Overwatering...and poor drainage may result in buildup of fungus gnats.
Allowing the soil to dry as much as possible, without injury to the plants, is effective in killing many maggots.
Houseplants taken outside during warm weather may become infested with insects before being brought back indoors. Fungus Gnats, HYG-2114-95