Sciarid Fly

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Sciarid Fly
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cqueenie

Joined: 26 Jul 2009
Posts: 707
Location: Shetland

Posted: Tue May 03, 11 9:21 pm Post subject: Sciarid Fly
Is it possible these things are in the bags of organic compost I'm buying or are they just "there" and invade my compost when I put it in pots? The larvae are eating all my veg seedlings that little s***s!!!

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue May 03, 11 11:27 pm Post subject:
They are a good indicator of over wet compost. Ease off on the water.

Claire70

Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 144
Location: Surrey

Posted: Wed May 04, 11 8:02 pm Post subject: Re: Sciarid Fly

cqueenie wrote:

Is it possible these things are in the bags of organic compost I'm buying or are they just "there" and invade my compost when I put it in pots?

The larvae are eating all my veg seedlings that little s***s!!!

I'm sure they've been in bags of organic compost I've bought. Our house was infested with them for about a year, thanks to some inadvertent re-potting with the dodgy compost. They are evil.

I would recommend taking all of your seedlings out of the pots as soon as they can stand it, rinsing them off in water until all the old soil is gone, and repotting them in new compost.

Oh, and letting the soil dry out doesn't get rid of them either. Overwatering might have made them worse in the first place, but not watering doesn't help, and just stresses your plants.

Mustang

Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 768
Location: Sunny Suffolk

Posted: Wed May 04, 11 10:02 pm Post subject:
Use a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide drench. It'll see off the larvae and flies in the compost. You can get it from chemists but don't ask for bulk supplies of it.

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 11:47 am Post subject:
Would the bleach not harm the plants afterwards? Curious, as it's not something I've tried. There do seem to be an awful lot of these little flies around in compost this year.

sarahloo

Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Posts: 125
Location: Reading, Berkshire

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 2:41 pm Post subject:
I think it helps to put a layer of grit over the surface of the compost which creates a barrier to stop them laying their eggs...?

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 3:22 pm Post subject:
i have ordered some mites which apparently prey on the wretched things from Lady Bird Plant Care. I'll let you know the result when it arrives.

Claire70

Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 144
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 8:16 pm Post subject:

sarahloo wrote:

I think it helps to put a layer of grit over the surface of the compost which creates a barrier to stop them laying their eggs...?

Nah, doesn't work. I'm convinced they just crawl in the bottom of the pot somehow.

Quote:

i have ordered some mites which apparently prey on the wretched things from Lady Bird Plant Care. I'll let you know the result when it arrives.

They didn't work either. I was fairly sure they were dead on arrival actually - the carton had been heavily rained on and was drenched through.

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 8:34 pm Post subject:
You used to be able to get some little card sticks (for ornamentals only, mind) which really did work, worked well, and worked for ages. Don't know if they still exist, and I can't remember what they were called!

Mustang

Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 768
Location: Sunny Suffolk

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 8:43 pm Post subject:

Vanessa wrote:

Would the bleach not harm the plants afterwards? Curious, as it's not something I've tried.

If you are careful with the dilution, Hydrogen Peroxide can do wonders for plants. I use it to soak seeds before I sow them (pre-germination soaking) as well as a drench to get rid of any nasties. I add it to water for cuttings where it adds more oxygen to better root them.

Check this out for more ideas. Lots of other sites and articles about using peroxide in the garden.

Last edited by Mustang on Thu May 05, 11 8:46 pm; edited 2 times in total

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 8:44 pm Post subject:
Thank you!

cqueenie

Joined: 26 Jul 2009
Posts: 707
Location: Shetland

Posted: Thu May 05, 11 9:04 pm Post subject:
I've ordered the nemasys stuff to try. Guess I'm just going to have to ditch the organic compost idea. Hopefully I avoided infesting the polytunnel

Vanessa

Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 8324

Posted: Fri May 06, 11 7:35 am Post subject:
It's not just the organic compost! I sent MOH out to buy some compost, and he bought bog-standard B&Q stuff ... which has a % non-peat. It, too, is infested.

Goxhill

Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 245
Location: Lincolnshire

Posted: Sat May 07, 11 9:37 pm Post subject:
There's a carnivorous plant called Pinguicula which helps with these flies - it has fleshy, sticky leaves.

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Wed May 25, 11 8:05 am Post subject:
Right, mites arrived, I have given them some time and well it seems to have worked. No more leaves with holes!

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