Chives are full of flies

What are fungus gnats?

Sciarid gnats are black, very small flies. The insects lay their eggs in it Substrate of potted plants from where the larvae ultimately feed mainly on the roots. Without countermeasures, the animals reproduce very quickly, and they also endanger the health of your plants - quite apart from the fact that they are quite annoying. After all, who likes to have dozens or even hundreds of mosquitoes flying around in their kitchen? Therefore, you should act as soon as possible after noticing the infestation.

Fighting fungus gnats

These little beasts can usually be got under control with organic home remedies - Fortunately, because there are no chemicals in kitchen herbs intended for consumption, such as chives appropriate. And this is how you get rid of the flies on the chives:

• Take the infested one Plant out of the pot.
• Shake off the soil thoroughly; if necessary, rinse or rinse it off in the shower. dip the rhizome in a bucket of water.
• Take a new plant pot and fresh substrate.
• Repot the plant.
• Lay a good inch of coarse sand over the actual substrate.
• The sand prevents the flies from laying their eggs in the earth.
• If the infestation is severe, you can also cover the pot, e.g. B. with a transparent film.
• If possible, treat all neighboring plants as described.

Incidentally, a fungus gnat infestation is always an indication that the plant is kept too moist - the animals feel particularly comfortable in a warm and humid environment.

Tips & Tricks

Chives - especially the seedlings - are often attacked by onion mosquitoes. In this case, it is important to act quickly, because the maggots in particular are dangerous to the plant. Take the same countermeasures as described and hope that it is not too late. In many cases, infected plants can no longer be saved.

IJA