Fruit Flies?

[cherndon712]

I live in WY, and it's still getting into the 30's here at night. Obviously can't put stuff in the ground yet So I start everything inside, hang lights and all. I was watering tonight and noticed a bunch of teeny tiny little fly like things all over the place! What the heck are they? I'm thinking they're fruit flies but I've honestly never had problems like this before!! How can I get rid of them?

 

[elf]

Bowls of soapy water with some fruit peel or such.

 

[patandchickens]

If they're hangin' around your PLANTS not your kitchen fruit bowl, I will betcha anything they are not fruit flies but rather fungus gnats.

Fungus gnats are mostly harmless, but annoying; they usually signal soil that has gotten waterlogged, either from overwatering or insufficient drainage, so the main thing is to take them as a warning to pay more attention to your plants. Once you can put the plants outside, the fungus gnat problem will disappear.

For houseplants, there are a few things you can do vs fungus gnats, but since it sounds to me like these are just (future) transplants I would not worry about all that.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[cherndon712]

I figure if anything they're not watered enough They're all in the Jiffy Greenhouse things and I wait until the soil look dry (it changes color drastically when it's dry) to water again. Maybe some of the ones that didn't sprout are causing the problem? I can't put them out for at least another week or so, it's supposed to be nasty/rainy/windy until after the first of June, which is usually our last frost date anyway. Will they hurt the plants at all or are they just absolutely annoying?