Us gardeners tend not to like sharing our fruits and vegetables, especially not with wriggling maggots, and least of all when we find them in one of our favorite types of produce: apples.Unfortunately, flies like Rhagoletis pomonella don’t ask be
06.06.2023 - 18:51 / gardenerspath.com / Sylvia Dekker
7 Tips to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats on Spider PlantsJust about every proud plant parent has a spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) on their shelf.
And every spider plant parent can relate with the irritation of having to bat fungus gnat adults away from their face and the stress of stewing over how to rid their plant babies of the root-chewing maggots.
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Worry no more. Controlling fungus gnats on your spider plants is simply a matter of combining a few of the easy strategies we’ve compiled for you, to make your job as a plant parent a little easier.
1. Avoid OverwateringThis is the most important, and one of the first steps you can take in controlling fungus gnat numbers on your spider plants.
Fungus gnats love saturated growing mediums, especially in a warm indoor environment.
Wet medium is not only attractive to fungus gnat females looking for a place to lay their eggs, it’s the perfect environment for their maggots to thrive and grow up to become the next generation of annoying flies.
Fungus gnat larvae typically hang out in the top two to three inches of medium, so allow the top few inches of the potting soil your plants are growing in to dry out between watering.
Make sure your pot has drainage holes to allow extra water to flow out as well, preventing sodden soils.
Not only is moist – not waterlogged – medium healthier for your spider plants, which are more resilient to maggot damage when given proper care, dry periods in between watering make the medium less attractive to the pests and less conducive to maggot development.
2. Keep Your Spider Plant HealthySpeaking of resilient spider plants, healthy plants are much
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