They unleashed their foul spawn on my pride and joy: my two big monstera plants. They got into my big dracaena, my fiddle-leaf fig, my bird of paradise. Only a handful succeeded.Įven worse? The gnats came for the dwarf Meyer lemon tree and the burro’s tail on the balcony. All of these items promised to ward off, murder, smother or otherwise expunge my pest problem. More than 10 times what the original calathea cost me. Bonide Systemic Houseplant Insect Control granules: $22 Three Venus flytraps and specialty potting mix: $66 Here’s what I have spent trying to combat the problem: Others were so profoundly infected that even multiple attempts at solving the problem failed, and I was forced to make a horticultural Sophie’s choice to save the rest.Īt The Times, we have an internal Slack channel for plant lovers where I have posted about my plight. Some wilted and died as the gnat larvae chewed up their roots. I’ve even done the unthinkable: I’ve had to toss some of my beloved plants. I have purchased strange devices, like the Katchy, a robotic insect vacuum that lures its victims with UV light and sucks them to their doom with a fan.
And bottom-watering is when you let your plant soak up water through its drainage hole instead of pouring it over the top, which keeps that soil at the top from getting damp and attracting critters.) I have gone as long as possible without watering my plants before I start to feel dehydrated on their behalf. (For those of you who haven’t gone off the gnat-inspired deep end, top dressing is covering the soil with something that physically block bugs from accessing it. I have done toxic soaks and let poison pellets bloom in water overnight. I have ordered 48-packs of yellow sticky traps from Amazon - three times. I have read just about every article on the internet about eradicating fungus gnat infestations. How many plants would it take to noticeably improve the air quality in your house? Way more than you think. Lifestyle Do plants actually clean the air? Yes – but you’ll need a lot of them But as parents of all kinds know, even the cutest little additions to the family come with potentially unpleasant corollaries. My collection expanded from a handful of cute little cactuses picked up on a whim at Trader Joe’s to a sweeping collection of more than three dozen posed in corners and on countertops in every room of my house. Since then I have been playing whack-a-gnat.Ī lot of us became plant parents in quarantine.
I took them down to get a look at the soil and was met with a face full of fungus gnats. The philodendron ‘Brasil’ began to droop. Then the ‘Marble Queen’ pothos hanging in the window started struggling. I fretted over it, brought in a humidifier, moved the plant closer to and then farther from the window.
The calathea started to struggle right away. Plant-related events for July include the Plant-o-rama Plant Sale on July 17-18, featuring exotic and rare plants you can admire and buy to take home. Lifestyle Plant lovers: Bookmark this! It’s your event guide for having a super green summer