[ROB TWO-HAWKS]

Here's one for you...and one you Won't-Identify by problems with leaves,etc. ** ''FUNGUS GNATS'' ** ...I acquired these beasties about a month-plus ago. The 1st signs of problems were with declining HousePlants...and an Amaryllis which failed-to-bloom(but always does.) About a week after the houseplant stuff ...I did notice very-small-flying critters I've never noticed (and...which you probably don't either.) They somewhat resemble Mosquitos but are much smaller & won't bite. They are also quite-dumb at first...and only fly a short distance before you put them under-the-finger(nevertheless...they also appear to have a ''group-mind'' of sorts...so they learn-to-avoid pronto.) The Fungus Gnats( F.G.'s) are very common but in the Garden are usually No-Prob due to all the Natural Contols outdoors. In the House ..or.. Greenhouse however...they Can-Do-Serious-Damage ..& ..Fast!!!
The F.G.'s are very Short-Lived but Multiply Voraciously.You're also not likely to notice problems at first...as they are ''ROOT'' rather than foliage-eaters.This year...they wiped-out a third of my Mater Seedlings before I got them in check with Natural Controls. A few still fly around...so I'll give the full-report later. The Natural Controls I implimented were: ...Topping my plants with a half inch of Coarse Sand ; a Natural Spray ; and a Home-made Nicotine-Tea-Solution.
So....how'd I get the infestation in the 1st place? ...About a month & a half ago...I decided to pot-up some nice cuttings from a friend's plant....but was out of potting mix...so borrowed some from her. As she gave me a generous supply...I decided to ''fresh-top'' some houseplants as well. And so...the Infestation began. At 1st I thought the ''culprit'' might be her Mother Plant...the plant from which I derived my cuttings. On close inspection of her plant however..it was obvious she was'nt having any problems.The lights-finally-went-off when I remembered the topped-plants: YEP...it had to be the mix(which it was.) What my friend had failed to tell me was...that the mix had sat-outside all fall-winter. Damp peat.. or.. organic mixes serve as a ''Mother-Lode'' for F.G.Incubation & then possible Infestation.
So...while a few at T-VILLE will believe this was just ''Bad-Karma'' for a nasty(but... totally-misunderstood) post I wrote earlier...I must inform that... It-Can-Happen-To-Anyone and...Happen-Fast!! So...learn from my goo-fuss if you will...and Avoid-Many-Tears from watching the F.G.'s get to your wonderful Maters... Before-You-do.
COYOTE BOB TWO-HAWKS