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fruit flys on starter plants
- Thread starter Balac
- Start date
I have what I think are fruit flies breeding on my starter pepper plants----do you think they will hurt the peppers? should I kill them? What do you suggest?
Thanks for any help you can provide
Balac
Just hang up some sticky strips around the plants.
It's really mites and aphids you have to worry about!
Yea, a few fruit flies around the house are pretty common. You might notice them more when growing indoors and watching. The yellow sticky traps Megahot mentioned really tell you whats flying around and if it's a real problem by the numbers collected.
p.s. great camera work on the fruit fly, by the way....
p.s. great camera work on the fruit fly, by the way....
Get some Nematodes to fix their little red wagons.
Pepper maggots can be a real problem,ask Chris (cmpman).
Don't ignore them or you might be sorry when you transport the plants outside.
The fly lays eggs in the buds,Maggots eat the pod then drop to the soil and start again.
Here in Ca. there was a really big problem with them
They were spraying malathion from helicopters for a while all over the place.
Now they release sterile flies to mate with the wild bugs to break the cycle.
Kill them , treat your soil with nematodes so your garden doesn't become a breeding ground.
By the way.Some of the nematodes that eat fruit fly maggots also eat japanese beatle larva,termites and cutworms.They eat about 200 different pests.
nematodes lasted about 5 yrs for me before I had to re release more.
Nematodes only eat certain things so don't worry about earthworms or other good stuff getting attacked.
Data Sheets of interest:
http://www.tiptopbio..._bulletins.html
About fruit flies:
http://cae2k.com/kat...life-cycle.html
Pepper maggots can be a real problem,ask Chris (cmpman).
Don't ignore them or you might be sorry when you transport the plants outside.
The fly lays eggs in the buds,Maggots eat the pod then drop to the soil and start again.
Here in Ca. there was a really big problem with them
They were spraying malathion from helicopters for a while all over the place.
Now they release sterile flies to mate with the wild bugs to break the cycle.
Kill them , treat your soil with nematodes so your garden doesn't become a breeding ground.
By the way.Some of the nematodes that eat fruit fly maggots also eat japanese beatle larva,termites and cutworms.They eat about 200 different pests.
nematodes lasted about 5 yrs for me before I had to re release more.
Nematodes only eat certain things so don't worry about earthworms or other good stuff getting attacked.
Data Sheets of interest:
http://www.tiptopbio..._bulletins.html
About fruit flies:
http://cae2k.com/kat...life-cycle.html
Ok Man thanks for the warning---I will kill the buggers
Great info and thanks all
I am using Bonide Fruit Tree Spray on them cause that is all I have now----will let you know how that does in a few days.
Found and booked marked some cheap nematodes at
http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/NemAttack-Nematodes-Carpocapsae/beneficial-nematodes
$15.50 for 1/2 yard pack of them. I will order them when I get some funds---real slow here now so no funds.
Later
Balac
Hmmm didnt think that fruit flies were that much of a problem with pepper plants! Guess I just learned something new!
Yea, me too. Thanks Smokemaster--I guess any bug like that could become a threat. I know I guard relentlessly against fungus gnats, which infested my soil last year.
As for the Bonide, I'm guessing it probably isn't compatible with the Nematodes. Whatya think, SM?
Google nematode suppliers.Bio controls...
The only reason I use Tip Top is they are close by for me.
There are a couple different kinds of fruit flies so the kind you have might not attack peppers but some do.
Better to be safe than sorry.
As a plus,nematodes attack a lot of other nasties and re produce and spread real fast-see data sheets.
I sent some to Chris too late last year.
Though he did say he saw a slight decrease in maggots after he applied the nematodes.
This year will tell if they can overwinter in Michigan temps.
I think they can.
They follow the stuff they eat so if their food can overwinter so should the nematodes I think.
Why I mentioned June bugs,japanese beatles and Termites is because I had a lot of them each summer until I did the nematode thing.
I used to see Termites swarming every summer until I got nematodes.
Until this year I saw none for 5+ yrs.
I'm getting more this year and I'd bet they won't show up again for a long time.
Same with Japanese beetles and june bugs.
Get the combo pack that has a couple kinds of nematodes in it.
Worked for me in pots and in the ground.
Check out the data sheets.
I'm sure there are other suppliers at different prices.
Until my mite problems I NEVER used poison.
It does say to not treat your soil with poison if you use nematodes.
I don't know what poisons don't or do kill nematodes.
I think I killed mine from spraying every poison and miticide known to man trying to kill mites.
Poisons work for a while on anything but nematodes,wasps etc.(predators) last for years and harm nothing but the bad guys.
I'll never use any poison again.
They did more harm than good.
Wiped out my resident population of wasps,mantis,lacewings and ladybugs.
It took me years of buying the good guys to get a resident population of good guys.
Only a spray or two to kill them off.
Never again.
Just looked at the data sheets. You don't want that nematode-Steinernema carpocapsae
http://www.tiptopbio...arpocapsae.html
You want Steinernema feltiae and or Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
http://www.tiptopbio...teriophora.html
http://www.tiptopbio...ma_feltiae.html
The Bacteriophora are an all purpose nematode.
Try here for the mix.
I assume they still sell it or can be purchased separately.
http://www.gardeningzone.com/
The shipping-next day is what kills you.
Almost doubles the price but since they last years it's an investment.
what I did with my pots was treat the soil one year then used the old soil mixed with new stuff so the nematodes spread every year to new soil.
As far as I'm concerned I think they spread from the pots to the ground too.
I never treated the ground but the bad guys totally dissapeared in a season.
Something had to do it.I bet my money on the nematodes.
Data sheet- Steinernema feltiae
300 square feet of planted area - 5 million or 1 injector for 10 - 12 six inch sites.
The only reason I use Tip Top is they are close by for me.
There are a couple different kinds of fruit flies so the kind you have might not attack peppers but some do.
Better to be safe than sorry.
As a plus,nematodes attack a lot of other nasties and re produce and spread real fast-see data sheets.
I sent some to Chris too late last year.
Though he did say he saw a slight decrease in maggots after he applied the nematodes.
This year will tell if they can overwinter in Michigan temps.
I think they can.
They follow the stuff they eat so if their food can overwinter so should the nematodes I think.
Why I mentioned June bugs,japanese beatles and Termites is because I had a lot of them each summer until I did the nematode thing.
I used to see Termites swarming every summer until I got nematodes.
Until this year I saw none for 5+ yrs.
I'm getting more this year and I'd bet they won't show up again for a long time.
Same with Japanese beetles and june bugs.
Get the combo pack that has a couple kinds of nematodes in it.
Worked for me in pots and in the ground.
Check out the data sheets.
I'm sure there are other suppliers at different prices.
Until my mite problems I NEVER used poison.
It does say to not treat your soil with poison if you use nematodes.
I don't know what poisons don't or do kill nematodes.
I think I killed mine from spraying every poison and miticide known to man trying to kill mites.
Poisons work for a while on anything but nematodes,wasps etc.(predators) last for years and harm nothing but the bad guys.
I'll never use any poison again.
They did more harm than good.
Wiped out my resident population of wasps,mantis,lacewings and ladybugs.
It took me years of buying the good guys to get a resident population of good guys.
Only a spray or two to kill them off.
Never again.
Just looked at the data sheets. You don't want that nematode-Steinernema carpocapsae
http://www.tiptopbio...arpocapsae.html
You want Steinernema feltiae and or Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
http://www.tiptopbio...teriophora.html
http://www.tiptopbio...ma_feltiae.html
The Bacteriophora are an all purpose nematode.
Try here for the mix.
I assume they still sell it or can be purchased separately.
http://www.gardeningzone.com/
The shipping-next day is what kills you.
Almost doubles the price but since they last years it's an investment.
what I did with my pots was treat the soil one year then used the old soil mixed with new stuff so the nematodes spread every year to new soil.
As far as I'm concerned I think they spread from the pots to the ground too.
I never treated the ground but the bad guys totally dissapeared in a season.
Something had to do it.I bet my money on the nematodes.
Data sheet- Steinernema feltiae
300 square feet of planted area - 5 million or 1 injector for 10 - 12 six inch sites.
Lifespan:
The nematode enters the host and kills it within 24 to 48 hours. It then reproduces within the hose and searches for new hosts. This hunt and seek cycle provides long-term control.
The nematode enters the host and kills it within 24 to 48 hours. It then reproduces within the hose and searches for new hosts. This hunt and seek cycle provides long-term control.
Strategic Considerations:
Pesticides may adversely affect nematode survival. Broad-spectrum insecticides are toxic to nematodes.
Pesticides may adversely affect nematode survival. Broad-spectrum insecticides are toxic to nematodes.
So every 48 hrs they reproduce which equals spreading to cover more area.
Thats a pretty quick attack on whatever they eat...
Long term protection in general.
The other one spreads at the same rate +/-.
I put mine in a 2 gal. pump sprayer and watered every pots soil down(400 pots).
I vote to get a sticky on smokemasters info!!!!!
AlabamaJack
eXtreme
I am probably wrong, but I have never seen a fruit fly look like that...are you sure it is a fruit fly?
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1333&bih=679&q=fruit+fly&gbv=2&oq=fruit+fly&aq=f&aqi=g5g-s1g4&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1366l2719l0l4953l9l9l0l0l0l0l189l1150l3.6l9l0
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1333&bih=679&q=fruit+fly&gbv=2&oq=fruit+fly&aq=f&aqi=g5g-s1g4&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1366l2719l0l4953l9l9l0l0l0l0l189l1150l3.6l9l0
Looks like a newly emerged fungus gnat to me.
I'm gonna have to agree with AJ and IJ
I've had fruit flies in the house and they've never given a shit about my soil or plants.. just fresh fruit or drinks. Not only that but I work in the produce biz and I could spot a fruitfly a mile away (we have thousands at work every summer) So unless that's a type that I'm not aware of I'm gonna have to say you got some fungus gnats. They love wet soil. If you are still using that bonide spray, I'd spray all your soil surfaces and anything that moves. They infested my greenhouse last year, I brought the plants out of the greenhouse and within a week natural predators had wiped them out.. One of the downsides to indoor growing and Ghouse growing IMO is the whole no predator situation.. It's like pests know where they are safe.
Also, SM, that's some serious good info!
Brandon
I've had fruit flies in the house and they've never given a shit about my soil or plants.. just fresh fruit or drinks. Not only that but I work in the produce biz and I could spot a fruitfly a mile away (we have thousands at work every summer) So unless that's a type that I'm not aware of I'm gonna have to say you got some fungus gnats. They love wet soil. If you are still using that bonide spray, I'd spray all your soil surfaces and anything that moves. They infested my greenhouse last year, I brought the plants out of the greenhouse and within a week natural predators had wiped them out.. One of the downsides to indoor growing and Ghouse growing IMO is the whole no predator situation.. It's like pests know where they are safe.
Also, SM, that's some serious good info!
Brandon
I dunno, macro photos can sure distort what tiny bugs look like, but Balac's photo doesn't look much like my version of fungus gnats. Mine had much bigger wings, smaller body and long spindly legs like these from Colorado State Extension Office. Better viewed when dead on a sticky card.
http://www.ext.colos...sect/05584.html.
I suppose it is possible, as Indiana Jesse says, Balac's photo shows one 'newly emerged' from the soil and not looking very gnat-like just yet.
http://www.ext.colos...sect/05584.html.
I suppose it is possible, as Indiana Jesse says, Balac's photo shows one 'newly emerged' from the soil and not looking very gnat-like just yet.
whatever they were the Bonide wacked them good. That stuff stinks and is oily and does not like water but 3 12hr application wiped out the flies or gnats or whatever.
Got to remember I am in upper wisconsin---our bugs don't look like your hot weather buggs. I think they were fruit flies because of the way they were flying and hopping around without going very far---looked like fruit flies to me.
Up here we have mosquitoes the size of humming birds and owls that carry away cats---a few years ago we had big elephants with hairy overcoats and tigers that ate them for lunch---so hard to tell what they were. Now deceased
Got to remember I am in upper wisconsin---our bugs don't look like your hot weather buggs. I think they were fruit flies because of the way they were flying and hopping around without going very far---looked like fruit flies to me.
Up here we have mosquitoes the size of humming birds and owls that carry away cats---a few years ago we had big elephants with hairy overcoats and tigers that ate them for lunch---so hard to tell what they were. Now deceased
I am 100% sure they were not fruit flies. If it still matters.
