Sciarid fly (also known as compost fly) or Fungus Gnats are a common pest of greenhouse plants in the spring. Sciarid fly can be a pest of a wide range of plants including ornamental flowers and vegetables around the home, in greenhouses and in propagation cold frames.

Although fungus gnats are largely unavoidable, there are some techniques you can try to prevent them: You can create your own gnat trap simply with a bowl of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of washing-up liquid. The vinegar attracts the gnats, whilst the washing-up liquid makes it hard for them to leave. Many people are concerned with bringing something ‘live’ into their home, but there’s nothing to worry about. They can’t interact with humans (or pets) at all. They can only interact with tiny larvae like the sciarid fly. You cannot see them with the human eye and they cannot leave the soil.

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It is so easy to use and when used as a programme, the gardener does not have to worry about application times or thorough investigations as to what the pests actually are. Just follow the programme - designed to target pests when they are active in the soil or on plants, see below for specific details. It's safe on food crops and suitable for use on organic crops. It will not harm pets, children, wildlife or bees.

What are nematodes and how do they work? Slug nematodes they are microscopic, transparent worms, which feed and multiply inside the slug, once the nematodes are inside the slug the slug stops feeding after a few days and then dies within a week. If you dig through the soil, you may also see the larvae. However, these are hard to see since they are tiny and translucent. Sciarid Zoot Off Granules – Stop Sciarid Flies laying their eggs in your pots / containers / seed trays by adding a layer of Sciarid Zoot Off to the surface of your compost – layer should be at least 1cm deep. It can be spread around established plants or applied after seeds have been sown and the seedlings will germinate through the dressing. This new granular product is made from dried, crushed olive pommace (the dried left-overs from making organic olive oil) with an added volcanic mineral. Sciarid Zoot Off is made out of natural / non-toxic ingredients, is attractive in appearance, fragrant, biodegradable, safe to use and is totally safe for pets and wildlife. Available in 1.7kg bags, each bag will cover 1.2 sqm. How it works :- The nematodes will not harm plant leaves but wash them off into the soil, where they can control the sciarid fly.Young bedding plants, especially bizzie-lizzies, can be affected with large numbers of small flies covering young plants, whilst larvae eat the roots.