fruit flys?

[katierkincaid]

Yes I am guilty of having an apple or two on the kitchen counter and i keep my kitchen clean everyday. But somehow there is a few fruit flys that just seem to love my orchids. I removed the fruit but how can I get rid of them totally? I just got my orchidarium and have placed most of my exotics in there leaving the potted plants out for the next orchidarium thats coming next week. I saw one of the flys on a mounted cork peice i had and almost had a fit, Any advice?

[Ross]

Originally Posted by katierkincaid

Yes I am guilty of having an apple or two on the kitchen counter and i keep my kitchen clean everyday. But somehow there is a few fruit flys that just seem to love my orchids. I removed the fruit but how can I get rid of them totally? I just got my orchidarium and have placed most of my exotics in there leaving the potted plants out for the next orchidarium thats coming next week. I saw one of the flys on a mounted cork peice i had and almost had a fit, Any advice?

Probably not fruit flies. They may be the adults of the fungus gnats. Pretty common on mounts. Best case scenario in either case is use the yellow sticky traps meant for flies - lots of types and styles. Or even plain old fly paper strip that comes in a tube. If you want to treat the plant mounts as well use something pretty mild like Schultz "Garden Safe" Houseplant & Garden Insect Spray. It's in a teal-colored spray bottle in Home Depots and other garden stores. Drench the root mass with this. Normally we recommend repotting to get rid of the fungus that is attracting the larvae, but with mounts, this isn't really an option normally. If they are in the potted plants, then one or more of them is in real need of repotting. Now if it really is fruit flies, the traps will stop them.