New Phals and a flying pest question

[MrsH530]

I finally got my new phals today! They're SO tiny!!!

I'd like your opinion on whether I should repot them or not. They're so small, I'm not sure if its ok to disturb the roots. However, I'm concerned because each has an aerial root or two, and I think that since they're so small, I should repot them and coax those roots into the potting mix. What do you think?

Also, I have a small flying pest that I can't identify. It's flying around the leaves and roots of my large phals and my succulent cuttings, but leaving my mini phals alone. It is not on the flowers, just hanging around the leaves and roots. I can't see any damage to the plants, but it's really annoying. They are small, grayish bodies. Bigger than a fruit fly but smaller than a mosquito. Do you know what it might be? How do I get rid of them?

Lastly, there are these little brown specks that kind of look like seeds on my larger phals. I'm not sure what they are. I hope you can see them from the pictures.

Thanks for your help!

[clusty]

Could they be thrips ?
Hope for your sake they are not...

[MrsH530]

Originally Posted by clusty

Could they be thrips ?
Hope for your sake they are not...

I thought thrips messed with the flowers too..??

[WhiteRabbit]

Very likely they are gnats

[MrsH530]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Very likely they are gnats

Do I need to worry about gnats?

[SJF]

Where did you purchase them from? Could the brown specs be scale?

[clusty]

I don't worry a whole lot about gnats. They are more of a nuisance buzzing around.
Normally the larvae chew on rotting matter so they are no threat. I have read however some claims that larvae might eat the tips of very fine roots.

The best way to get rid of them is to find BTi (mosquito dunks). This is some bacterium that attacks just the fungus gnat larvae.

[MrsH530]

Originally Posted by SJF

Where did you purchase them from? Could the brown specs be scale?

I don't think so.. I've looked up scales, and it doesn't seem to be the same. These are not embedded, they are just sitting on top..

Originally Posted by clusty

I don't worry a whole lot about gnats. They are more of a nuisance buzzing around.
Normally the larvae chew on rotting matter so they are no threat. I have read however some claims that larvae might eat the tips of very fine roots.

The best way to get rid of them is to find BTi (mosquito dunks). This is some bacterium that attacks just the fungus gnat larvae.

Ok. Well hopefully that's what it is. I've noticed they are now flying all around my kitchen, too. One of my phals roots were not drying out well, so I just took it out of the moss/bark/perlite mix and moved it into all bark and cut the dead roots away. Hopefully this will help. There were some bugs that came out of the moss when I pulled it out of the pot. *fingers crossed*

Thoughts on my little phals? Is it ok to repot them? Should I just hang tight and stop fussing?

[clusty]

Feels like gnats...

[Skayc1]

repot them with all bark, to get rid of the moss with the bugs, keep in same pots though. wash 7 sterilize the pots before putting the plants back in the pot.