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Little black flies are eating my crops!

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  • 12-08-2010 1:50pm
    #1
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭


    Well when I say crops I mean five separate indoor potted plants - 2 basil, 1 mint, 1 parsley, and one with a mix of basil and parsley. They seem to be leaving mint alone, but these little black guys (about half a centimetre long) are beginning to ravage the basil in particular. what can I do to kill them off? I don't want to use pesticides as we had planned to use the plants for seasoning etc. Equally as they are indoors complimentary plants to attract predators won't work. Should I pick them off given they won't really be put outdoors much? I've heard of organic pesticides (I think that's the name) that kill insects off without harming food, but not sure I believe that.

    Thoughts please, it's my first foray into growing anything and my crops are being pillaged!


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    #2
    bmaxi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,859 ✭✭✭bmaxi


    If possible, rinse the plants off under the tap, spray the remaining blackfly with a solution of water with a squirt of fairy liquid. Make sure you spray underneath the leaves and repeat as necessary.


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    #3
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭tommy21


    bmaxi wrote: »
    If possible, rinse the plants off under the tap, spray the remaining blackfly with a solution of water with a squirt of fairy liquid. Make sure you spray underneath the leaves and repeat as necessary.

    Good idea, but I fear they are a bit too underdeveloped to do that. Could keep it to just above adrip maybe. Damned things. Thanks I'll let you know if it works.


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    #4
    eden_my_ass
    Registered Users Posts: 594 ✭✭✭eden_my_ass


    I put up a hanging roll of sticky fly tape next to an orchid that seemed to have become home to a nest of little black flies like what you've described back in June...took a few weeks but it got fairly crowded on the tape after a while...I used to tap the plant a bit to make them rise every so often, impossible little things to kill by hand!


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