Flying bugs like fungus gnats can make an appearance in or around your amaryllis plants for several reasons although most tend to do with the soil and how well you maintain it. Here are the steps for quickly getting rid of the tiny flies before the infestation becomes an even bigger problem.
Over-watering tends to be the main culprit for the development of fungus gnat infestations on amaryllis plants. Fungus gnats and other similar flying bugs love moisture and dampness. amaryllis plants don’t require excessive moisture to thrive. You are overwatering your plant if the soil remains super soggy and develops tiny puddles of water. The simplest solution to getting rid of fungus gnats on amaryllis plants is to reduce the amount of watering. You only need to water the plant when the top layer of the soil looks dry.
If you are using self-watering pots or automated plant watering systems, you may want to re-configure the frequency of watering the device is set to. These devices add a lot of convenience but can introduce fungus gnat problems as they are designed to keep the soil damp at all time.
Fungus gnats will also appear around amaryllis plants if the soil quality is poor. You might have brought in amaryllis plants that have been potted in gnat-infested soil. The existing soil may also not be draining well and this adds to the problem we highlighted on over-watering. If you suspect that the soil is the problem then you will need to repot the amaryllis plants in high-quality potting mix that drains well and is free of pests.
Placing a few yellow sticky traps around the amaryllis plants may help get rid of adult fungus gnats but they won’t resolve the originating cause of the bug infestation. To completely get rid of the flies around the amaryllis plants, you need to also eradicate the larvae and eggs in the infested soil.
Repotting, however, isn’t an easy step as household plants like amaryllis plants can be quite sensitive to a change in environment and may end up going through transplant shock. Instead of repotting, one alternative method to consider is using mosquito bits. Let it soak in the water used for the amaryllis plants. We would suggest letting the mosquito bits or dunks soak for at least 24 hours in order for this method to be effective.
I recently had some lovely blooming flowers from my amaryllis plant but along came with some fungus gnats 🙁
I feel like changing my watering schedule might affect the flowers. Any tips without harming what is a sensitive plant?
I am in fungus gnat hell. Swarms of black flies around my amaryllis. Any tips on re-potting my plant without causing too much harm to it? There’s a bit of a root ball situation going on as well.
OMG. The mosquito bits method worked. I would suggest everyone to give it a go if you are having severe gnat problems like I did.
I admitted defeat and threw away my amaryllis plant,, only to find that the gnat problem was coming from a different houseplant XD
I have several plants at home with the amaryllis being one of them. Any way to check that the fungus gnat is coming from the amaryllis and not from another plant?