Flying bugs like fungus gnats can make an appearance in or around your fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs. Fungus gnats and other similar flying bugs love moisture and dampness. fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs if the soil quality is poor. You might have brought in fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs in high-quality potting mix that drains well and is free of pests.
Placing a few yellow sticky traps around the fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs, you need to also eradicate the larvae and eggs in the infested soil.
Repotting, however, isn’t an easy step as household plants like fiddle leaf figs 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 fiddle leaf figs. We would suggest letting the mosquito bits or dunks soak for at least 24 hours in order for this method to be effective.
I’ve tried many different things to get rid of the gnats from my fiddle leaf fig but have had no success so far. The last thing I want to do is to re-pot my plant. Please tell me there is something else out there apart from the solutions in this article.
Has anyone tried using neem oil to get rid of the gnats from their fiddle leaf fig? I don’t think my watering schedule is the problem here.
I tried using the sticky yellow traps. It did catch a few of the gnats but the infestation hasn’t gone away yet from my fiddle leaf. Should I try different placements or put more yellow traps around the plant?
@RoboBen – I think the yellow sticky traps only helps in getting rid of the adult flies. You still haven’t dealt with the larvae and eggs that are infesting the fiddle leaf fig soil.
I am on the verge of tears. tried everything and nothing worked. I really don’t want to use a pesticide to get rid of the flies. What else aside from this article has worked for you??