Little Flies

I have a 4 plant grow that is doing really well, with no apparent signs of being eaten or anything... but I do see a few very small (needlehead) black flies in my grow box. I honestly think they may have spawned out of the peat moss, it being from peat bogs and everything. Is there anything I can do to prevent them from thriving?

The little bastards are probably fungus gnats.....just spread some diatomaceous earth on top of your soil.....shreds 'em up, and they croak!
Good idea also is to hang a couple of sticky fly traps as an early warning system, these also aid in controlling the little creeps!

yes, put up some fly papers, strips of duct tape work also but not as good! watch out that you don't catch yourself in it and don't use fly paper manufacture pre 80's since this is loaded with arsenic which will affect your grow and may kill you too!!!!

Adult fungus gnats are tiny black flies which spend time running around on the surfaces and sucking sap from the leaves. After the adults lay their eggs on the soil (medium), the young worm-like larvae hatch out and begin to feed upon the roots. The larvae initially eat the fine root hairs before moving on to burrow throughout the larger roots and even up into the stems. After feasting on the roots the larvae will pupate before hatching out as adults and repeating the life cycle by laying their eggs. The larvae resemble little worms. They have clear or white bodies with black heads.

Life cycle: Adults live about 7 to 10 days and deposit eggs on the moist soil surface or in soil cracks. Females lay up to 100 to 300 eggs in batches of 2 to 30 each in decaying organic matter. Eggs hatch in 4 to 6 days; larvae feed for 12 to 14 days. The pupal stage is about 5 to 6 days.

Damage from the fungus gnat larvae feeding on the roots shows up in the leaves as overfertilization and nutrient deficiency symptoms: yellowing, browning, burning and curling leaves.

Three fungus gnat larvae biocontrol agents:

Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) bacteria which can be purchased as mosquito dunks or gnatrol. Bti is the most appropriate anti gnat biological control agent for DWC systems.

Hypoaspis mites.

Steinernema feltiae nematodes.

Occasionally a dry layer of sand is recommended as a deterrent to fungus gnats. This technique should be discouraged as the close packing nature of the sand particles reduces the quantity of oxygen which penetrates down into the root zone.

Or you could get one of those real little fly swatters.

The electronic ones keep track of your hits and misses for you too.

Does spraying with a little soapy water help? I read that somewhere on here.

Mogie

I like the sand idea. I've also heard about soaking the sand in a hot garlic tea(or whatever agent you want), letting it dry out, then applying it as a dry layer above the soil. Also if you use a drip saucer in your pot, cover that in the sand too and place your plant pot back on top. Those dark moist areas in between the pot and saucer are breeding grounds for all kind of nasty.