Q&A Pests: Sciarid flies

By Brad

My African violets are being pestered. I have lots of little flies swarming every time I go near the plants and I have noticed small maggots in the compost. Will they do any harm?

Brad: These are sciarid flies that live in compost. The eggs and adults are quite harmless, but the grubs may feed on tiny plant roots.

Introduce Hypoaspis mites from Defenders as a biological control. The beneficial mites live for about five months and feed on adult and young sciarid flies, but need moist conditions and temperatures above 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).

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