My houseplants have small dead bugs around them, what are these? 🌿🐜 (lemmy.ca)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by RoseJasmin@lemmy.ca to c/houseplants@mander.xyz

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I live in Vancouver

5 pots by the window include:

rubber plant
monstera and snake plant
an orchid
a green anthurium
this new plant:

They are very small, I didn't notice they were bugs until today. I have been cleaning them away.

Some are dead, and some are walking. None are flying but they have wings.

What is it? What should I do to prevent the spread? How can I cure it in the long term?

They are still contained around the window sill. I want to get rid of them before they start flying around my home.

Should I put the plants outside?

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[-] KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

Fungal gnats? Absolutely harmful to the plant. They damage roots in their larval state.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Only in extremely large numbers! The larvae would have to run out of easy-to-get food in the soil before turning on the much more difficult-to-eat plant

Adult fungus gnats do not feed on or damage plants but are a cosmetic nuisance. Fungus gnat larvae typically feed on decaying organic matter and fungi in the soil. However, if larval numbers are high, they may damage roots by feeding on root hairs or tunneling into the roots themselves. This sort of damage is rare in home settings.

I came home from a trip to an infestation so bad it looked like I was trying to breed gnats. I was cleaning bug crap off the walls for weeks but my plants were totally fine

this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2026

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