Glad to know that they are harmless. I will not water the plant for a week or two then. Is there a way to rid them altogether? I have put up some tape and have a fan directed at my plant (hope that it will blow the flies to the tape... haha)... But if the bugs laid eggs... How do I get rid of that? :D :D :D

I saw these black flies on my tomato plant too. I think they were flying aphids because they were not on the soil but on the stems of the plant. They came after it rained here a few days back. I simply caught and killed them as they were not many. I did this every 3-4 days and they are all gone now! Look under the leaves there might be eggs. If they are around the base they might be fungus gnats like balloonflower says.

they are around the base, havent noticed any on the stems, or eggs under leaves. but i will have another look when the sun comes up tomorrow...

Almost certainly fungus gnats. Reduce watering, disturb the compost surface and sprinkle with grit as balloonflower suggested if you feel it's necessary. But basically they are a symptom of excess moisture and are entirely preventable. I would not waste electricity fanning a mint plant. Just open the window now and then. You could get some yellow sticky traps but I doubt it's worth it for one plant. Cheapest I could find

I have decided not to water the mint for two weeks, I really want to get rid of the fungus gnats. would this compromise my mint plant? I have noticed white/yellowish spots on the top of the soil. are those eggs? I dont want to open the window because its freezing outside, there was hail yesterday and slushy stuff falling from the skies today! I am alright with using electricity, bills are included in my rent. And I read that simulating outside conditions with a fan prevents air around the plant from getting stagnant and encourages the plant to grow stronger stems to withstand the wind? but i'm not sure whats going to happen. the mint plant seems to have stopped growing.... and the leaves are still really tiny...

in other news, i got a tiny basil stem from a friend today! i've put it into water, any idea how long it will take to root? :D :D :D so exciting!

Like others say it is easily controlled but do not let them grow in number. Yellow cardstock with vaseline applied on both sides and hung near the base of the plant also works the same way as the sticky tapes. This will help catch the adult flies. The adults are not much of a problem but its the larvae that feeds on the roots and weaken the plant if there are too many of them. Here in California we don't have terrible freezing winter and I do not have space to bring my plants indoor, so I left them out all winter and didn't water them for 3 months except for occasional rain and they came right back up this spring. In my experience mint is very hardy and can withstand drought. You should be ok not watering for 2 weeks. Also if it's freezing weather where you live and the mint is indoor, I don't think your mint would need water for 2 weeks anyways. Spread sand and don't water for 2-3 weeks that will make the soil hostile for the larvae. If they still persist you can try mosquito dunks or gnatrol that contains BTi bacteria which is toxic only to the larvae and not humans and are safe to use on organic plants. All these methods take time to completely eliminate fungus gnats. Give your mint some time to recover and it should bounce back.

Yesterday I put 2 cuttings from my basil plant in water. Last year when I did this, I think it took atleast 5 days to see tiny roots. I'm planning to leave them in water for 2 weeks to get more roots before planting them outside. Be sure to use water that doesn't contain chlorine and change the water every couple of days.

hey there!

i have not caught anything on the tape i put up. but then again, it wasnt like there were many flies to begin with, just a couple over the course of a few days. i havent seen one this morning. also, i am getting a little worried now, this morning, the smaller mint plant went all droopy... so i watered it. hope it gets better soon. the bigger plant is slightly droopy but still looks acceptable... i might be able to starve it off for at most a day or two i think. the top of the soil is dry. really dry. what should i do... to water or not to water :(

I purchased a pot of Chives today. Do I have to repot them? I dont have spare pots! and where should I put them? my awesome minty smelling room now smells like onions. eeew!

Hey James--you know the drill by now. What size pot are they currently in, and how large a clump. You'll get used to the smell and it won't be as apparent unless you brush them or chop them. Chives are a easy pot plant, and handle less sun, though they still need some. They're much more responsive to reflective light than most herbs. Now, it won't be an issue for a while, but they are one of the herbs that does benefit from fertilizer at times. For now, fresh potting soil should provide all they need.

Hey lovely gardeners!! I just came across some google stuff that talked about watering plants from the bottom - like watering the saucer that the pot is placed in, so the plant can absorb water when it so desires :D i was thinking that if this would work for herbs like Mint and Chives, it would also solve the issue of black flies. :D

Has anyone tried watering from the bottom? Any recommendations?

I water my indoor mint from the base only, but i get what look like fruit flies