Bought Basil and has tiny flies.

[George Ford]

Hi,

I bought a potted Basil herb plant from a supermarket and it seems to have come with an infestation of tiny little black flies. As I want to eat the basil I don't want to use nasty chemicals. Any household remedy you can suggest?

[Ever Learning]

any lady bugs in the garden? i know they eat aphids, they might be partial to the flys as well lol

what about if you sprayed with vinegar and then washed it off again

i remember my mother bringing back a planted pot once and didnt realise there were a colony of flying ants inside and they swarmed the car lol

i spent like an hour taking them out one by one lol

Edited May 10, 2014 by Ever Learning

[George Ford]

any lady bugs in the garden? i know they eat aphids, they might be partial to the flys as well lol

what about if you sprayed with vinegar and then washed it off again

i remember my mother bringing back a planted pot once and didnt realise there were a colony of flying ants inside and they swarmed the car lol

i spent like an hour taking them out one by one lol

I need something that will kill the flies without effecting the soil in the pot. So vinegar is a no go. I've just put out a small bit of honey in a cup next to the plant. Hope the flies get stuck in it. Will report back any results.

[SHaYap]

crush a bit of garlic and douse the plant ~ a couple of cloves for 500ml water will do fine ~ make sure to water the under side of the leaves

Edited May 10, 2014 by third_eye

[SlippySlug]

The flies may be coming from the soil, so you may want to bare root the plant, give it a good rinse, then put it in some new soil. Otherwise try misting it with a bit of dish soap diluted with water.

[rashore]

You might have flies that are because of the soil- a common side effect of way lots of watering at the greenhouse. Repot and water as necessary for the plant. You might also want to put out a fruit fly trap of some sort to capture them so hopefully they won't make more of the little buggers. A good fruit fly trap liquid is vinegar and dish soap- vinegar to attract, dish soap so they get stuck in the liquid.

[George Ford]

Well they don't like honey.Gonna try a vinegar and soap trap next thanks.

[Patient Zero]

Flies are an excellent source of protein.

Grubbs too.

Eat up.

[Davros of Skaro]

I would gently free the plant & roots from the soil.Rinse plant & roots gently in room temp water.Submerge roots in a bowl of room temp water.Meanwhile bake soil in oven 300*F for 1.25 hrs, let cool, and replant.

[George Ford]

Well, after coming downstairs to the kitchen today and finding several of the little buggers about and none in the vinegar trap I have thrown the plant out. I did pull most the basil leaves off and washed them and put them in the fridge for later. Will just buy bunched basil in the future.

[RoofGardener]

rhubarb leaves.

Not the stem (the bit you normally eat), but the leaves.

Seep them in a bucket of (initially hot, but not boiling) water for a day or two.

Strain, and serve in the sprayer of your choice.

But - the best is the ladybugs. If you are in the UK, then you can buy a small ladybird colony through the post. costs around £15 or so ?

[CrimsonKing]

Whats always worked best for me without changing the ph of the soil is capsaicin,has worked everytime!