mosquito eaters in my greenhouse

[Noonin NorCal]

hi friends, i seem to have a bit of mosquito eaters buzzin around and found a few on some of the leafs. Should this be something to worry about? We recently transplanted some plants in it and we re used old soil that got amended with worm gold plus and mango mulch, i noticed a bunch of little fliers coming out of the bag of mango mulch, should that also be something to worry about? Im gonna go water with some GoGnats and see if that helps with the soil. Thanks...

 

[stevewinthrop]

Their larvae will eat roots, I don't know the extent of the damage they are capable of, but the larvae are fairly large so it might be smart to treat with some kind of biological

 

[vostok]

With steve...^^^ on this, also will carry viri and bacteria, I prefer neem oil under such circumstances and is organic too, many here prefer neem cake, which I'm not familiar with

 

[Noonin NorCal]

I fogged the GH a few days ago with AzaMax im gonna do it again later tonight...

 

[stevewinthrop]

Skeeter eaters, or as my wife calls em, "flying spiders"

 

[onavelzy]

Skeeter eaters, or as my wife calls em, "flying spiders"

I like 'em because they still scare the shit out of my wife and kids (all older teens now). Good for a couple of early morning shower shrieks a week when in season. didn't realize they were a threat to growing until this thread, so it's good to learn.

from wikipedia on them:

Pest status

The common European crane fly, Tipula paludosa, and the marsh crane fly, T. oleracea, are agricultural pests in Europe. Crane fly larvae of economic importance live in the top layers of soil where they feed on the roots, root hairs, crown, and, sometimes the leaves of crops, stunting their growth or killing the plants. They are pests on a variety of commodities. Since the late 1900s, T. paludosa and T. oleracea have become invasive in the US.[10][11][12] The larvae have been observed on many crops, including vegetables, fruits, cereals, pasture, lawn grasses, and ornamental plants.
In 1935, Lord's Cricket Ground in London was among venues affected by leatherjackets. Several thousand were collected by ground staff and burned, because they caused bald patches on the wicket and the pitch took unaccustomed spin for much of the season.[13]

Bald patches on the cricket wicket? The horror!