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Fungus Gnat larvae?


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Whilst repotting I found this rather long worm-ish creature, much bigger than other smaller ones i've found before and presumed those were fungus gnat larvae - this one was about 1cm long and not sure if its something else or just a more mature specimen.....

I have had a few rotten bulbs where it looks like something has penetrated the bulb and caused it to rot. Wondering if these larger worm-ish things might be behind it, ofcourse they could just be harmless?? I know generally the smaller ones I've seen dont do much damage except its said perhaps to seedlings but having seen this larger one and a few damaged bulbs I'm starting to wonder about them.

Worm.JPG

Worm2.JPG

I know provado soil drench is recommended to get rid of gnat larvae but might be difficult to treat the whole collection like this, anyone know any other remedies? - think I read somewhere sprinkling cinnamon on soil works?? Sounds a bit odd though and dont know if the addition of cinnamon would be good for my vfts....having not been into gardening and plants that long I'm still getting used to all the pests and diseases around so any advice or confirmation of what it is would be helpful. Fingers crossed its just some harmless worm!

Heather

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Heather, not sure what kind of 'worms' those are, but I'd be surprised if they were fungus gnats larvae. First of all, because as we know the fungus gnats are much shorter than those worms, and secondly because of this:

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/seedgermguide.htm

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/Pes...sGnatLarvae.php

Edited by Amar
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Yep, definitely doesnt look like those. I had a feeling they were meant to be smaller than this and the big one i saw didnt seem to have a black head (well from what from I could see anyway)...

Thanks for the links Amar, some useful info there :(

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hum, last year i found same worms in vft, i wash roots and i repot.

sorry my english is not famous and i don't find or know the good words to tell what i think.

(hope that make sens for you).

Edited by toimeme
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Don't worry - that makes perfect sense Timeme.

I like the use of the word famous :wink: Tom Cruise is famous, but I don't know if language can be!

Tom :( is very famous. He can even fly!

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Hmm, well hopeffully it sounds like its not harmful. Still got plenty of repotting to do so we'll see if I find anymore...

Thanks all,

Heather

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Looks like a baby earthworm to me as it's the right size and colouration, as it's living in damp soil it's most likely one of the 'redworm' or Dendrobaena species which are sold commercially for home composting. It won't kill your plants but will happily munch upon the rotting remains!

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Cinnamon is used to help control fungal problems such as crown rot as it has a kind of anticeptic property, I've not heard of its use as a soil topping and don't imagine it would control such pests/ organisms.

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Hmm, well might I might have got confused about that, I saw it mentioned somewhere but was a while ago and my memory isnt that great :)

Have you tried cinnamon yourself to help with fungal issues??

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