# Is there a green thumb in the house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297 "2000-03-25T20:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/1 "2000-03-25T20:08:00Z")
Got these potted plants in my apartment, non-flowering, couldn’t tell you what they are more than that. Anyways they are infested with these teansy black flies that have spread now through my apartment. I got some plant insect spray (Schultz) but it doesn’t seem to do any good. Any tips to get rid of the little nasties? ---
**Author:** ![neubauerian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dec6dc/32.png) [@neubauerian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neubauerian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/2 "2000-03-25T23:31:00Z")
those tiny little bugs come about twice a year for me…have no idea from where - they just seem to self generate. i’ve tried all those sprays; but the best solution i’ve come up with is=place the plants outside, in the sun for a couple of hours. they seem to all just fly away, and you should be good to go for a couple more months. good luck ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/3 "2000-03-25T23:53:00Z")
I’ve heard that soaking a couple of cigarette butts in a spray-bottle of water, and spraying the plant kills the little bugs, and has the added benefit of making the plant unappealing for the bugs. Give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![feszyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@feszyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feszyk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/4 "2000-03-26T00:15:00Z")
I frequently get fresh flower cuttings for my house, and in the summertime the water in the vase (which is mixed with 1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup) would attract alot of fruitflies. Anyway, the trick I learned is to mix 1 tablespoon of Tabasco or Habanero Sauce with 1/2 quart of water. Mist this on your plants daily and the little bastards will vamoose. I think they will probably die quickly, as it sounds as if they rely on the plants for food or cover. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/5 "2000-03-26T05:44:00Z")
Thanks fer the input guys! ANyone else got some miracle cures for debugging plants? Incidentally, wouldn’t putting the plant outside just attract more bugs? I dunno. Me like plants, but me plant stupid. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/6 "2000-03-26T16:43:00Z")
Sounds like fruit flies to me. Did you put any fruit in or neat them? ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/7 "2000-03-26T20:43:00Z")
“Did you put any fruit in or neat them?” Ok, Handy, maybe I’m dumber than I thought, what do you you mean by “neat them”? And these aren’t fruit producing plants either, so I don’t know why they’re apparently attracting fruit flys… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/8 "2000-03-27T00:59:00Z")
I meant ‘near’ them. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/9 "2000-03-27T14:53:00Z")
Fungus gnats. They’re commonly called fruit flies. They lay their eggs in the soil of potted plants. But they feed on fruit and any other sweet food, and the more they eat, the faster they reproduce. Keep your kitchen spotless! Once we left some dishes in the sink for a couple of days, and we had _clouds_ of flies. * * * Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. ---
**Author:** ![scratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-green-thumb-in-the-house/9297/10 "2000-03-28T17:57:00Z")
Watering too often will cause insects to set up camp in your soil.