How to save your Pothos plant
One of the most loved indoor plants is the vining Pothos. The beautiful vine can be wrapped around just about anything or can just hang for a natural leafy waterfall look. Perhaps the most loved feature of a Pothos is its ability to filter out toxins in the air naturally. These plants are so loved, its owners just love watering it just to take a look at it. Sometimes you can show this plant too much love and then the tiny flying bugs come in. I am here to help save your Pothos and your sanity from those little annoying flies.
What are those tiny flying bugs in my Pothos?
Those tiny flying bugs are not flies at all. They are fungus gnats. Fungus gnats are attracted to, well, fungus. The love you have given your Pothos has backfired and created a warm and moist fungus filled home in the soil. Keeping the soil moist constantly creates a vicious life cycle supporting these gnats to grow and multiply in numbers that will eventually take over your other plants and your life. There is nothing more annoying than one of those gnats flying around your face all day.
Now that we know they are fungus gnats, I can help you get rid of them.
How to get rid of fungus gnats in my Pothos?
The first step to ridding your Pothos plants of those flying gnats is to stop showing your Pothos so much love. I mean, giving it so much water.
If you can touch your finger to the top of the soil and it still feel wet after a couple days of watering it, you have watered it too much. Water sitting in soil in a comfortable indoor temperature will create mold very quickly.
Sometimes your Pothos gets too big for the pot and can keep moisture in the soil longer. If your Pothos is crammed in the pot, it might be time to trim up some vines to air out the soil, divide the plant into two, or get a larger pot.
How much water do Pothos plants require?
Pothos only requires water every 7-10 days and an occasional misting of the leaves. The watering depends on the climate you live in. Dry climates should water every 7 days and humid climates should wait until the 10 day mark.
When I say water, I don’t mean run water over the plant for 10 minutes in the sink. I mean just a cup or two of water depending on the size of the plant. You have added too much water if you have filled the water catcher dish to where it is now overflowing. If you have a water catcher dish that gets filled with water, the water needs dumped out of it when the water is done draining through the pot. That stagnant water at the bottom can also create an environment for those pesky gnats.
Trust me, I know the Pothos is tropical but it will survive and thrive with less love and water. This plant will benefit from misting the leaves more than drowning the roots.
What to do if my house is now infested with LOTS of fungus gnats?
An infestation of gnats can come on rather quickly if you have many houseplants. This is when you will need my ULTIMATE guide to getting rid of fungus gnats. It may also be best to start new with a new Pothos plant with sterile indoor plant soil.
Sometimes soil can come with the eggs of fungus gnats that hatch when you first water your plant. I have never seen fungus gnats from this indoor plant soil I highly recommend (Affiliate).
If you’re wanting to help your plant grow faster, this plant fertilizer will do the trick better than overwatering will.
Here are some beautiful Pothos varieties found on Amazon if garden stores are sold out:
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our Affiliate Disclosure here.
Costa Farm’s Devil’s Ivy Goldon Pothos
Rare Blue Satin Devil’s Ivy Pothos
The New Health Cycle 