There are these bugs around my plants What are they?

I have a sage plant and a parsley plant inside I noticed these gnat like bugs flying and moving around the plants when I move them or water them they arent noticable when your not looking close or moving. Some come like out of the soil. They stay only near the plants. What are they why are they there and are they harmful or hopefully helpful to my plants. They might be on other plants not sure. They arent on my avocado tree that is sitting right beside the others why? Thanks!

There are these bugs around my plants What are they?
Those are soil gnats., also called fungus gnats. Houseplants are a fungus gnat paradise. They thrive in moist soil and feed on decaying organic matter, algae, and fungi. Adult fungus gnats create a nuisance, and the larvae damage plants by tunneling into succulent plant stems and roots. Keep the affected plants' soil free of decaying leaves and allow the top of the soil to dry out between waterings. Dry soil kills larvae, reduces fungal growth, and prevents adults from laying eggs.



You can get sticky yellow gnat traps to lay on the surface of the soil.



Repotting them in fresh soil will help, also. Take them out of the pot, discard the soil, wash off the plant roots, and repot in fresh potting soil. This gets rid of the gnats and eggs.
Reply:Having "soil gnats" is a sign that you have too much moisture in the potting soil.. Try to let the soil dry out a little between watering's as soil gnats thrive in wet, humid conditions.-just what they have inside of the house. The adults lay eggs in the soil and the "larva" feed on the organic matter in the potting soil. In a more serious situation, the larvae can and will feed on the roots of the plant causing poor health and sometimes even death. If it's possible and your weather is warm, you can put them outside in the morning. This will help to dry out the soil and allow some of the adults to fly away. Just make sure that you bring them back inside before nightfall.
Reply:Agree - gnats. 1/4" sand on surface of soil will prevent emergence of larvae in soil. adults life span is short, they'll die, no new kids, no more gnats.
Reply:They eat plants.
Reply:htey are mites or aphids. they are a common pest problem. almost every person gets this problem with house plants.

they say to use a little bit of soap. unfortunatly they arent helpful at all. go to you local garden store and ask for a spray for your plant.
Reply:Hmm, I didn't think I would see one of my answers used for the second time. If it happens to get "best" answer again, shouldn't I get at least 5 of the 10 points awarded? Maybe I should start charging for my services...lol



...$Billy Ray$
Reply:It may be mites or aphids. They are choosy about which plants they infest. Try mixing some Murphy's oil soap and water in a spray bottle. Douse the plant and leave it on for about 30 minutes. Then rinse it off with water. It should help.
Reply:i know what u mean, ihave them too. i dont know how to get rid of them. nothing works permanently.
Reply:They live in the soil. You probably bought the plants from the grocery store either in the plant soil or from fruit such as bananas. Now you have to spray them with a mixture of soap %26amp; water don't make it too strong or you will burn your plants. Spray under the leaves and on top of the soil don't soak the soil or you will kill the plant. If you buy your next plants from the florist or nursery they are safer they have been climatized