How to Identify and Control 11 Common Houseplant Pests

I’m guessing that you simply’re right here since you suspect or know that there’s some type of creepy critter crawling in your orchid, philodendron, or succulent.

Do you need to know the key to ridding your houseplants of pest issues?

No, it’s not a giant previous vat of insecticide, it’s having the ability to determine the particular pest that’s inflicting the difficulty.

With a strong identification, you’ll be able to then take steps to handle it and forestall future infestations.

There are 11 frequent pests that feed on houseplants and we’ll allow you to determine every of them and offer you some tips on the best way to take care of an infestation.

Right here’s the listing:

On this information, we received’t speak a lot about “occasional invaders” like ants, pillbugs, millipedes, slugs, and spiders.

These critters can hitch a journey on vegetation which might be introduced in from outdoor however they don’t thrive in an indoor setting. They’ll sometimes die off on their very own.

Nonetheless, it helps to double- and triple-check your vegetation if you convey them in from exterior.

With all of those pests, early identification is important.

Make it a behavior to look at your vegetation if you water them. Have a look at the highest and undersides of the leaves, alongside the stems, and on the soil stage.

And it goes with out saying that wholesome vegetation can higher face up to an infestation than these which might be careworn from inappropriate environmental circumstances.

Meaning watering, feeding and maintaining them in the proper gentle publicity for the kind.

Let’s begin with some of the frequent pests indoors and out:

1. Aphids

I’m prepared to guess that in the event you develop vegetation lengthy sufficient, you’ll come throughout aphids both indoors or out sooner or later.

Aphids are tiny sapsucking bugs that feed on nearly each widespread houseplant on the market.

There are various completely different species, mostly inexperienced aphids (Myzus persicae), inexperienced peach aphids (M. persicae), and brown ambrosia (Uroleucon ambrosiae).

Some, like melon aphids (Aphis gossypii) are particularly unhealthy as a result of they breed all 12 months lengthy in heat areas, like inside your house.

Whatever the species, they’ll reproduce quick. Someday you’re taking a look at only a small difficulty and the subsequent you’re dealing with a devastating infestation.

Aphids trigger leaf yellowing and distortion like curling and wilting. They’ll additionally unfold illnesses and kill off creating flowers. If there are sufficient of them, they’ll trigger stunted progress and even kill the plant.

They go away behind a sticky substance known as honeydew, and this will entice sooty mildew.

Along with these signs, you may see the bugs themselves. They’re small, however they typically cluster collectively on the undersides of leaves, and on the stems, particularly the place the leaves meet the stems.

If you happen to catch it early on, you’ll be able to often tackle the issue with nothing stronger than water. Isolate the plant and spray off the aphids with a robust stream of water.

Do that each few days till you don’t see any left on the plant. Hold the plant remoted for a number of extra days to make certain they’re all gone and you’ll transfer it out of isolation.

2. Caterpillars

Caterpillars are the larvae of quite a lot of completely different pest species.

None of them thrive indoors, so these are the pests that can sneak in sometimes after which die off as a result of they’ll’t full their life cycle in your house.

If you happen to see any, simply placed on some gloves, pluck them off, and drown them in soapy water. Not a lot to fret about.

The exception is in the event you see worm-like critters within the soil. These grubs can infest the soil and feed on the roots of your vegetation.

I understand it is a petty criticism when there are pests on the market that can kill your prize variegated monstera in a heartbeat. However one thing about them simply drives me up the wall.

Fungus gnats are tiny flying bugs within the Orfelia and Bradysia genera. They’re small, round one-sixteenth to half an inch lengthy, and so they look just like mosquitos, however they don’t chunk people.

They feed on fungi and different decomposing matter within the soil, not on reside plant materials.

So the adults received’t harm your vegetation, however they’ll fly round being annoying. To justify my unreasonable hatred, the larvae generally is a downside. They feed on plant roots, inflicting stunted progress and leaving the houseplant susceptible to illness.

Fungus gnats can reproduce all 12 months spherical with overlapping generations, so populations can construct up shortly.

If you happen to see the adults flying round, put some yellow sticky traps within the soil and scale back the quantity of water you’re providing your houseplants.

Fungus gnats love moist soil, so in case your plant can deal with it, water much less typically with extra water.

Or strive the underside watering technique. If you happen to can hold the floor of the soil dry whereas offering moisture, as occurs with backside watering, it might assist to cut back populations dramatically.

4. Leaf Miners

Leaf miners are pretty unusual, although not extraordinary, on houseplants.

If you happen to take your vegetation exterior in the course of the heat months otherwise you simply introduced residence a brand new addition, they may hitchhike alongside.

However even when leaf miners are current they’re largely only a beauty difficulty. In different phrases, leaf miners shouldn’t trigger you to lose any sleep.

The adults are tiny, innocent pests, however the larvae tunnel into the foliage, leaving maze-like trails behind.

They’re mostly seen on greens, however being opportunistic they’ll influence many alternative species.

My favourite technique to do away with leaf miners is to softly smash the leaf between my fingers to crush the tunnels and any bugs inside.

In any other case, pluck off any symptomatic leaves and spray the floor of the soil and throughout your houseplant with a spinosad-based pesticide.

Be taught extra about leaf miners and the best way to take care of them in our information.

5. Mealybugs

Mealybugs (Pseudococcus spp.) are tremendous sneaky.

Till populations construct up dramatically, they are often laborious to identify as a result of they’re flat and motionless in order that they nearly mix in with the stems.

Plus, they like to cover in nooks and crannies so you’ll be able to’t see them even in the event you do know what to search for.

The adults are oval and flat, with out wings. Most have a waxy coating, however some don’t. The coating could be clear, brown, or white, and the pests themselves could be wherever from cream to black in coloration.

Citrus mealybugs (Planococcus citri) are the most typical species discovered on houseplants. They’re coated in a fluffy, white, waxy coating.

Earlier than you convey any new plant into your house, quarantine it for per week or two and study it fastidiously and repeatedly. Search for each the pests themselves and their cottony white egg sacs.

Mealybugs use their sucking mouthparts to feed on sap of the plant, inflicting signs like yellowing or speckled foliage, aborted flower buds, and stunted progress.

In addition they go away behind a sticky substance known as honeydew. That’s a pleasant method of claiming that they poop out the surplus sugars that they devour. This attracts sooty mildew, which is an entire different downside.

I’m not going to lie, mealybugs could be tough to remove.

As a result of they disguise in protected areas on the plant, and because of the waxy protecting coating, they are often laborious to search out and kill.

You possibly can wipe the pests off with a butter knife, spray them off with a robust stream of water, or wipe them with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol to take away their protecting coating.

On bigger vegetation, you may must prune out closely infested areas, because it’s unlikely you’ll be capable of discover and kill all of the pests.

Bag and eliminate the pruned components to keep away from spreading the pests to different specimens in your houseplant assortment.

You probably have a big infestation, scrape or wash off as many mealybugs as you’ll be able to. Then, spray the plant with insecticidal cleaning soap.

Make sure that to get in all of the nooks and crannies to search out the hiders, as a result of the cleaning soap wants to come back in touch with the pests to kill them.

Be taught extra about mealybugs and the best way to take care of them in our information.

6. Mites

No, not spider mites, we’ll come to these later. We’re speaking concerning the microscopic arachnids cyclamen mites (Steneotarsonemus pallidus) and broad mites (Polyphagotarsonemus latus).

Each kinds of mite disguise within the folds of leaves and on stems, feeding on the plant’s sap.

As they feed, they extract chlorophyll and trigger the plant to look sickly and pale, or tackle a bronze hue.

New progress may be sluggish or non-existent, the foliage could curl or be distorted, and any flowers or fruits will abort.

The additional unhealthy information is that you haven’t any technique to know they’re round till signs present up.

As long as you act shortly you must be capable of save your plant.

The simplest technique to rid the plant of those tiny mites is to submerge it, pot, soil, and all, in a shower of 110°F water for 15 seconds.

This received’t kill most houseplants, however don’t strive it on a treasured, tender specimen.

You may as well deal with the plant with a miticide or insecticidal cleaning soap. Saturate the houseplant and soil as soon as each two weeks till new, wholesome progress emerges.

7. Scale Bugs

The primary time I noticed scale on a houseplant, I assumed my specimen simply had some bizarre bumps on the stem. I shrugged and went on with my week.

Subsequent time I regarded, the bumps had elevated in quantity and it began to happen to me that possibly there was one thing incorrect with my espresso plant.

Scale bugs are extra frequent on out of doors vegetation than these grown indoors, but when they’ll sneak inside on a specimen that you simply convey residence from the shop or that has been exterior for the summer time, they’ll.

There are a number of species that can feed on houseplants, with hemispherical (Saissetia coffea) brown delicate scale (Coccus hesperidum), fern scale (Pinnaspis aspidistrae), and lecanium scale (Parthenolecanium spp.) being the most typical.

Their look can range relying on the species, with some having delicate our bodies and others having laborious shells.

Most are brown however they are often white to black. All are oval and considerably flattened or spherical, and often below an eighth of an inch lengthy.

The females don’t transfer a lot. In most species, they lose their legs and keep put, which might make them straightforward to mistake for a progress or one thing apart from pests.

Even these species that stay cell are inclined to hunker down, develop a protecting waxy coating, and reside out the remainder of their lives with out shifting.

To do away with scale, dip a toothbrush or cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol and wipe it over the pests.

You may as well gently scrape them off with a butterknife or wash the plant with soapy water, however in the event you do that, make sure to defend the soil in order that it doesn’t get moist.

Be taught extra about the best way to take care of scale bugs in our information.

8. Spider Mites

Spider mites are tremendous frequent houseplant pests. These tiny little arachnids are frequent in dry, heat environments, which is usually what we discover in our properties.

There are a number of species that you will discover indoors, however the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) is commonest.

Intently associated to ticks, they resemble spiders however in miniature, with eight legs and an oval physique that’s below 1/fiftieth of an inch in diameter.

The 2-spotted mite is reddish-orange, however different species could be black, brown, or cream.

You in all probability received’t spot the arachnids themselves, except you employ a magnifying glass. Greater than doubtless, it is going to be the high quality webbing that they weave that you simply’ll discover first.

The pests will even trigger the leaves to show yellow or develop yellow stippling as they use their sucking mouthparts to feed.

As a result of they thrive in dry climates, you’ll be able to go a great distance towards avoiding them in the event you hold the soil of your plant moist, if acceptable, and by wiping the leaves down with a moist fabric as soon as per week. This helps take away mud anyway, so it’s behavior to get into.

Be taught extra about the best way to handle spider mites in our information.

9. Springtails

Earlier than we dive in, simply know that springtails – hexapods within the Collembola class – aren’t generally discovered on houseplants.

These elongated brown, black, grey, or white pests look just a little like fleas, and may soar in a lot the identical method, however they don’t hang around on people or animals.

As a substitute, they like moist circumstances and soil with a number of natural matter. You probably have terrariums, the probabilities are good you’ll come throughout them.

Springtails are detrivores, which suggests they eat decaying plant matter within the soil. Technically, they feed on the fungi and micro organism that feed on the decaying natural matter.

The necessary level is that they don’t feed in your reside vegetation, so they’re extra of a nuisance than a giant downside.

If you happen to’re discovering them on houseplants, the answer is straightforward: water much less typically. Let the soil dry out a bit extra between watering. Most vegetation can survive with much less water than you assume and the springtails will die off or transfer onto greener pastures.

On the subject of terrariums, hobbyists will deliberately introduce these critters as a result of they could be a constructive a part of a wholesome enclosed setting, so simply allow them to be.

10. Thrips

Thrips (order Thysanoptera) aren’t as frequent as aphids or spider mites, however like many different critters on this listing, they’ll piggyback on a plant introduced in from exterior or from the grower’s greenhouse.

Thrips go away stippled silvery markings as they use their sucking mouthparts to feed on the foliage of vegetation.

These lengthy, slim black, cream, or brown bugs are minuscule, not often bigger than one millimeter in size.

The silvery speckling on the foliage is on account of the enzymes the pests inject as they feed, however you may additionally see scarring and yellow halos, which come from egg laying.

In addition they go away black fecal matter behind as they transfer round.

11. Whiteflies

If you happen to’ve ever walked previous one in all your houseplants and noticed an explosion of flying bugs, these would have been whiteflies.

Whiteflies aren’t the most typical houseplant pests, however they aren’t extraordinary. They’re typically present in greenhouses.

Injury is restricted if the inhabitants stays small, but when numbers enhance, these pests can drain your plant of power and trigger the foliage to fall off.

Whiteflies are bugs within the Aleyrodidae household and are carefully associated to mealybugs and aphids.

Like these family, they use their sucking mouthparts to feed on the sap within the plant. As they do, the foliage may flip yellow or have yellow speckles.

Because the harm worsens, the leaves will die and fall off the plant. Whiteflies additionally excrete honeydew, which ends up in a sticky substance that covers the foliage.