A houseplant looks less than healthy most often due to poor care. Some of the causes of plant diseases include the use of excessive or minimal water or light, heat, or fertilizer. However, on some occasions, the problem is pest infestation. Several insects feed on houseplants and other pests. These pests most often hitch a ride into the home on new plants or potted plants that have been outside during the summer.

Major Pests

 Let’s have a look at the major pests a plant can get infected with:

Aphids:

Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that are pear-shaped ranging from 1/16 to ⅛ of an inch in size. Woolly aphids have a body that is covered by a waxy substance while powdery aphids have a waxy coating on their body. Some adults will have wings while others will not have wings at all. Aphids are most often located on new shoots or the underside of leaves. Some feed on roots. 

They feed on plant sap causing leaves to turn yellow and become deformed. Growth may be impaired and new buds will have an abnormal development. Aphids have their way of feeding on plant tissues; as they feed, they produce a sticky substance called honeydew that makes leaves glisten. Sooty mold fungi can develop on the honeydew, making dark spots on the plant organs’ surface. 

Control:

In cases of small-scale infestations, it may be possible to remove the insects by hand, wash them with water, or wipe them with a cotton wool soaked in rubbing alcohol. Insecticidal soap spray may also be used as a treatment for a scutellate bug. In most cases, the treatment will require several applications with a gap in between. For houseplants that are taken outdoors, use insecticidal soap, neem oil extract, pyrethrins, imidacloprid, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, or lambda-cyhalothrin to eliminate aphids. Home-made plant sprays can also be used to get rid of Aphids.

Mealybugs:

Mealybugs are tiny and whitish and are scale insects. About the size of a to midsize aphids, they are approximately ⅛ to ¼ of an inch long and are extremely slow-moving. The adult females hide themselves and their eggs by coating themselves with a white waxy substance and they become cotton-like. Some of them have waxy-like filamentous structures that go beyond their bodies. 

Mealybugs are most abundant on the underside of leaves and in the axils of the leaves or where the leaf joins the stem. One of these species feeds on the roots. They feed on plant sap and they are known to cause slow and abnormal development and even death of a plant. Mealybugs also secrete honeydew and this creates a basis for the growth of sooty mold fungi. 

 

Control:

It is possible to deal with a light infestation by picking each mealybug on the foliage or plant surface or soaking cotton wool in rubbing alcohol and wiping the insect on the area affected. An insecticidal soap spray may also be used. It is also important to note that with a heavy infestation, this plant may have to be disposed of. In houseplants taken outside, use neem oil extract, pyrethrins, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, or λ-cyhalothrin on mealybugs. Mealybugs can also be controlled by imidacloprid granules placed on the soil surface and poured into it. 

Spider Mites:

Mites are not insects they are more like spiders than anything else. Since they are very tiny, the first indication of their infestation is usually plant damage. A silky web is usually observed where there is a high number of mites infesting the plants. Damage includes the appearance of small white dots on the upper side of the leaf and leads to general bleaching of the plant. Leaves turn from bronze-yellow if mites are not controlled; the plant dies if mites are present. Spider mites most often become an issue with houseplants that are kept inside all the time, such as Palms and English ivy. 

Control:

Immerse the plants that are strong stemmed plants strongly with water particularly on the undersides of the leaves so that mites and their webs are washed off. Insecticidal soap also can be applied to plants. For houseplants that are outside, use insecticidal soap, neem oil extract, or an insecticide that includes sulfur. This is why once a week for several weeks may be needed to control mites. Some plants that are taken outside during summer may have a smaller problem of spider mites. All houseplants should be put in mostly shade first because even plants that require more light may get scorched until they adjust to the new environment. 

Fungus Gnats:

Adult fungus gnats are slender and rather fragile in appearance and are about 1/8 inch in length. Sometimes one can observe them moving along or jumping close to the soil of a houseplant. These are poor flyers and they are drawn to light. The adults do not feed on houseplants but are a pest to the people.

They are frequently observed crawling in massive numbers on the windows. Fungus gnats are slender black insects with completely whitish larvae (immature forms) that can be as large as ¼-inch of their head’s shine.

The larvae mainly feed on the saprophytic matter which includes decaying plant or food matter or fungi which are found in the soils. The larvae of some species will also feed on the roots of the plants mainly in the waterways. This feeding is very detrimental to very young plants most especially to those that are still in their seedling stage.

Fungus gnats are most frequently found inside if plants are grown in pots using soil that has plenty of organic material, for example, peat. It is especially a problem when overwatering occurs This is since water is the main cause of the problem when it is in excess.

Control:

Let the soil dry before the next watering. Dry conditions will eliminate the larvae. Never let water stagnate in the saucer placed beneath the pots of the houseplants and similarly turn upside down the saucers placed beneath the plants outdoors so that rainwater is not collected there. Biological control agents such as Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis can be used; the product containing this strain is applied on the soil of the houseplants and watered. 

 

Root Ball Pests:

Floral pots that are exposed outdoors during summer have their root balls attacked by pillbugs, millipedes, and slugs. These houseplant pests may inflict minor feeding injuries on the roots of plants. They are mainly situated outside the root ball and are located in tiny hollows gouged out of the potting medium. Outside ants can also build their nests on the potting soil of houseplants. 

 

Control:

The plant container can be gently removed to check for the presence of pillbugs, millipedes, and slugs, which have to be scraped off the plant. Ant colonies in the container may be eliminated by using soil drenches of products that contain cyfluthrin or lambda-cyhalothrin. Dilute insecticide concentrates in the same ratio as for spraying, and pour the liquid through the ground in the container. It is advised that pots be allowed to drain and dry before they are brought indoors.  

Scales:

Scale insects can be divided into two groups: There are also two types of scales namely the armored scales and the soft scales. An armored scale has a covering that is not part of its body and this is a waxy substance. Scales differ in size, shape, and color as influenced by age, sex, and species. Some are flat and look like fish scales that have been pasted on a plant. Others appear to be waxy gelatinous colored objects. They vary in size from about 1/16 to ½ an inch in diameter. They are most commonly located at the stems and the bottom of the leaves but may sometimes be on the top of the leaves too. Scales prey on plants by drawing fluids through them. 

Control:

These insects in their early stages can be scraped off easily using a fingernail especially when they are not fully developed into scales. Insects are easily controlled by insecticides, however, adult scales are shielded from the insecticides due to the presence of a waxy outer layer. For houseplants outdoors, sprays containing neem oil extract or canola oil proved to be effective in controlling adult-scale insects since they smother. You should search more about How to kill bugs on indoor plants if you see a pest infestation. 

 

Whiteflies:

Whiteflies are not even flies but are insects very closely related to the scales, mealybugs, and aphids. They are tiny, measuring 1/10– to 1/16 -inch in length or somewhat like a grain of rice. Powdered like snow and with a wingspan of about the size of a moth. In repose, the wings are folded upwards and lying over the body as though like a roof. 

The immature stage is scale-like and is nonmobile. Like aphids, whiteflies also produce honeydew that makes the leaves of plants glisten and become coated with a black soot-like substance that is a fungus. If plants that have whiteflies are shaken then the whiteflies move for a while before they regain their positions.

Control:

Wash the plant. You should spray the plant well with insecticidal soap particularly the lower sides of the leaves. It will also control whiteflies in the same manner as imidacloprid granules put on the soil. For houseplants that are taken outdoors, use insecticidal soap, neem oil extract, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, or lambda-cyhalothrin for whitefly control.

Quick Houseplant Pest Control Tips

Before that let us give you some of our favorite home remedies and how to get rid of bugs on indoor plants. In the case of bugs that are found on the foliage, it is possible to wash the plant to eliminate most of the bugs. The soap used should be liquid, and the kind used should be mild. Always try it on a few of the leaves before washing the entire houseplant. If the plant is too big to be placed in a sink or a bathtub, then it is washed with soapy water spray on the foliage. One part of liquid soap should be combined with 4 parts of water and then poured into a spray bottle. If you don’t want to prepare yours, there is an organic insecticidal soap that you can purchase in the market. You could also pour either of these into the pot to get rid of bugs in the soil. Indoor plant insect spray should be used for long-term control but if it is organic it will be the best. Neem oil is a natural insect repellant that proves very effective in keeping insects away from house plants.

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