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Index : Pests
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- 11. What's Bugging Your House Plants - Top
- There are a few common insects that attack house plants. If detected early, they can be controlled with little effort. However, because these insects are rather small, and hard to see, they may not be noticed until they have caused serious injury to your plants. Here are the ones to be on the lookout for, and what to do if you find them.
Spider mites are tiny creatures that love many types of indoor plants. They are especially fond of palms, schefflera, spider plant, ivies, and weeping fig. The first indication of the presence of mites is a dusty appearance to the leaves. Upon closer examination a fine webbing is often found on the underneath surface of the leaves. With good eyes, mites can be seen as small, moving specks resembling dust particles. They are easier to see with a magnifying glass. Mites feed by sucking out plant fluids. As a result, the leaves become speckled and yellow. Eventually, the leaves will begin dropping off.
Mites can be controlled with a soapy spray. You can mix your own by adding one teaspoon of liquid dish washing detergent in a 32 ounce plastic spray bottle filled with water. Be sure and spray the underside of leaves as well as the top. It will be necessary to apply a second spray 7 days after the first. The second application kills any mites that have hatched from eggs after the initial application.
Mealybugs, another common type of house plant pest, are oval-shaped insects about one-quarter to one-half inch long. They are covered with a white powder on top with white ‘spiky' projections coming out from their body. Most often they are found at the base of the leaves or on the stems. Mealybugs do crawl, but most times they stay fixed in one spot. They are commonly found on African violet, begonia, schefflera, jade plant, dieffenbachia, and peperomia. When newly hatched, mealybugs are very small and are hard to detect. If you see white specks that look like cotton, these are the young mealys.
Like mites, mealybugs are sucking insects and will cause leaves to drop off. They can do serious damage and require strong control measures. Fortunately, one of the best controls for mealybugs is a very safe product called Neem. It is a naturally occurring compound extracted from the Neem tree that kills mealybugs on contact. A closely related product also derived from the Neem tree, called Neemix, will also control mealybugs. Both sprays can be found at most garden and home supply stores. Because sprays can damage African violet leaves most violet growers treat them with a systemic insecticide placed in the soil.
Although not as common as mites and mealybugs, I am seeing more and more plants with hard shell scale insects. In some cases these insects are probably coming in on plants directly from the wholesale growers. Scales are typically flat and round, some barely visible, others as large as one-half inch across. They look like scabs, mostly brown in color. The actually sucking insect can be found under it's protective scale covering. Although scales can be located on any part of the leaves or stems, they are most commonly found attached to the leaf veins on the undersides of leaves.
There are two effective means to control scale. The first, is to spray the plant with an oil spray formulated just to control scale on plants. The two garden oils I recommend are ‘Sun Spray' and ‘Saf-T-Side'. Both are refined oils, safe to spray on most plants. The oil coats the scales, and kills them by suffocation. To be safe, test the oil by spraying a few leaves and wait 3 or 4 days to see if there are any adverse reactions. Alternatively, a systemic insect killer, such as Isotox, may be applied to the soil. It is taken up by the plant's roots and up into the leaves and then is ingested by the feeding scales.
Springtail, a common pest found in the soil of indoor plants, is a tiny wingless insect about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. The name comes from their ability to catapult themselves through the air three or four inches, by a spring-like mechanism in their tail. When soil containing springtails is disturbed, they can be seen flitting about. Although they most commonly feed on decaying organic matter (moist peat), they can also feed on plant roots.
Safer's Insecticidal Soap is registered for control of springtails in and around the home. A soil drench of this product is the most effective way to eliminate these pests. Follow label directions as to the amount to use and the method of application. Plants may also be repotted in new, well-drained potting soil. The old soil should be washed from the roots of the plant and discarded, to dispose of springtails and prevent their transfer to the new soil. If a pot is overrun with large numbers of springtails, it's best just to get rid of the plant, soil and all!
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161. - Updated: December 21, 2003
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