Buying houseplants brighten up any home, adding a splash of colour and helping to purify the air. But it’s a big problem when those pretty plants bring in annoying bugs. If you want to get rid of bugs on plants in an eco-friendly way, keep reading!
Bugs and pests are the bane of every gardener’s existence. They attack our beautiful plants and flowers damaging leaves eating buds, and spreading disease. Getting rid of these pesky critters organically and naturally can feel like an impossible task. However, with the right techniques and products, you can win the battle against bugs in your garden and protect your plants.
Why Bugs Attack Plants
Bugs feed on plants for nutrients, moisture, shelter, and places to lay eggs. Common plant pests include aphids, mealybugs, mites, caterpillars, thrips, scales, and whiteflies. They use needle-like mouthparts to pierce plant tissue and suck out sap. This damages plants and can spread viruses. Chewing pests like caterpillars and beetles directly eat parts of plants. Other bugs lay eggs on plants, which later hatch and infest the host plant.
Understanding why bugs attack certain plants helps you find solutions tailored to specific pests. For example, aphids love soft, new growth while mealybugs hide in leaf joints. Identify the culprits eating your plants and target them directly.
Cultural and Physical Controls
The first line of defense against plant pests is cultural and physical control. These non-chemical methods disrupt bug lifecycles and make plants less appealing places for them to live and feed. Cultural solutions include:
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Crop rotation – Move plant families to different parts of your garden each year. This exposes bugs to new environmental conditions.
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Sanitation – Remove infested plants, fallen leaves, weeds, and garden debris that harbor pests. Clean tools and stakes between uses.
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Row covers – Lightweight fabric row covers create physical barriers against bugs. Use them over seedlings and small plants.
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Pruning – Prune diseased or infested plant parts Sterilize shears between cuts with rubbing alcohol
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Water management – Avoid overhead watering and provide plants proper drainage. Excess moisture encourages fungal diseases and pests like aphids.
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Attract beneficials – Invite ladybugs, lacewings, birds, and other natural predators into your garden by providing food and habitat sources. They eat garden pests.
Organic Sprays and Dusts
When cultural fixes fail to stop a bug infestation, use organic sprays and dusts. Always read product labels and test a small area first for plant sensitivity. Monitor treated plants for effectiveness and reapply as directed. Some organic insecticide options include:
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Insecticidal soaps – Potassium salts of fatty acids disrupt insect membranes and kill soft-bodied pests like aphids, mites, and scales.
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Neem oil – Extracted from the neem tree, this oil smothers juvenile and adult stages of insects when sprayed thoroughly on plants.
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Diatomaceous earth – Tiny fossilized shells damage the waxy protective coating on soft-bodied bugs, causing dehydration and death. Avoid breathing in the dust.
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Garlic/hot pepper spray – Garlic, onions, hot peppers, and extracts repel chewing pests. Oils clog breathing holes on soft-bodied insects.
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Horticultural oils – These oils smother aphid, mite, scale, and other soft-bodied pest eggs and adults on contact when applied as dormant sprays.
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Pyrethrin/rotenone – Derived respectively from chrysanthemums and tropical legumes, these nerve toxins kill most insect pests but break down quickly to limit harm to beneficials. Use cautiously.
Targeted Solutions for Common Pests
Tailoring control methods to specific bugs improves results. Here are tips for managing some of the most problematic garden pests without using harsh chemicals:
Aphids – Knock off heavy infestations with a strong spray of water. Apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to kill nymphs and adults. Attract ladybugs and green lacewings to eat them.
Mealybugs – Dip a q-tip in alcohol and use it to kill visible mealybugs. Apply horticultural oil or neem sprays to smother nymphs crawling deep in plant joints.
Caterpillars – Hand pick green loopers and hornworms off plants. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sprays to kill young larvae. Encourage birds and beneficial wasps.
Thrips – Use sticky traps to monitor for these tiny sap-sucking pests. Knock them off with water sprays. Spray insecticidal soap or spinosad in the evenings for best control.
Spider mites – These tiny pests thrive in hot, dry conditions. Blast plants with water to dislodge them. Apply neem oil or insecticidal soap repeatedly to kill mites hiding on undersides of leaves.
Scales – Prune heavily infested stems. Use a soft brush or cotton swab dipped in alcohol to scrub off scales. Spray horticultural oil or insecticidal soap in early spring before growth starts.
Whiteflies – Hang up yellow sticky traps to monitor for adults. Use insecticidal soap repeatedly to kill emerging nymphs before they develop waxy coatings. Use row covers to exclude pests.
Controlling garden pests without chemicals requires persistence and an integrated approach. Combine cultural practices like sanitation and row covers with organic sprays and targeted solutions matched to specific bugs you find on your plants. With vigilance, you can gain the upper hand against pests and protect your garden plants.
How To Get Rid Of Bugs On Plants Indoors
The good news is, most damage can be prevented if you remove the pests in a timely manner. The even better news is that we have natural remedies that work, so you can stop wondering how to get rid of bugs on plants and get rid of them for good!
For best results, stay away from plants that have pests and don’t bring them home in the first place.
Whenever you buy a new houseplant from a nursery or gardening center, make sure to check it carefully for signs of pests. Make sure to check under the leaves for clusters of white, brown or red spots. These could signal an aphid, scales or spider mites infestation. Next, make sure to look for bugs where the stems meet the leaves. This is where thrips usually are. Last but not least, look for fungus gnats by rubbing your fingers through the soil around the plant and looking for dark, fly-like pests that are about 1/8 of an inch long.
Best Ways To Spot Bugs On Houseplants
A spider, beetle, or ant may show up on your indoor plants once in a while, but they probably won’t do any harm to them. In fact, spiders can actually feast on plant-eating insects that are plaguing your pots. Don’t worry that these bugs will hurt your Fiddle Leaf Fig! The bugs we’re going to talk about are actually much less well-known pests that can do a lot of damage to your plants, like yellowing, wilting, or stunted growth, if you let them.
Plants can turn yellow for a number of reasons, such as not getting enough water, sudden changes in temperature, or too much humidity. However, these three common household pests, whiteflies, spider mites, and mealybugs, can also be to blame. Each of these three pests has a sharp mouth that they use to pierce plant leaves and stems and then suck the plant’s juices right out of the tissue. If any of these three insects get into your houseplant, they can quickly use up all of its nutrients, which will cause its leaves to turn yellow and fall off.
Not giving your plants enough water can make them droop or wilt, but so can adult thrips or young scale! These pests tend to gather on your plants in groups, usually on the underside of the leaves. They feed on sap. Scale nymph and thrips are both very small—only a few millimeters long—which can make it hard to see an infestation with the naked eye.
Some pests, such as broad mites, can actually stunt plant growth. Broad mites tend to thrive during warm summer days. Their feeding habits can actually deform and stunt the growth of plant leaves. Broad mites prefer to feed on new growth. The deformed growth is actually caused by toxins in their saliva. You may still see some deformed new growth after getting rid of the infestation.
DIY Bug Spray for Plants | creative explained
FAQ
What’s the best thing to kill bugs on plants?
How do you kill bugs in soil without killing plants?
How do I get rid of bugs in my plant pots?
Does vinegar kill bugs on plants?
What pests live on indoor plants?
Common pests that live on indoor plant leaves include aphids, whitefly, spider mites, thrips, mealybugs, and scale. Now that you know what the most common houseplant pests are, let’s find out more about them. Identifying the type of bugs or pests on your indoor plants will help you control them before they do permanent damage.
What pests live on plant leaves?
The most common houseplant pests that you can find on the plant’s leaves or in the soil are fungus gnats. These soil dwelling pests look like small dark flies similar to fruit flies and their larvae could damage roots. Common pests that live on indoor plant leaves include aphids, whitefly, spider mites, thrips, mealybugs, and scale.
What are the most common houseplant pests?
Some of the most common houseplant pests, like aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies, can cause major damage to the plants you spent so long tending to, but following these DIY tricks can help you identify, prevent, and remove harmful pests from your houseplants. Buying houseplants can put you at risk for harboring unwanted pest infestations.