Even the most pampered houseplants can occasionally fall victim to unwanted visitors. Pests can sneak in with new plants, through open windows, or even in potting soil. The key is catching them early and acting fast. Here are five of the most common culprits, what to look for, and how to remove them before they spread to the rest of your plants.
Spider Mites
What to look for:
Tiny moving specks (red, brown, or translucent) and delicate webbing between leaves and stems. Leaves may develop a speckled, dusty look and start to yellow or drop.
Common causes:
Spider mites thrive in warm, dry environments. Central heating season is basically their VIP party for them.
How to get rid of them:
Increase humidity around your plant (they hate moisture). Give your plant a gentle shower with lukewarm water to wash away as many mites as possible. Follow up with a neem oil or spray every few days for two weeks. This will help eliminate them from every stage of their lifecycle.
Scale Insects
What to look for:
Small, oval, shell-like bumps along stems and the underside of leaves. These are actually the pests themselves, and they can be brown, white, or even black.
Common causes:
Scale insects love to latch onto juicy plant sap and are great at hiding in leaf joints and undersides. They can enter your indoor collection through clothing, open windows or even via other plants.
How to get rid of them:
Physically remove them by gently scraping with a fingernail or cotton bud dipped in alcohol. For heavier infestations, prune affected areas and treat the plant with a horticultural oil or neem spray once a week for a month. Luckily, scale insects are one of the more easier pests to manage due to their slow-growing and slow-moving nature.
Fungus Gnats
What to look for:
Tiny black flies that hover around your plant or crawling over the soil surface. The larvae live in the soil and feed on organic matter (and sometimes roots).
Common causes:
Consistently damp soil is their perfect breeding ground. They’ll move in fast if your watering routine is too generous.
How to get rid of them:
Most often than not, fungus gnats go away on their own accord when you allow the soil to dry out slightly more than usual. If the infestation is more sever, you can use yellow sticky traps to catch adults, and water with a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution to kill larvae in the soil.
Thrips
What to look for:
Discoloured, streaky damage on leaves, sometimes with tiny black dots (droppings). New growth may be twisted or deformed.
Common causes:
Thrips love warm, cosy homes and are pros at sneaking in through open windows or hitching a ride on new plants. This is especially true during the warm summer months.
How to get rid of them:
Cut off any badly affected leaves. Rinse the rest of the plant thoroughly with lukewarm water (sometimes a good shower can do the trick!). Then treat with a spray every three days for two weeks. Sticky traps can also help catch adults before they spread.
Mealybugs
What to look for:
White, fluffy, cotton-like clumps on stems, leaves, or in crevices. They often look like bits of lint but are actually soft-bodied insects.
Common causes:
They’re sap-sucking pests that can spread quickly between plants, often hitchhiking on new plant purchases.
How to get rid of them:
Wipe them off with a cotton bud dipped in rubbing alcohol. For bigger infestations, shower the plant to dislodge bugs, then spray with neem oil or insecticidal soap every few days until they’re gone.
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