By taking a few simple precautions, you can lessen the chances of insects attacking your plants considerably...
~Always use clean pots and planters when repotting.
~Always use sterile potting soil. Using garden soil can have disastrous effects.
~Isolate any new plants for a month or so, and check them frequently for signs of insects or disease. This also applies to any of your plants that may have been outside for the summer.
~Promptly remove dead flowers or leaves from plants, and isolate any plants you suspect may be infested..
~Give your plant a bath now and then with a soft cloth and a little soapy lukewarm water.
~Examine your plants now and then, don't wait for them to start looking sad. Use a magnifying glass to look for mites.
~Proper feeding, care and fresh air make a healthy plant which is more resistant to insect problems.
The insects encountered the most often are spider mites, aphids, mealybugs, scale, whitefly, and many soil dwelling insects. If the problem is found early enough, it can often be taken care without the use of insecticides, and that is, by far, the best way.
It is very important to read the instructions and warnings that the manufacturer puts on the label of an insecticide, especially the warning that says to use outdoors in a well ventilated area! Some pesticides, which control insects, can actually kill certain plants. Be sure that you are using the right product for the insect you have. Don't spray your plant once and forget it, check every week or so for signs of the return of the bug. Any single pesticide does not usually kill all pests and repeat applications are usually necessary. When used properly most chemicals are tested and safe to use.
Aphids are common house plant insects but fortunately, easily controlled. Aphids suck sap from the plant and can cause new growth to be stunted and distorted. Aphids may be just about any color and are found on new growth and on the underside of the leaves, usually clustered together in a group. Heavy infestations cover the plant with a sticky honeydew. Aphids can be controlled with pyrethrins and pyrethroid, and systemic insecticides.
Spider mites are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. They are extremely small and a magnifying glass is usually needed to see them. They usually attack new leaves and buds. Plants infested with mites lose their green color and appear bronzed or washed out. In severe cases, the mites will form a fine webbing covering the underside of leaves. Once a plant is infested with mites, control will be difficult, if not impossible. Isolate your plant immediately, and dip it or spray it weekly with insecticidal soap. Systemic insecticides are sometimes effective if used soon enough, before it gets out of hand. Be sure that the product you use is listed as being effective against mites, and follow the directions on the label.
Aside from using chemical sprays, which specify that they will control spider mites, the other thing you could do would be use good old soap and water. Getting rid of the spider mites will take perseverance or you will just postpone the next infestation. Make certain to spray the bottoms of the leaves.
Mites can reproduce ever 3-7 days, so it is critical that you spray on a daily basis until the problem is under control. Dry air encourages spider mites to breed so anything you can do to increase the surrounding humidity will help you in your 'mite fight'.
Mealybugs look like little white tufts of cotton so they are often mistaken for a disease. They are normally found on the underside of leaves or on stems at the apex of leaf joints. Mealybu
gs suck out the plant juices, often stunting or killing the plants. The white, waxy coating protects the insects from sprays, making control difficult. Treatments are complicated in severe infestations because of "layering" by the mealybugs. It is not unusual to find great clusters of them two or three deep. Lightly sprayed insecticides do not penetrate well and usually kill only the outer layer. Touching each insect with a small brush or Q-tip dipped in alcohol will kill them, but the babies are very small and are often overlooked, so a recurrence is possible. Be vigilant! Systemic insecticides may work.
Whitefly is a small 'white' fly. Their control is made more difficult by the fact that they will leave the plant as soon as you try to spray them. The immature stage of whitefly is scale-like and doesn't move, so it is in this stage that you must defeat them by weekly spraying or dipping with insecticidal soap.
Scale insects can be identified by looking on the underside of leaves, around leaf joints, and on the branches. Some kinds of scales infest the leaves of plants, while others are found both o
n stems and leaves, and still others are attached mainly to the stems. Scales obtain food by sucking the plant juices. Scale-damaged plants look withered and sickly and may have sticky sap or a black fungus on the leaves and stems. Scale insects often build up to large numbers because they go undetected. Scale insects vary considerably in appearance. Know what you're looking for. Scales are insects with piercing/sucking mouth parts. Female scale insects look like small (1/10 to 1/5 inch), oval, legless bumps. They may be circular, oval, elliptical to oyster-shell shaped and even linear and rectangular. Some are flattened and others elevated, resembling a tortoise shell. Colors range from white to black, but grays and browns are predominate. Most species are from 1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter. The males are minute yellow-winged insects, and the larvae resemble small mealybugs.
Soft scales can be difficult to control since their protective covering largely prevents contact insecticides from being effective. However, spray oils are the most effective treatments for scales. Alcohol and soap sprays may also provide some control of scales, particularly crawler and very young, poorly protected stages. Where infestations are not widespread, scales can be killed by rubbing or picking them off. Fairly minor disturbance of the settled scale can break its mouthparts, causing it to starve. Scales killed in this manner, or by soaps or oils, may remain in place and appear similar to living scales.
Crawler stages are susceptible to most houseplant insecticides. However, insecticides must maintain coverage throughout an entire generation of the insect (two to four months) to eliminate further infestation. Short persisting insecticides, such as pyrethrins and resmethrin, need to be reapplyed at least once per week. Longer persisting treatments, such as bifenthrin and permethrin are effective for scale control when used at longer intervals. Soil applied systemic insecticide, imidacloprid, should be effective for most soft scale infestations.
Fungus Gnats were once thought to be a nuisance pest only in the greenhouse and outside. However, fungus gnats make their way into your home in the fall or on new plants you br
ing home.
This is a small (1/8" long), mosquito-like insect with long legs and antennae. Females lay their eggs near a food source, which is in the root zone of plants. The larvae are translucent to white in color with a distinctive black head. Their life-cycle may be completed in as little as three to four weeks depending upon temperature. Ferti-lome Triple Action Plus RTU can be used outside and inside for control of fungus gnats. The best treatment is to spray the top of the soil in your potted plants. The adults will come in contract with it as they climb in and out of the soil. Since their life cycle is three to four weeks, repeated applications will be necessary. Trying to spray the adult, flying around your house will be useless and not effective. You can control fungus gnats organically by mixing dietamatios earth to the soil.
