Green Guide to Identifying and Managing Houseplant Pests

Houseplant pests are especially difficult to deal with because they concentrate themselves on a single plant and lack a garden full of plants to move onto. The lack of beneficial insects that would be found outdoors also allows for these pests to go unchecked, making it your sole responsibility to identify and manage them.

If you have, or are interested in keeping, houseplants, it is important that you are able to identify the 3 most common pests that can harm them and then manage them in an environmentally safe way. It might surprise you to find out that managing pests indoors the green way is actually easier and a lot easier on the budget.

Slugs
Slimy slugs are usually only found on those plants that are transported from the garden indoors, which is often the case when neighbors and friends share their plants or plants are brought indoors to winter. If you spot any leaves on your plant that have gaping holes in the center, slugs, which resemble snails without their shells are probably the culprit. Check for them under the leaves, along the nodes of stems and hiding under any debris in the potting soil.

If you find slugs, there are three quick solutions to your problem. The first is to simply pluck them off and either transplant them outside or quickly off them. You can set up a simple slug trap with a slice of cucumber at the base of your houseplants because these pests are looking for the easiest tasty meal. Place the slices in the soil at night and toss the remainder of the slice and all the slugs. Finally, deter them entirely by placing a ring of copper wire around the base of your plants.

Aphids
Aphids are tiny, destructive, soft bodied pests that are especially fond of houseplants that have been brought home from the nursery. There are plenty of beneficial insects that thrive on aphids, but indoors, they are very difficult to remove entirely, especially when you do not actively try to reduce their numbers. Aphids cause plants to stop growing and eventually kill them because they love feeding on new plant growth, so look for the light green to clear bodied pests near buds and at the tips of growth sites.

In a clean spray bottle add two cups water, and a clove of crushed garlic, if you have tea tree oil add a drop for an even better repellent. Spray this mixture directly onto the aphids and follow up with a water rinse on the following day.

Spider Mites
Like aphids, spider mites are capable of multiplying quickly, but the danger in them is that they are capable of killing your houseplant before you are even aware of their existence. Spider mites are generally found on the underside of leaves, grouped together, with spider webbing over them. Also, watch for pinpricks in the leaves of your plants, which are the markings they leave behind as they feed.

Because they are susceptible to cool weather, take plants outside if the weather allows and use a house to thoroughly soak the leaves of your plant with cold water. If taking the houseplants outdoors is not an option because of cold weather, place potted plants in a shower or sink and run cold water over the leaves.