Insects on Your Indoor Plants? Make Soil-Free Potting Mix

Are you having problems with insects on your indoor plants? Potting soil can appear to be free from insects, but the larvae can be present, and before long, houseplants end up infested with bugs. If you don't get rid of insects living in the soil of indoor plants, they could spread to other plants in your home and cause an extensive amount of damage that eventually results in the death of your plants.

Insects living in the soil of indoor plants can be very hard to get rid of, and they can be hard to kill. Insecticides sometimes end up killing the plants before they kill the insects, and unfortunately, environmentally friendly home remedies to get rid of insects don't always work.

You can eliminate problems with insects in the soil of indoor plants by getting rid of standard potting medium and replacing it with a planting medium that's healthy and soil-free. If you've had problems with insects on your indoor plants, consider planting houseplants in a soil-free potting mix that's chock full of vitamins and minerals. This soil-free potting mix will be virtually free of insects that can feed on and ultimately destroy indoor plants.

Ingredients

To make a bushel of soil-free potting mix that will make your plants vigorous and healthy, you'll need four gallons of peat moss, four gallons of perlite, one and one-half cups of crushed eggshells, two tablespoons of bonemeal, and one-half cup of a 5-10-5 granular houseplant fertilizer. Although it adds to the cost of this soil-free potting mix, you can use one-half cup of dolomite limestone instead of the crushed eggshells. Also, if you'd rather not use bonemeal in your soil-free potting mix, you can make it with one tablespoon of superphosphate in place of the bonemeal.

Even though the cost of this soil-free potting mix is somewhat higher than the cost of standard potting soil, your indoor plants will benefit twofold. Not only will your plants be free from the ravages of damaging soil-borne insects, but your plants will benefit from the nourishing ingredients of this soil-free potting mix.

Mixing and Usage Instructions

Make this soil-free potting mixture in a tall bucket or similar container, and with the help of an old kitchen colander, strain the perlite and the peat moss to condition it and break up any large clumps. Add the remaining ingredients, and combine them thoroughly.

Use this soil-free potting mixture as you would use standard potting soil. Your plants will grow strong, healthy, and with proper care, your soil-free potting mix, and indoor plants, will be free from destructive insects.