If you like to have your gardening experience come from tending plants both outdoors and indoors, then you probably have many potted plants spread out in strategic locations around your house.
You might think that since these plants are indoors, insects would not bother them. That is often not the case. Tiny mites or flies among other very tiny critters can threaten your plants even tough they are indoors.
If these pests are not taken care of, then your plants could be doomed. Plant experts advise that you get rid of this threat as soon as you notice a problem.
A mite. (Courtesy: Bramblejungle at flickr.com.)problem.
Things you will need to treat the infestation of bugs on potted indoor plants include:
· Gardening gloves
· Rubbing alcohol
· Cotton swabs
· Thin cotton cloth
· Spray bottle
· Liquid soap
· Water
· Potting soil
Here are steps you can take to get rid of the pests.
1. Check for signs of infestation. Signs that your plant is being attacked include curling leaves, brown spots, tiny white smudges and bumps on the stems.
2. Quarantine the infested plants from the healthy ones. Move them to a location far away from the fit plants.
3. Identify the bugs. Try and do some research to identify the bugs pestering your plants. There may be apps for this or you can explore the Internet using your favorite search engine. Once you know what kind of bugs they are you can adapt a plan to get rid of that specific species. Spider mites, which look like bits of dust, lay white eggs underneath leaves of indoor plants.
4. Wipe the bugs and eggs off with a cotton swab. Make sure to wear gardening gloves when you perform this activity. After you have wiped away as many bugs and eggs as you can, dip a cotton swab or thin cotton rag into rubbing alcohol and apply it to the plant’s stem and leaves. This will get rid of bugs and eggs that may be sheltered from a spray.
5. Spray the plant with a soapy solution. Mix a nontoxic spray consisting of a pint of water with one tablespoon of liquid soap. Place the formula into a spray bottle, shake it well and spray the plants. The suds will suffocate most of the bugs that infest the plant. It will not kill the eggs. That’s why you wiped your plant off in step 4.
6. Scoop the bugs from the top layer of soil. Many types of bugs including pill bugs like to hide in the soil.
7. Re-pot the plant. If you notice that the bug infestation in the soil is bad, then re-pot the plant. When you remove the plant to re-pot, shake off as much extra soil as possible. Dump out the contaminated soil and make certain that the pot is free of any lingering bugs. Use fresh soil to re-pot the plant.
