Sadly, in most cases, the presence of insects on house plants is not realized until the plants begin showing signs of damage and stress – spotting, deformed leaves, streaking, discoloration, wilting, dropping of flower buds and so on. The constant warmth indoors and the lack of beneficial predators that are found in the great outdoors can lead to the rapid increase of insect populations.

Inside our homes, with conditions usually favouring the pests, common houseplant insects and mites can multiply so quickly that their development is completed in less than two weeks. Rapid growth combined with the constant reproduction of new generations can only mean one thing: you’ve got a problem.

        
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How do you avoid infestations? How do you deal with them when they happen?

Don’t Stop For Hitchhikers

The best thing to do is to avoid bringing insects home with you to begin with. Most pests find their way into your home on newly-purchased plants. I can’t stress enough how important it is to inspect houseplants that you are considering purchasing and adding to your indoor collection.

Store-bought plants should be checked carefully for signs of infestation and never purchased if found to be infected. It may be a beautiful specimen that you are holding in your hands but the pesky critters that have set up shop on it will also be moving in with you. It’s easy to say “I’ll deal with the infestation” but if you have other houseplants at home, that infestation can spread rapidly and you’ll have a major problem to contend with.

When examining, watch for mottled or discolored leaves, sticky secretion, fine webbing and overall poor health. Check leaf axils, undersides of leaves, bud clusters and up and down stems. Never check only the top of leaves; most insects live on the underside of them.

Once a plant has passed the health and insect inspection, isolate it from other plants for two to three weeks to ensure that there are no stowaways. Although you may have seen no visible signs of insects when purchasing, unhatched eggs of future generations may have been on the plant you brought home.

        
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Just as you would examine a plant before buying, be just as wary when a friend offers to give you one of his or her plants or offers to give you some cuttings from one that you have been longing for. Make sure to examine this plant or cutting almost as carefully as you would in a commercial store. Don’t take a chance on introducing problems into your home. Being picky about which plants to bring home with you will lessen the possibility of headaches further on down the line.

So you checked and checked again. The plants seem healthy enough and you’re confident that no uninvited guests have followed you home. Unfortunately your plants can get infested at any time. Oh no…

But wait! There are precautions you can take to reduce the possibilities…


Tips for Keeping Houseplants Pest Free

With a little care and commitment you can avoid infestations. At the very least even if an infestation occurs, if you are vigilante in watching your plants closely, you will avoid a major infestation and eliminate it quickly. Create a very unpleasant atmosphere for insects and it’ll go a long way in keeping them at bay.

Here are a few things that can help deter insect infestations:

Purchase Wisely

There is a beautiful and vast variety of houseplants to choose from, and when you visit a greenhouse that is properly maintained all the plants look amazingly vibrant and healthy. You want to bring them all home. You don’t care whether you have the right environment or not. You don’t think about what type of light or humidity each plant requires. All you see is this gorgeous specimen that will be a focal point on the coffee table in your living room. And it will be…for a short while. But after it’s been away for too long from its ideal greenhouse setting, it will start to decline quickly and all you’ll be left with is a sad looking shell of a once gorgeous plant.

The right light, the right ambience and the right setting in greenhouses, along with newly-arrived houseplants (no wonder they’re so healthy), make it difficult to restrain yourself from choosing plants that you can’t keep healthy at home. Select houseplants that are well-suited to the indoor environment that you can provide. Be informed about your environment as well as the type of environment that a specific plant needs.

Can you provide enough light for a sun lover? Can you increase humidity for a plant that will shrivel up into a crispy mess in air that is too dry?

Choosing wisely will go a long way in avoiding future problems. Houseplants whose needs have been met in the right environment will be healthy and grow actively. When plants are in tip-top shape they are in a better position to fend off insects and diseases.

Make sure you bring home houseplants that are suitable to your environment. Provide the right amount of light and humidity. Your houseplants will thrive and the potential for problems will be minimized.


Good Housekeeping 101

1. Indoor plants that receive regular cleaning and pampering will not only look their best but they’ll also be much less susceptible to infestations. Dust and dirt that accumulates on foliage is a favorable setting for many insects. Just wiping leaves periodically removes dust along with some mites or insects.

   If you have the time and energy, you can discourage pest infestations dramatically by washing your plants every two to three weeks. We’re not talking major baths here. Just rinsing them in the sink or shower, or with a hose outdoors in the summer, can dislodge and kill off many critters thus preventing a problematic infestation.

   For much larger plants that are too heavy to lug over to the sink or into the shower, you can wipe their leaves with a soft, wet cloth or sponge. Make sure to wipe the underside of leaves where most insects gather. In addition, you can add a little mild soap once in awhile to the water to further eliminate pests. Regular cleaning improves the overall health of your plant as well as its appearance. I clean my plants every two to three weeks and I can guarantee you that the plants shine because of it. By cleaning regularly, you are removing dust and grime from the pores, which allows your plant to breathe better. In return your houseplants will be able to fight off intruders quite well on their own.

2. Never use a feather duster or any kind of duster on your houseplants. It’s tempting because it’s such a quick and simple solution but it’s an invitation to trouble. If there are any insects, mites or eggs present on the plant, they will attach themselves to the duster and hitch a ride. Feather dusters are a comfy taxi ride for pests and a quick way to spread problems from one plant to the next.

3. Give them the space, proper food and fresh air they require. Place houseplants with enough space between them to allow for ample air circulation. Open up windows to bring in fresh air. Run fans, floor or ceiling, to circulate the air. Stale air is a favorable condition for insects

4. Feed your houseplants as needed to keep them happy. A well cared for plant is a healthy plant and a healthy plant is more resistant to insect problems.

5. Promptly remove dead flowers or leaves. They won’t rejuvenate.

6. Don’t wait until your plants start looking distressed. Examine them regularly to catch problems in their early stages. It’ll be easier to eliminate insects when there are just a few of them instead of whole colonies. A few simple precautions can lessen the chances of insects attacking your plants. No plant is 100% safe from pesky critters but stronger, healthier plants are much less vulnerable.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you’ve tried or how persistent you’ve been in providing wonderful care for your plants, an invasion occurs. Insects are so widespread and so tiny that there are boundless ways for them to get into your house - through windows, attached to your clothing, even carried in by your hands. The good news – if you’ve been cleaning and caring regularly for your plants – is that you will catch the problem in its early stages and it’ll be easier to contend with.

Any plant suspected of having a pest problem should be isolated to avoid a widespread epidemic. If the infestation is just at the beginning, you can use physical means – hand-picking or tweezers – to remove pests. Washing the plants with soapy water and applying it every 7 to 14 days until there is no more evidence of intruders works very well. Hosing down larger plants in the shower will also dislodge insects.

        
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There are many different ways to deal with houseplant pests, but no matter what type of treatment you use to eradicate pests, be persistent; don’t expect a pest infestation to disappear after one treatment. Adult insects and other pests may be hidden in leaf axils or under leaves. Eggs laid in the soil or on the plants are also likely to survive the initial treatment. Perseverance is the key to eliminating pests before they eliminate your plants. There are many insects that attack plants but the insects encountered the most are mealybugs, scale, whitefly, fungus gnats, mites, aphids, thrips and various soil insects.

For extreme infestations the most practical and sensible solution is to throw away the plant, soil included. At best, you may be able to salvage some cuttings if you can clean them thoroughly and start all over again.


Why Insects & Pests Hate Hydroculture

When my houseplants were growing in soil, the one thing I hated the most was the inability to reach every nook and cranny of my plant therefore granting hiding places to uninvited guests. No matter how hard I hosed, how well I washed or how much I wiped, they always found a safe haven – primarily in the soil.

The leaf dwellers ran up and down stems, the soil borne dug in deeper to try and save themselves. Many times I won the battle after lengthy and cumbersome treatments, other times I won the battle but lost the war. The insects on leaves upset me and the pests in the soil – mostly worm-like – traumatized me.

And then along came hydroculture.

One of the most wonderful things I discovered when I started hydroculture is that there are no more soil pests – none, zero, nada. That alone is music to my ears. I no longer have to be traumatized by millipedes poking their heads out of soil and sticking their tongues out at me as they quickly dive back in. Did you know that if left in the soil to multiply that they will very likely overcrowd the pot in time and migrate out in search of new host plants? Can you imagine millipedes tumbling over the sides of your houseplant’s pot and wandering around your home? It’s enough to send me screaming out of the house!

No need to head for the hills.

No more soil = no more soil pests
No more soil pests = no more millipedes
Ever

But what about the leaf dwellers?

Even the leaf-dwelling pests don’t stand a chance. Since I started hydroculture, I have fewer problems with insects in general and definitely no problems in keeping the pests at bay. In one incident with spider mites – boy did they choose the wrong home – their eradication was immediate. I guess no one told the mites that unlike soil-based plants, hydroculture ones can be removed from their pots and completely submerged in water - leaves, stem, roots - long enough to drown every last one of those pesky critters. And along with that, the pot and pellets can also be submerged and cleaned thoroughly from every last trace of an unwanted invasion.

No place to hide. No room to breathe. No need for lengthy battles. Just quick and effective solutions.

Can you imagine never having to deal with fungus gnats again? Ever? Hey, I’m sold.