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Plant Pests
Plants in your home are captives and must rely on you for all their care. Rule #1 is to provide proper care; food, water, light, soil and drainage Certain pests and some diseases can attack your house plants so rule #2 is to be vigilant for any signs of trouble The main pests are: Aphids
Click the picture above to see yellow and
brown aphids in high rez The last picture above shows ants "farming" aphids. Ants protect the aphids (and also move them around) in order to "milk" the aphids of their sweet honeydew excretions, which ants eat Scale insects
Sooty Mold
Mealy bugs
Spider mites
White fly
Caterpillars
....but, keep in mind caterpillars = butterflies / garden Fungus Gnat
Centipedes and Millipedes
Fungus gnats are not a hazard, but they are annoying. Control with pyrethrum spray on soil. Adult life cycle is only about one month Centipedes and millipedes are also soil insects and not a
hazard either. Pick them off or spray with
pyrethrum Sri Lankin Beatle
Sri Lankin Beatle is new in South Florida. These pests love Bauhinia (Orchid trees) and chew the leaf edges. Notice in the left side of the picture above the round cut-outs eaten by this pest ...cosmetic disruption seems all they do. Control with Organicide and/or Sevin spray ___________ Cathy from Florida wrote in to say mothballs worked for her in keeping white flies away... "Those trees to which I did not tie mothballs to are loaded with whiteflies and eggs. However the interesting thing is those trees which have the mothballs hanging from them have no, none, nada whiteflies, eggs, bugs of any kind." Keeping your plants clean, on a schedule, is the best way to thwart the bugs. Regular washing with water will keep leaf pores clean and rinse away insects even before you see them. For small plants, rinse in the sink for 20-30 seconds or your bath tub and be sure to clean the stems, leaf axils and especially the undersides of all the leaves. For larger plants, use a sponge or soft cloth and wash all parts monthly or more often NEVER use commercial leaf "shine" products as these clog leaf pores and are very bad for all plants For sooty mold, first, consider WHY you have the fungus. Chances are you have your sun-loving plant in too much shade and/or too little air circulation. A general fungicide (read product labels) handles sooty mold, but not the problem of the wrong location for your plant Excess irrigation and/or sprinklers frequently hitting sun-loving plant leaves contribute to sooty mold, especially with poor air circulation Should you notice tiny webs at the underside of your leaves or in leaf axils, you could have spider mites. Wash by hand but use dish soap and water, about 1-2 tablespoons to the gallon is enough. Use warm water and wash thoroughly. If pests are seen or thought present, wash with dish soap weekly for 3-4 weeks You could also purchase an organic insecticidal soap instead of using your liquid dish soap. It is said that certain fatty acids in dish soap are not good for your plants and these have been removed in the organic formulation For mealy bugs, a dilute solution of water and rubbing alcohol sprayed on leaves will kill these pests. The bugs turn brown in color and you wipe them off. Be sure you use only a little alcohol. The alcohol approach can work against scales and aphids as well Other organic approaches include products with Rotenone and Pyrethrum. These are natural bug killers available at quality garden centers. Mix per directions and spray on your affected plants. Dipel is organic and works against caterpillars, only Nicotine spray can be effective. Buy some or soak a cigar in water for a few days. Dilute to the color of tea and spray Pepper spray is organic and can work for you. Indoors or outdoors, for beetles and some other bugs, get your sprayer and add about 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap. Cover the top with cheesecloth or some other filter. Place 1-2 teaspoons dry cayenne pepper plus 1-2 teaspoons dry garlic power on top of your cheesecloth. Pour water gently over the top. After your jar is full, shake it a little then go spray the bad bugs. Plan on repeating the spray in 10 days. Maybe once again after that Wendy Goldberg, an M.S. in Chemistry, emailed us her personal organic home-made formula, especially for spider mites, although she says it works on the other soft bugs as well 6 tablespoons jalapeno pepper (the "nacho jalapenos" in a jar work fine). This provides capsaicin. 6 tablespoons minced garlic. This provides diallyl disulfide. 3 cups water. Blend in a blender. Strain through a fine sieve. Add 10 drops liquid dishwashing detergent. This acts as a surfactant (wetting agent) to get the toxins into the spiracles of the pests. Spray on pests. For a chemical agent, you can try Dexol indoors. This is a systemic product so apply to both the leaves and your soil. The plant will take up the chemical from the soil Outdoors for pests, you can try Orthene or Cygon per label directions. Both are chemical agents - be careful For caterpillars, a product called Dipel (organic) is specific to caterpillar control. If you can find Dipel, any product that has bacillus thuringensis will work For most bad bugs, we rely heavily on pyrethrum... ...for aphids and most other pests except scale insects. Pyrethrum is organic, derived from chrysanthemum flowers, and is sold in a concentrate. A small capful in a pint of water in your sprayer knocks out the bad guys pronto. Pyrethrum concentrate is sold under a variety of names so read the label and try to buy pure pyrethrum concentrate Avoiding trouble before it starts Examine plants before you buy. Check out the both sides of the leaves and axils at the nursery. You're not trying for a perfect plant because some leaf browning or yellowing or spots is often natural but you sure can avoid bringing home unwanted pests Another good safety rule is to wash new plants before placing them into your home. Nurseries and retailers would never knowingly sell you infested plants, but it does happen A third safety rule is to gently un-pot your new plant to examine the soil and roots. For example, here in South Florida, ants in pots are pretty common. Do this examination at the nursery or retail garden center so you don't bring home problem plants. If you're buying from a local nursery, ask the people there to un-pot your plant Plant diseases are not generally seen indoors. In humid conditions or excess water, fungus can become a problem. Indoors for fungus, you can use Captan fungicide University of Florida insects information link FloridaSmart insects information If you like cool bug pictures, go here |
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