Indoor flowers can make a person's home cozier and more comfortable. For this reason, plants are available in almost every apartment. Unfortunately, despite being kept at home, they can be prone to various pests and diseases. Among them, the most common are white bugs in the soil of indoor plants. What are they and how to deal with them?
Causes of occurrence
White bugs in the bud of indoor plants are quite easy to notice, as they are distinguished by their light shade. They can appear in the ground for a number of the following reasons:
- Excess moisture from excessive watering, stagnation of excess liquid in the pot tray.
- Insufficient soil loosening.
- Transplanting a plant into contaminated soil.
- Rotting of vegetable fertilizers (often this applies to tea brewing, which is poured under the root of the flower),which attracts pests with its smell.
- Purchasing infected flowers and placing them next to domestic ones can be fraught with the spread of insects to he althy plants.
- Placing flowers in the kitchen, where their pores and soil are clogged with grease that is released during cooking.
- Watering the soil with substances that are not intended for this purpose, such as leftover drinks.
Insect pests can also be brought into homes through cut flowers, through vents, on clothing, through an open door or window, and by free-ranging pets.
Mealybug
Small white bugs in the soil of indoor plants may be mealybugs. You can recognize the pest by a thin cobweb that entangles the leaves of the plant. The insects themselves are up to 4 mm in size, so they are easy to see without a magnifying glass, especially if their population is large.
Pests prefer to settle in the axils of the leaves, and +25 degrees is considered a favorable temperature for their active reproduction. The insects suck out the nutritious juice from the leaves and stems, which can soon lead to the death of the plant. To combat the parasite, the following methods are used:
- Chemical preparations, such as Aktara, Fitoverm, Calypso, Biotlin. Plants should be treated with them according to the instructions on the package.
- Among folk remedies, specialpopular advice is to treat the leaves with garlic infusion, soapy water, lemon infusion, horsetail decoction.
Mealybugs are easiest to deal with at an early stage, when the insect population has not reached its maximum size and has not killed the plant.
Spider mite
Small white bugs in the ground of indoor plants can do a lot of harm, especially if it's a spider mite. They can settle both on the ground near the stem of the flower, and on its leaves. Insects feed on the sap of the plant, which causes the leaves to curl and dry out. At the same time, the flowers are covered with a layer of cobwebs, on which you can see individuals of the spider mite. Adult insects are reddish in color, but their larvae are white.
For pest control, it is recommended to use the following tools:
- Biopreparations - such as "Agrovertin", "Vermitek", "Kleschevit", are used at the initial stage of invasion.
- When a plant is seriously affected by a spider mite, you need to resort to chemical means. Among them, Oberon, Sunmite, Floromite are especially popular.
- Traditional remedies such as onion tea, dandelion tea can be used as adjuvant therapy.
In addition, it is noted that white bugs in the soil of indoor plants do not like hot water. In this case, you can get rid of them by periodically wiping the foliage with a sponge dipped in a heated liquid.
Fight against scale insects
This insect, unlike the previous ones, has a shell that protects it from the harmful effects of chemicals, so getting rid of the population is quite difficult. The scale insect parasitizes on the soil near the plant, as well as on its stems and leaves, feeding on the juice. In addition, in the process of life, the insect secretes honeydew, which contributes to the appearance of soot fungus. When such an infection is connected, it is quite difficult to save the plant.
White bugs in the ground of indoor plants are afraid of chemicals such as Malathion, Permethrin. Also, insecticidal soap is actively used to combat them. With a small number of insects, you can try to remove them from the leaves mechanically. In case of severe infection, the affected leaves should be cut off and burned. When processing with toxic substances, one must not forget about the soil, as it contains parasite larvae. It is also recommended to re-process to destroy the remaining scale insects.
Whitefly
Winged white bugs in the soil of houseplants are the whitefly. The insect has a small size, but its presence can be seen with the naked eye. Moths can carry viral diseases, as a result of which the plant dies, they feed on its juice and leave behind sweet secretions, which are an excellent environment for the development of a pathogenic fungus.
You can reduce the population by mechanical collection of insects and their larvae, as well as by processing with garlic infusion,laundry soap. Particularly effective in the fight against whitefly is noted in such drugs as Parathion, Nika.
Root mite
These white bugs on houseplants most often affect bulbous flowers. The root mite is very difficult to notice, as it parasitizes in the ground. The insect, unlike others, does not feed on the juice of the plant, but gnaws moves in the bulb, as a result of which the indoor flower dies.
When creating unfavorable conditions for life, root mites do not die, but hibernate, so you need to fight them with the most aggressive methods:
- Pollination of soil and plants with sulfur powder.
- Sprinkling with tinctures of hot pepper, garlic, celandine.
- Using ethyl alcohol to wipe the leaves of an affected plant.
- Using drugs such as Fitoverm, Neoron, Apollo.
Also, mites are afraid of ultraviolet radiation, so daily such plants should be placed under special lamps for a while.
Springtails or Podura
The little white bugs in houseplants that don't have wings or a chitinous shell are springtails. These insects feed on the small roots of the plant, so it can begin to dry out or rot. Pests appear if the soil of the plant is very waterlogged, so the first remedy for insect control is an urgent reduction in watering.
The destruction method is the complete replacement of the old soil. In this way, too wet soil can be replaced without waiting for it to dry naturally, and more parasites can be removed. As a preventive measure against the subsequent appearance of pests, the soil is sprinkled with crushed tobacco.
How to prevent insects?
If white bugs are bred in indoor plants, then it is urgent to resort to their destruction in order to avoid the death of the plant. However, it is much easier to prevent their occurrence. This can be done if you adhere to the following recommendations:
- It is important to carefully monitor the watering regime. Do not allow waterlogging or drying of the soil.
- When you bring home a new plant, you need to quarantine it by placing it for 2 weeks separately from other home flowers. In this way, infection of he althy plants can be prevented.
- You need to carefully examine the flowers for pests.
- It is important to transplant flowers in a timely manner, and also not to use soil of dubious quality for this.
It is also recommended to observe the temperature regime, as most pests prefer to breed in warm soil. It is important to know which insects struck the plant in order to provide it with the necessary assistance. If this is not done, then the flower will face imminent death.
