Indoor Garden Tip: Common Indoor Pests

GARDEN TIP
The Most Common Indoor Pests and their Simple Treatment

If you have indoor plants then you might have some bugs that need to be treated. Check your plants carefully during the winter months and act swiftly if you notice some of the following symptoms.

At first sign of insects or disease spray off with strong spray of water (both leaf sides) for a few days:

Aphid: Groups of small, sometimes translucent bugs can be green, brown, orange, white, black, often on newest growth.
* Mite: Ultra-tiny; you’ll see the stippled damage and/or webbing on leaves rather than the actual insects.
Dab directly with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab:
* Mealybug: Small white cottony waxy tufts usually under leaves or in crevices.
Rub off gently by hand and monitor for more:
* Scale: Hard to detect, but usually accompanied by sticky residue; can be tiny round brown hard shells.
Insecticidal soap spray, thoroughly soaking plant:
* Whitefly: White spots that fly up when plant is disturbed.
Your own pets: Cats not only chew plants but secretly use the soil for litter boxes. Move the plants out of reach.
A choice of pest treatments - begin with non-toxic and work up to most potent
* Doing nothing, if pests aren’t too damaging
* Mechanical methods, including sprays of water from the hose, hand-picking pests, yellow strip sticky traps
* Insecticidal soap and horticultural oil for insects and fungal disease
* Natural botanical insecticides/fungicides from plants (pyrethrum, neem, powdered cinnamon, citrus)
* Mineral-based insecticide (sulfur)
* The last resort – targeted application of chemical controls at specific life cycle times. It is important to read the directions on the chemicals you plan to use to be sure they are applied properly.