Protecting House Plants From Bugs

While we are full of emotions that summer is ending and are getting more and more excited about the autumn, our houseplants should also be prepared to the new season. You’ll find that some of the leaves of your plants may have been affected by the lack of light earlier in the season and be vulnerable to cold temperatures indoors. Besides, some of the plants may have pest hitchhikers.

Knowing the Limitations and Facilitating the Growers: Cold and Pests

Tropical plants can be particularly vulnerable to such frost which can shrivel tendering leaf and lead to flowers falling off the branches. In addition to preserving warmth, it is likewise necessary to take plants inside of the house when night time temperatures start to fall below 45-48°F in order to prevent damage by frost.

Make sure you check for pests like spiders, mites, or ants before you bring your plants indoors since they may have found these creatures’ homes away from home. The invasive insects group can be generally classified among leaf-dwelling pests and soil-dwelling pests.

Dealing with Leaf-Dwelling Pests

Most dangerous pests reside on leaves and include aphids, spider mites, scale, mealybugs and other like red spiders and gnats. First, observe the leaves and stem particularly attention to the undersides where insects are often found. Worth to mention is the fact that the folds between the leaves and stems are their most convenient hiding places.

To get rid of the bugs, just hose off your plants like you are showering, using a water hose sprayer, as you try to get between the leaves without harming the plants. The process in submersion of smaller plants into a 5-gallon bucket with a few drops of marketplace wash is effective in the wake of combating the pests for about 15 minutes. The watering method that you should never use for plants that require dry conditions, like succulents or cacti, is sprinkling.

Spray with insecticide them only after they dry completely to be sure they are not harmed by the procedure. You should isolate your treated plants from others when you bring indoors to avoid transmitting insects to other plants. Keep them out of reach of other plants for at least six week and remove them from the room several times within this period in order to check for any remaining pests.

Addressing Soil-Dwelling Pests

In addition, pests like snails, waxworms, froghoppers, caterpillars, or ants could plague the soil around your plants. Carefully remove the pot in case of pots with a small diameter. Also, see to the soil at the drainage holes, especially when the pot is shallow. With the hands, exterminate evident bugs.

For the plants living in or bugs lingering on the upper layer of the soil, clear off all the rotting debris from the soil surface and use soapy water in dunking the soil to repel the pests also as stated in the treatment for the bug dwellers on the underside of the leaves.

For example, big containers, which are positioned in the proximity of people and are difficult to move or submerge, can be treated by the insecticide application to the soil surface and the drainage holes. By means of these remedies pests are either eliminated or driven from home. If you have pests getting in from the drainage opening, consider repotting in the spring by using a wire web at the bottom to stop a future invasion of this kind.

This will help you make sure that if your plants keep live longer for the season indoors without any pest. They can be ready to cheer up and brighten your environment all through the cold weather.