Indoor Insect Invasions: Prevention Strategies
Ginny Orenge, Anoka County Extension Master Gardener
Our winter wonderland months make us long for sunny summer gardens, so at this time of the year, gardeners often rely on their indoor jungles to scratch the gardening itch. While our little patches of green goodness help stave off the stress of staying indoors, sometimes a surprise infestation will kill the mood and threaten our plants.
Know your enemy
The most common pests you will encounter are mealy bugs, thrips, fungus gnats, scale and spider mites. Whole articles could be written about each of these unwelcome insects! Your best defense is to familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of an invasion and know where to go for reinforcements. Thankfully, the University of Minnesota has a wonderful database of indoor invaders that can help you identify who is attacking. Once you know your enemy, you can effectively treat your plant. Don’t wait to address a problem, as it will only get bigger and more difficult to manage. You can find resources for identifying your specific pest at https://extension.umn.edu/product-and-houseplant-pests/insects-indoor-plants. You can also call the Ask a Master Gardener Line at 612-301-7590.
Prevention: the best strategy
Keeping your plants healthy and using a few preventative measures will help keep damage to a minimum during a pesty encounter. Healthy plants can fight longer while you solve the problem.
Make sure your plants are getting the right basic care for their species. This includes meeting their light requirements, ensuring there are no cold or hot drafts, and watering only when needed. Underwatering is always better than overwatering. If you are unsure of your plant’s name and care needs, you can use a plant identifying app, photo search online, or contact a Master Gardener.
An important preventative measure to keeping your jungle healthy is to quarantine. For your houseplants, this means that any new plants should be kept in a separate area of your home, like an attached garage, for at least two weeks before they comingle with established plants. This applies to plants that were outside at summer camp, too. You will be watching for signs of pests including sudden yellowing of leaves, odd brown spots, cottony-looking spots, tiny bugs moving in the soil, and filmy strands that look like spider webs (without spiders).
Another thing you can do to ensure the safety of your plants is to keep them clean. Wiping the leaves with a damp cloth, clipping off dead branches and leaves, and removing plant debris from the top of the soil are all good plant hygiene practices. Stick with plain water to clean your plants and use this time to look for pests. Make sure to check underneath the leaves, where many insects hide out to evade detection.
By focusing on prevention techniques, you can enjoy your indoor plants throughout the winter and hopefully avoid any stressful surprises. If you do have the misfortune of meeting some of these unsavory bugs, you have given your plants a fighting chance, and you’ll be ready for the battle.
Mark your calendar for the Anoka County Master Gardeners' Home Landscaping and Garden Fair on April 13th and Plant Sale on May 14th & 15th, 2024. Visit anokamastergardeners.org for details.