During the winter, houseplants are more susceptible to pests because they are in a dormant period where development is slower and new growth is weaker than usual. To prevent your plants from being taken over, it’s crucial to act quickly and start debugging your indoor plants as soon as you identify a problem. Here are some tried-and-true methods for sanitizing plants as well as advice on how to stop pests from wreaking havoc on your priceless collection of indoor plants.
Inspect Your Houseplants Regularly
Even though it can seem a little obvious, it’s crucial to check every inch of a houseplant for pests. Sticky leaves, yellow patches, chomp marks, fine webbing, and, well, live bugs, are just a few of the unmistakable indicators. However, some of those bugs are really tiny, and if you don’t keep a close check on them, a little group of them can quickly grow into a large mob. It’s much simpler to remove a few critters from a single houseplant than it is to remove swarms from all of your houseplants.
Always examine a houseplant’s undersides when examining it. Pests like to hide here, and it’s a secure place for them to deposit their eggs (ew). Pick up a magnifying glass if your vision isn’t perfect 20/20 so you can take a closer look. Check the soil as well because some insects like to congregate around the soil’s surface and play havoc with the roots of your plants. You need to maintain a close eye on your plant’s roots because they are the most vulnerable and crucial component to safeguard.
Spray Insecticidal Soap
For obvious reasons, we strongly oppose the use of harsh chemical insecticides. They end up endangering populations of beneficial insects like ladybugs, butterflies, and bees when applied outdoors. When used indoors, you put your family, your pets, and yourself at risk from harmful substances. There are significant drawbacks regardless of how you use them. Alternately, you may efficiently troubleshoot houseplants without using any harmful chemicals or carcinogens by using an all-natural pest control approach. Both the earth and you are safer!
Insecticidal soap is the solution if you’re wondering how to debug plants before bringing them inside. It’s among the simplest methods for both indoor and outdoor garden plants to be debugged. While a small amount of mild dish soap diluted with water can be effective, we prefer to use castille soap because it is all-natural and less abrasive on more sensitive houseplants. Simply dispense some soap into a spray bottle with water, shake it up, and mist your plant leaves all over, paying particular attention to the undersides. By using this method, you may quickly and easily rid your indoor plants of the majority of common garden pests with little risk of injury. After you’ve sprayed down your houseplants, be sure to move them into an area with sufficient air circulation since mildew could develop if the moisture remains in the foliage rather than evaporating.
Use Neem Oil
This all-natural, organic pesticide, which is derived from the neem tree, works amazingly well for debugging either diluted with water or purchased as a pre-mixed spray. You won’t need much because it is fairly powerful. It has a powerful punch, killing insects if they eat it, repelling them with its garlicky smell, messing with their hormone systems so they can’t reproduce. A neem oil solution will be very helpful if you have any plants that are prone to powdery mildew, such as flowering dogwood trees, as it is not only excellent for debugging but also a natural fungicide.
Try Pyrethrum Spray
Don’t be misled by the product’s name; although seeming like a strange chemical spray, it is actually a natural substance derived from the chrysanthemum flower. Because it interferes with insects’ nerve systems and paralyzes them nearly instantly upon touch, it’s excellent for debugging. Although it is natural, we advise against using it to debug indoor houseplants because it may endanger helpful insects like ladybugs and bees. You don’t need to exert too much effort because it’s fairly potent. It is intended to be applied locally.
Wipe Leaves With An Alcohol Solution
Give your houseplant a good wipe-down with an alcohol wipe to successfully debug it if it has larger, thicker leaves that aren’t too delicate. It should only require a small amount of isopropyl alcohol in water; you don’t want it to be overly concentrated because alcohol has a drying impact (as anyone who has woken up with an unquenchable thirst after a night of shenanigans can attest). The solution is excellent for removing dust accumulation and disinfecting to help prevent fungus.
Suck Up Flying Insects With The Vacuum
Gnats and other flying insects can be quickly removed from the windowsill where you keep your indoor plants by sucking them out of the air with the vacuum. But kindly take care not to get a piece of your houseplant stuck in the vacuum nozzle. What a catastrophe that would be.
Repel Houseplant Bugs With Garlic
The vampires of the plant world, insects prefer to hang out in shadowy areas and feed on the sap of leaves in typical Dracula fashion. It turns out that they also detest garlic, which gives them another thing in common with those frightening guys. Press one or two peeled garlic cloves into the soil of your indoor plants. This will assist in warding off vampires as well as bugs. Never err on the side of caution! Pull out the garlic cloves, trim the stems, and push them back into the pot if they begin to sprout green or grow.
Come see us at Salisbury and we’ll assist you solve your pest problem if you’ve found any nasty things lurking out in your houseplants and you need to debug them ASAP. You can forgo the nasty chemicals and choose an eco-friendly option that you can use within your home because we have plenty of instruments and natural, organic solutions for troubleshooting.
Step 1: Fill a soapy bucket
Put soap and water in a bucket. I just spray a small amount in to start some decent suds; I don’t quantify mine. Because the cleanser is concentrated and foams up beautifully, I adore Sal Suds. It leads me to believe that it is thoroughly debugging the plants. Even though it’s likely all in my head. (I used the exact same material to clean our outside rug.)
I used our sink instead of a bucket one evening after it was dark to concentrate on troubleshooting a couple of smaller plants. I brought the plants inside and immediately filled the sink with soapy water so they could soak.
For each plant you soak, the soapy water solution does not need to be changed. If yours is starting to smell bad, I’d suggest starting over with a new tub of soapy water.
Step 2: Soak and spray (if necessary)
Spend around 15 minutes soaking. enough to put any undesirable guests to death. Make sure to turn any foliage that is still above the water so that all of the plant is submerged in the soapy water. Neem oil can be used to thoroughly coat the foliage if you are unable to completely soak the plant. Keep this outside.
You can still employ this technique even if your plant lacks a drainage hole. But it works best on plants that have drainage holes (which most outdoor planters have anyways). If your container lacks a drainage hole, you should take the plant and soil out after soaking it so that it may breathe.
Step 3: Scoop and tidy
Scoop out anything that floats to the surface while the plant is in the water. Anything at all, including decaying leaf, sticks, soil, and bark. So that you can use it again on the following plant, keep the water as debris-free as possible.
Step 4: Remove, rinse, repot (if necessary), and dry
Remove your plant once it has finished soaking, then rinse off as much of the soap residue as you can. To get everything out of the drainage hole, I prefer to water the plant several times (just like I would normally do).
The plant needs to dry out and completely drain the extra water now. If you like, you can remove the plant from the pot and set it on its side, especially if you intend to repot it in new soil or a bigger container. For several of mine, I did that. If not, simply allow the plant to totally dry off before bringing it inside.
These photos are of a few plants I was working on at night after R went to bed, but I let most of mine dry in the backyard on a heavy black contractor garbage bag. They are therefore in a kitchen garbage bag on the counter.
Do plants need to be debugged before being brought indoors?
During the summer, many people prefer to bring their indoor plants outside to enjoy the warmth and humidity. But how can you bring your plants inside again without bringing in pests?
Plants thrive throughout the summer months. However, when fall arrives and it’s time to bring your houseplants inside for the winter, things can get nasty. Indoor plants actually benefit from spending some time outdoors.
Knowing when to bring houseplants indoors and how to bring plants indoors without pests are two things that can help you prevent major issues with your plants later on.
It’s crucial to follow a few simple instructions to make the transition comfortable for both you and your plants, and to keep bugs and other indoor pests out of your home.
When should I move my plants inside for the winter? is one of the most often asked topics. Plan to begin bringing your indoor plants back several weeks before the fall’s cooler weather arrives.
Long-term exposure to cold temperatures may cause indoor plants to lose their leaves. Or even worse, it might destroy the plant. Furthermore, if they are left outside for too long when the weather begins to cool down in the fall, the transition of bringing outside plants indoors will come as more of a shock to them.
The best time to bring indoor plants inside for the winter is at least two weeks before the typical last frost date in your area.
We advise bringing indoor plants back in tiny batches if you have a lot of indoor plants that are flourishing outside.
It can be quite frustrating and draining for you to attempt a marathon weekend of debugging and plant relocation (not to mention taxing on your back!).
Additionally, before bringing a houseplant inside if you find it to be pot-bound, repot it into a bigger container. The mess will remain outside in this manner.
Before bringing potted plants back inside, debugging and cleaning them are essential steps to preventing houseplant pest issues.
When potted indoor plants are outside, aphids, mealybugs, and other sorts of houseplant insect pests are typically not an issue. However, if they are carried inside on your houseplants over the winter, they can soon grow into a serious infestation.
It sounds more difficult than it is to debug and clean potted plants before bringing them inside for the winter.
Before bringing your indoor plants back inside in the fall, there are a few easy actions you can do to make sure they are bug-free. (Warning: Only debug plants that are growing in pots with drainage holes using this technique.)
Materials required:
- large bucket or utility container
- moderate liquid soap
- substantial kitchen strainer
- scrub brush for flower pots
- aerosol can
- Hemp oil
- washing jug
- dated towels
Step 1: Pour soapy water into the tub. Add some mild liquid soap and a few squirts of water to a big tub or bucket. Make sure to avoid using any soaps that include detergents or degreasers in them. Sensitive plants may be harmed (or even killed) by them.
Step 2: Submerge the plants in water to soak them.
Put the entire plant, pot, and all, in the tub of water for 15 to 20 minutes to get rid of any bugs on houseplants. Any insects that are on the plant or in the soil will be killed by the soapy water.
Cleaning plant leaves that aren’t immersed is step three.
Use an organic insecticidal soap to clean the plant leaves that are poking out of the water if any of the leaves aren’t entirely submerged in the water.
Advice: Dead leaves, insects, and other debris will float to the top of the water when you submerge the plants. In order to keep your plants tidy when removing them, use a strainer to catch all the floating debris you can.
Step 4: Take out the plants and clean the containers.
Pull your plants out of the tub after soaking them, then scrub each pot with a scrub brush to make it clean.
Step 5: Thoroughly rinse the plant and its container.
After cleaning your plant and its container, thoroughly rinse them with the hose to remove all of the soap and dirt.
Step 6: Permit the water to fully drain.
Before bringing the cleaned plants back inside, let the pots’ whole contents drain before setting them aside.
Before soaking a new set of plants, remove all the dead leaves and other debris floating on top of the water in step 7.
Step 8: Reintroduce your plants indoors.
You can transfer your plants back inside now that they have been debugged and all of the extra water has been drained from the pot bottoms.
Allow the soil to dry completely before watering them again to avoid overwatering them after you have them back in their indoor home and prepared for the winter.
Naturally, killing all the insects is the biggest advantage of soaking houseplants in soapy water before bringing them back inside, but there are a few others as well.
The benefit of using this method for disinfecting and cleaning potted plants is that your indoor plants will now receive a thorough watering before you bring them inside again. This means that once your houseplants are inside, you won’t need to take the extra step of watering them all.
The dead leaves and other debris will all float to the surface, making it simple to discard, which is an additional advantage of soaking plants in water.
Additionally, your plants and their pots will appear immaculate, possibly cleaner than before. Having such spotless, wholesome-looking plants feels wonderful, and it’s excellent for the plants, too!
If you have huge houseplants that are too big for this procedure, try this modified version instead. Soaking houseplants in soapy water is helpful for small to medium sized potted plants.
The entire plant should be washed in soapy water (using the same mild liquid soap), and then thoroughly rinsed with a garden hose.
Spray neem oil on the entire plant after the leaves have been cleaned. (Since certain indoor plants are more sensitive than others, it’s important to test any type of spray on a few leaves before applying it to the entire plant.)