Insects On Household Plants

by Owen Jones⁽²⁰⁰⁾ Red Star

http://the-real-way.com

Many people like to bring nature into their homes in the form of plants. Luckily there is a broad assortment of plants that have adapted to the conditions in which we live. They have got used to the reduced light, twenty-four hour warmth and the constantly dry environment. Some more than others, it is a fact, but most people go for house plants that are easy to maintain.

For most people 'easy to maintain' means giving the plant a cup of water each week. However, some people are willing to take more trouble with their household plants and spray them with a mist of water, dust them off and feed them from time to time too. The more time you spend on your plants, the more likely you will be to spot infestations of insects.

Some pests thrive under the same conditions that these plants like. If you just pour a cup of water over your plants one time a week, you might not notice populations of insects thriving on your plants until they have done a lot of damage or even killed the plant. Actually, insects seldom kill their host household plants, but they will often make the plant fairly ill.

This sickness might show up as yellowing leaves, leaves dying and falling off, leaves becoming mottled or curling or a wilting stem. Normally, concerns come when the soil is too damp as well. This is a condition that can come about if you just water one time a week and then give too much water to make it last a week.

Red spider mites are a frequent household plant insect pest that thrives under wet conditions such as these. An infestation of red spider mites is a significant difficulty for household plants. If it gets truly bad, the leaves will fade, fall off and the plant will die. Red spider mites can breed very rapidly and move from plant to plant around your house.

Spider mites are like ticks and can be green-to-yellow or red, They are so tiny as to be very difficult to see with the naked eye, so the easiest way to see them is with a magnifying lens or you could hold a dark card under a leaf and then tap the leaf a few times.

Inspect the card for signs of movement. Once you know that they are there you can kill them with the correct spray from your plant shop. Check your watering habits for that pant. For example, it might be better to give less water more frequently.

Shell insects are also very hard to see without a magnifying glass. When you do magnify them, they look like a dot of wax stuck to the stem or leaves. They suck the plant's sap and so will stunt or even kill a plant over time. The easiest way of removing them is by the use of pesticide.

Mealy bugs look as if they have crawled out of a bag of flour. They are whitish-grey and are easily noticeable, normally on the underside of the leaves. You could brush them off or apply a suitable insecticide. It might take a few weeks to kill the bugs and their eggs.

Ants and aphids may also attack larger indoor plants, but they are easier to spot and treat. Wash the aphids with washing-up water and kill the ants with poison.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on numerous subjects, but is at this time concerned with Insect Removal. If you want to know more, visit our website now at Pest Management at Home.

Article submitted Saturday, November 05, 2011 & read 49 times.

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» left by Christofer French (191 days 12 hours ago.)

I sent this to my wife, which is my best compliment. Good job.
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