At the latest when there are crawling in or on the potting soil in the pot or when there are tons of small flying insects buzzing around the plant, it is time to get busy with pest control.
Which small creepy crawlies can occur in potting soil and how do you fight them?
Small crawling creatures in the potting soil can be fungus gnat larvae, springtails, root mites or lily larvae, which can damage plants. Nematodes, dipping methods, repotting or soft soap solutions are suitable for combating, depending on the pest.
Which animals can damage plants grown in potting soil?
In addition to fungi, bacteria and other pathogens, various insects can be responsible for the poor growth or even death of potted plants. In most cases these are fungus gnat larvae, springtails, lily chicks or root mites.
Sickness Gnat Larvae
These pests are already introduced with the potting soil. The larvae develop unnoticed in the soil.
Only when hundreds of adults swarm around the plant do you become aware of the pest infestation. The affected plant also soon shows an unmistakable damage pattern. As the larvae gnaw on the roots of the young plants, the leaves become stunted and wilt. If no countermeasures are taken, the plant dies.
Sick gnat larvae can be controlled biologically, for example, with nematodes (€5.00 on Amazon). The beneficial insects (small roundworms) do their job very well in the case of a light infestation. A simple home remedy is to stick matches head first into the potting soil. The sulfur is poisonous for the larvae.
Springtails
They are natural soil dwellers that decompose organic material. They become a nuisance when they appear in large numbers and damage the roots of plants due to a lack of food supply. Springtails can be effectively controlled by dipping the affected plant. After about half an hour the animals swim to the surface and can be removed. The plant is not watered until the substrate dries out. Afterwards, water sparingly.
Root mites
Root mites live in moist soil and damage the plant roots. The best way to get rid of the animals is to repot the plant.
Lily chicken larvae
These are small red beetles whose larvae live in the potting soil. They eat leaves and stems of the plant until it dies. Instead of using an insecticide, treat the plant with a soft soap solution.
- Dissolve 30 g of soft soap in 1 liter of water.
- Add 2 teaspoons of ethanol or organic spirit.
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Mist the plant daily for an extended period of time.
- The pests should be dead after just three days. Collect the dead animals.
