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Yes, bugs are everywhere. Even in your shelter from nature otherwise known as your home. Bugs live in and live off of nutrients found in and around plants in nature so the plants in your home are no exception.
In this article we will give some examples of what may be eating your indoor plants. After you identify what is causing your problem you will be more able to resolve it.
These little buggers can really deceive you. The problem identifying these bugs is that they really don’t look like bugs at all. These are oval-shaped brown dots that look like they have a waxy covering on them. They attach themselves to the roots of your plants and feed off the juices.
Some things you can do to prevent or remove them are:
Spider mites behave like a spider in that they make tiny webs (pictured). In fact, most people leave them alone because they think they are a spider and that the spider is living on the plant symbiotically. This is not the case however. The spider mite is sucking the life from your plant and will eventually kill it. You can get rid of these by buying and using an organic insecticide from your local hardware store.
These bugs are often mistaken for aphids, a different bug which lives on plants and can also destroy them. They are little cotton ball looking bugs that will destroy your plants. You can treat your plant with a natural insecticide and then do so again in a week after the next batch of eggs hatch. Then one more time a week later.
These are especially common in Florida. The further south you go the more common they are. When you disturb your plant and you see tiny bugs fly around, these are whiteflies. They live on the underside of your plants leaves and also cause it damage. You can get rid of these with a natural insecticide or a special flypaper. They are attracted the color yellow so this is the best color to buy as far as sticky paper goes.
We mentioned these earlier. These are tiny insects that you can see scurrying around if you look very closely at your plant. Your plant is basically a host and they are destroying it. Fortunately, these are much easier to get rid of that almost any other indoor plant pest. You can leave your plant out in direct sunlight for an hour and then spray it with water.
