Insect pests (less than 1% of all species) are those insects that feed on your plants without you realizing it until it can be too late. Don’t beat yourself down for your indoor plants becoming infested with insects, it is actually very common. It is important to manage the problem before it gets worse!
If you notice a plant that suddenly begins to look ill, even after providing the right amount of water and sunlight, maybe try taking a closer look — chances are an insect is responsible for the damage. It can be hard to spot the pests at first, but keeping an eye on your plants and checking them thoroughly can help prevent the problem from growing. One way you can try to avoid bringing insect pests into your home can be by Carefully inspect all new plants before bringing them into your home. Many types of houseplant bugs piggyback their way into your house from the nursery where the plants were grown. You can click here if you want to learn more about what you can do to prevent pests from attacking your plants.
Quarantine
If you find yourself in a situation where one of your plants is on the road to complete infestation, one of the best ways to not spread those nasty pests around to the rest of your plants is simply by isolating your plant. This is called quarantine. A plant quarantine means that the plant is kept away from other plants, at least 30 feet or more, for a period of one to two weeks. Experts say a month of quarantine would be best. Like mentioned before, one of the most common ways infestations arise in the first place is due to the introduction of one infested plant.
Removal of Insects
An easy way to get rid of the problem once and for all is to throw the entire plant away. But for those who can’t get themselves to do such a thing, don’t worry, there are other ways you can get rid of the problem without discarding your cute plant friends. One way you can remove the insects is by using a cotton swab in order to reach where the bugs live. Plain rubbing alcohol and water mixed together is a good method to swab away insects. This method of using rubbing alcohol and water is good for house plants, but when it comes to interiorscapes, pesticides should be used. When it comes to using pesticides, not everyone can use them. You need to pass a pesticide applicator license examination in order to use them. And once you can, you have to follow safe handling procedures. You need to know what kind of pesticides you are spraying if they are meant for indoor plants or outdoor plants. You also have to be aware of not inaccurately mixing estimates which can harm plants over time.
Diseases
DIseases can be very harmful to your plants, and can negatively affect the normal growth and development of plants. Diseases are any pathogens and environmental conditions which can cause harm to your plant. Pathogens aren’t only living things which are called biotic agents, but they can be abiotic agents that are not living and cultural. An example of abiotic can come from us overwatering plants, keeping them at the wrong temperature, etc. There are many diseases that your plant can catch, but there are plenty of ways to stay away from those diseases.
How to Manage Diseases
Here are some things you can do to stop diseases from ever affecting to your plants,
- Avoid splashing water on foliage of plants, this can vector disease and carry it through water droplets Do not crowd plants.
- Do not crowd plants, especially in planted installations. Many diseases do well when air is still.
- When repotting a plant, the height at which the. the plant is placed is very important. Most indoor plants when repotted can be transplanted at the same height, but it all depends on the soils and if it is well-drained or not.
- Sanitation is important! If one plant has a disease, it is best to get rid of it before it spreads.
- When it comes to interiorscape technicians, they need to make sure that their clothes, equipment, hands, etc. are cleaned regularly so that diseases from other plants don’t spread to other plants while they are working.
There are many diseases that can occur with your plants. Here is a list of diseases that your plant(s) could come in contact with at some point if you are not careful.
Here are some common symptoms of plant disease that you should always look out for in your plant.
- Blight: quickly developing collapse and death of part of or the entire plant
- Canker: concave or convex dead tissue areas on the stem
- Chlorosis: yellowing, mostly on the leaves, because of chlorophyll cell death
- Distortion: leaves and shoots of plant growing in shapes that are not normal or characteristic of the plant
- Rot: soft, watery dead/dying areas that appear in leaves, roots, and shoots
- Wilt: lack of turgor pressure in plant cells which causes leaves and stems to appear very floppy
Information from “Interior Plantscaping Principles and Practices” by James M. DelPrince, Savvy Gardening, “Types of Houseplant bugs: Who they are and What to do about them, Plant Natural Research Center, “Plant Diseases”
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