From changes in texture to spotted leaves, it's important to identity and control indoor plant pests as quickly as possible. Whether you have lush foliage or small potted succulents, knowing what to do is vital to keep your houseplants pest free.
There are several types of houseplant bugs that can infest indoor plants. Some of the most common ones include:
- Mealybugs (they look like cotton or white powder)
- Spider mites (you will spot fine webbing on your houseplants)
- Whiteflies (they lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves)
- Fungus Gnats (also known as soil gnats, which breed in potting soil)
- Aphids (often found in outdoor gardens)
- Scale (which tend to look like brown, tan, greyish bumps on the leaf surface)
- Thrips (they look like small black bugs)
Are you wondering what you can do to get rid of houseplant pests? To help you know what to do, Essential Living have revealed the natural ways to banish them for good...
1. Isolate the houseplant
If your houseplant is infected with pests, it's important to stop the spread — especially if it's in a room with other plants. Make sure you isolate the plant (such as placing it outdoors or in another room) while also monitoring your surrounding plants closely for signs of pests in around three to four weeks.
2. Deep clean your plants
It can be frustrating when pests ruin our beloved plants, but a fuss-free way to restore their health is to simply give them a good clean. You can either use a little soapy water or a damp cloth to wipe away the pests.
Essential Living advise: "Thoroughly clean the area where the plant was sitting using soapy water. For extra precaution, you can also sterilise the area by rubbing it with alcohol. Just be careful not to touch your eyes whilst doing so."
3. Use natural soaps and detergents
Once you have cleaned the glossy leaves using water, now it's time to wash the infested plant with insecticidal soap (or a mild all-natural soap). When choosing your detergent, avoid any which contain degreasers as these can harm sensitive plants. Before applying it onto your plant, try dabbing the soap lightly first to double-check it won't cause any harm.
4. Use alcohol
If you find that live bugs are still living on your houseplants, try soaking a cotton swap in alcohol and dabbing it lightly to remove them from the plant. As well as this, don't forget to wash the pot and plant tray with soapy water as pests can easily hide under the rim.
5. Use long-term plant pest control prevention
"Your plants should be fully disinfested by now, however, to make sure they can restore a healthy condition and avoid an infestation going forward, you can treat the plant with neem oil which worlds as a long-term indoor plant pest control and prevention," the team advise.
"Alternatively, you could use horticultural oil or a hot pepper wax concentrate which can protect up to two weeks per spray."
6. Try all-natural herbal sprays
Keep chemicals out of the home by getting rid of bugs using an all-natural herbal spray. According to research by Smart Garden Guide, herbs such as basil, peppermint, lavender, sage and rosemary can help to banish the pesky creatures (they don't like their strong scent).
In order to make your own spray, crush a handful of herbs before placing them into a container with a lid. Then, add three cups of water, seal and let it sit for at least 24 hours. Afterwards, you can strain the water into a spray bottle, adding a little mild dish soap to the water. Make sure you shake the mix before spraying and then use the spray on your plant once a day.
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16 great books for gardening and indoor plant inspiration
RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space
Adam Frost's practical, no-nonsense approach will help you plan and build a garden that works for you. The Gardeners' World presenter takes you step by step through the whole process, from simple garden design ideas to a full garden makeover.
Modern Container Gardening: How to Create a Stylish Small-Space Garden Anywhere
Isabelle Palmer shows you how to make the most of every little space with a series of projects for small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, that can be completed in a day or weekend. Perfect for novice gardeners, Modern Container Gardening offers beautiful photography and clear step-by-step instructions.
National Trust School of Gardening: Practical Advice from the Experts
The National Trust employs over 500 gardeners with an extraordinary wealth of expertise. And now, in this in-depth guide, they pass on their wisdom and provide the answers any new and seasoned gardener is looking for. This book is intended to give you inspiration and confidence to make the most of your garden, without being overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail.
Veg in One Bed: How to Grow an Abundance of Food in One Raised Bed, Month by Month
Veg In One Bed explains how to build your bed and grow from seed, as well advice on planting, feeding, and harvesting. YouTube gardening star Huw Richards shows how to guarantee early success by starting off young plants on a windowsill and suggests what to grow in each part of the bed.
DK The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
Monty Don offers straightforward gardening advice in this book, revealing the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, while respecting the needs of the environment by gardening organically. You can also enjoy a tour of his Herefordshire garden, including his flower garden, herb garden, kitchen garden, and more.
The Practical House Plant Book by the RHS contains a dozen step-by-step projects to help you assemble an eye-catching terrarium, create a floating kokedama 'string garden', or propagate succulents. Complete with 175 in-depth plant profiles, this is an essential practical guide for indoor gardeners.
Ten Speed Press Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers
A small garden space – an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door – doesn't have to sacrifice style. In Small Garden Style, garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space.
No Dig Garden Charles Dowding's No Dig Gardening: From Weeds to Vegetables Easily and Quickly: Course 1
Charles Dowding, innovator of no dig, teaches you everything you need to know about this method of organic gardening. With 19 chapters, you'll learn how to use no dig on different soil types, recognise and massively reduce the different types of weeds, know the difference between soil and types of compost, and grow an abundance of vegetables using the no dig method.
Kyle Books In Bloom: Growing, harvesting and arranging flowers all year round
Get all the inspiration you need for planting cut flowers, and fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round with In Bloom. Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays in this beautifully designed book.
The RHS' Complete Gardener's Manual will help you choose plants that will thrive in your space, design a border for year-round colour, grasp different pruning techniques, discover how to protect your veg patch from pests, and make the best compost.
Do you want to attract more bees, birds, frogs and hedgehogs into your garden? In Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, Kate Bradbury teams up with the Wildlife Trusts and the RHS to help you discover how you can make your garden, balcony, doorstep or patio a haven for garden wildlife. You'll find handy charts, practical projects and fact files.
Gardener and TV presenter David Domoney is a firm believer that indoor plants can make 'a practical and emotional contribution to our wellbeing'. In this book, David explains the hard science behind the positive effect of the humble houseplant on wellness, and provides expert tips on how to keep your plants thriving, plus shares his top 50 life-enhancing houseplants.
DK RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design: Planning, Building and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space
If you're looking for new garden ideas, the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design will guide you from planning to planting, such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds, and planting perennials.
Lorenz Books How to Create an Eco Garden: The practical guide to sustainable and greener gardening
This planet-friendly book is filled with ideas for creating your own eco garden on any scale, from a small courtyard to a large garden or allotment. Discover organic techniques that improve biodiversity, learn the value of using recycled and reclaimed materials for landscaping, and take on simple projects such as making a pond and a wildlife hotel.
Drawing on expert advice from the RHS, this best-selling reference book – organised by colour, size, and type, rather than as an A-Z directory – will help you select the right varieties for your outdoor space.
Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve your Harvest
Joyce and Ben Russell have devised 30 kitchen garden projects, devised to either extend the season, protect crops from pests or improve yields. These projects transform your vegetable plot into somewhere more productive, more attractive and more secure.
Lisa Joyner is the Deputy Daily Editor at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.
