Shocking Reality of How Plant Pests Invade and Conquer Homes

[@RinirocksArtistry]

I check my plants every day, and up until a few days ago, I had no pests. While doing a routine check, I saw 3 large thrips on my green shield. I went into full terminator mode and washed and sprayed every single plant in my home, which took hours 🙃 Who else feels sick to their stomach when they see pest?😅

[@AlohaPlantLife]

When I discovered the flat mites on my marantas I literally broke down and cried

[@quiltluvr1660]

Thanks for being so thorough. You have given me so much to think about! Pests are so hardy.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

They are unfortunately

[@lisawagner6076]

I just spent an entire day 2 days ago dosing my plants with Bonide Systemic Pest Granules. I was having a VERY bad fungus gnat issue and for some reason I didn't think the systemic handled fungus gnats. But my husband threw the biggest tantrum 3 days ago about the said gnats. And I had been trying all kinds of different stuff and nothing was working. After his tantrum I was thinking that I didn't have this issue last year, why not? I pulled out the bottle and read it, it DOES handle fungus gnats!!! LORDY!!! So I treated everything downstairs. I still need to do the few I have upstairs, but this stuff is amazing!! It handles everything!! I did treat my White Fusion and I am praying that it will be ok. But if I wanted to stay married I had to get rid of these damn things. Now I don't need to worry about what pests are coming into my house. I've got it covered.

[@dora9368]

This is a very helpful video Drea. Soooo much good information 😊

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Glad it was helpful!💚

[@katiewilliams9273]

I went to your website and was so surprised on how much you have. So many plants 🌵😁🌵

[@MyPlantyLife-01]

Thank you for this great reminder!! I have recently discovered rust fungus on many of my plants & I know it’s because I was being lazy about making sure my surfaces were clean & the watering trays I use to water were clean. So unfortunately I’m dealing with an outbreak of rust on several plants. After watching this video I will definitely be more diligent. 😳😁

[@brenfays3255]

Your videos are the best on you tube!

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Wow, thanks!💚

[@kristinamitchell5274]

What I take from these types of videos is there is NO WAY to absolutely avoid pests and the best thing to do is pest management to avoid large infestations.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

💯

[@nalikabidasee8216]

Well, we can preemptively fortify our plants in terms of resilience, because strong plants are more likely to survive attacks after we kill them bugs off, than weaker plants, so we do need to keep our plants healthy for an advantage. BUT also, I learnt from Drea that there are some pests and viruses and bacteria and such, that are highly opportunistic, that they pick up on a plant that is compromised and therefore has a diminished immune system, and that makes them more susceptible to infection and disease and bug attacks at that time and they all start becoming active or triggered when the bad stuff picks up on this and they start attacking 😔

[@brooke5258]

I like your hair! 😊

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Thank you!

[@msscamp100]

I have around 80 plants and, so far, aside from a major fungus gnat infestation from purchased, bagged potting soil, I have had no issues with pests aside from an occasional mealy bug here and there. However, I live on a farm, and cannot keep spiders out of my house. As I added to my plant collection, it didn't take long to discover that spiders had taken up residence on at least one plant in each grouping of plants, and I suspect that is why I don't have issues with pests. I take great care to not disturb the spiders while watering. LOL

[@aprilgramse7928]

My hubby freaks out when I rehome a good spider inside of the house! I'm perfectly OKAY with having a spider here and there 😂

[@brooke5258]

I don't mind spiders either. There's one that consistently makes her webbing on my car. (I think she's somewhere under the hood.) And I say madame, I don't mind your hustle for bugs, but I can't have your house in my car!

[@MikeyDonna]

I have about 30 plants in my house in the desert southwest USA. People have told me that it’s impossible to not have pests. All planty KZbinrs say everyone has them at one time or another. I HAVE NOT (sorry, just emphasizing). I never quarantine new plants, I open all my windows when temperature allows. I feel extremely fortunate because I don’t have the where with all to deal with them. They would just get trashed. I am 81 and have had plants all of my homemaking years. Donna

[@jackiewhitney5031]

Same here. I open my windows everyday....couldn't live without fresh air and my plants love fresh air as well.

[@tashamclean]

I just wanna say I LOVE YOUR HAIR COLOR! Sorry for yelling. 😂 And thanx for this video.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Thanks 😅

[@T216-n3h]

I bought some citronella for our porches. I had some propagations on my shelfs with alocasias and noticed the pest decline drastically. Now i have small citronella in problem areas, and it has been a game changer. That and the diy castile soap spray, and i feel confident dealing with all the different invaders.

[@veganmagick7251]

The plant or candles?

[@T216-n3h]

@@veganmagick7251 plants

[@awkwardpenguinftw]

Never knew what plant pests were before I bought ivy w spider mites from ikea 😆

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Wouldn’t have mattered where you bought it, Ivy is a pest magnet which is why I steer clear of it and any plants anywhere near it at stores.

[@debbiefrick4380]

Oh my! Great info. My biggest problem is fungus gnats but I recently brought home mealies on a new hoya compacta. These are the only problems I've had on my 70 plants but I think I need to make a change in my treatment of cover pots. I buy them thrifting and switch them from plant to plant when I think a change would look better. I have never washed my pots with soap. That seems like an easy preventative. Just this week I pulled my fiddle leaf out of raised plant stand and moved it to a floor basket in the same spot right be the door. I have noticed that the dog and my husband and I now bump it. I thought of plant damage but never about pests. I think I'll switch back. There was a lot of great information and I am starting with these 2. Thanks.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Mealies on a compacta is my worst nightmare😬

[@jamiehill3220]

Lesson learned the hard way this summer! I started growing Dahlias & Zinnias this year. Oh it was wonderful to bring in fresh cut flowers into my home & office! Fast forward a week later and I have mealy bugs on my Watch Chain plant at home and on my Prayer Plant that is at my office. 2 separate locations. 🤔 Then I did some research and found out that mealy bugs LOVE dahlias! 😡 So I have battled for weeks now to kill these abominations from those two plants. Thankfully I have kept it contained to those two. 🤞🏻

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Ugh! Glad it’s only the two

[@db-333]

Dear lord it’s like a surgeon going into surgery 😂😅. So I guess it’s almost impossible to be pest free for long . I went to a plant store yesterday that was loaded with fungus gnats. I panicked 😱 lol

[@chrysteldespain143]

Thank you l! I love your videos. Always so helpful and instructive. Duh! I have a dog who brings in all sorts of pests and my plants are in rooms where the windows are ALWAYS open. We live right next to trees and a nature preserve. I need to get on weekly ish prevention. I have signed of notes on most my anthuriums 😢 I felt so clever keeping my Alocasias in a different room, but I am rethinking my wisdom lol.

[@pinstripesuitandheels]

I have OCD, and have had it for 26 years. What you are describing sounds exactly like an OCD ritual. I used to close doors as fast as I could to minimize air displacement, because that's how microscopic dirt particles could get into my "clean room". Please, please, please stay vigilant that your precautions don't become compulsions. To be honest, why would you even take all these precautions, when pests are coming through the cracks in the sealant of your windows anyway? Pests, just like death and taxes, are a fact of life. You cannot keep every plant in your house pest free.

[@SelenaHermann]

Speaking of pests: I just noticed tiny little, light green dots on the underside of my Alocasia leaves.😮 They are only visible when holding the leaves up against the light. I'm not sure if it's due to pests or possibly need of fertilizer? Any ideas?

[@LeahSimone-b6k]

Hi 😊 I use the same DIY pest spray from your video. It helped me finally get rid of fungus gnats. I really really hate bugs so I’m wondering how often I can do this spray. You mentioned at least once a month. Would every week be too stressful for the plants?

[@Kelly_Silverman]

Five minutes into this video and I feel like giving up and giving all my plants away .. because I'm at my wits end with this 🤦🏽‍♀️ I rinse all new plants and DOUSE them with neem oil and put sticky traps inside the soil. There is SOMETHING that is flying around and now I see them in the back hallway and in my room. I'm guessing it started a two weeks ago when I got my alocasia Polly. I'm PISSED.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Fungus gnats or something else flying around?

[@Kelly_Silverman]

​@@AlohaPlantLife Something else... It's drawn to the sheers on my curtains at night and the open flames of candles. They're small and have a "Mothy" type of appearance 👀👀👀 I'm scared to take a picture and ask Google lens what is it 👀👀👀 I don't even think I want to know what it is I just want to get rid of it! Thank you Drea... I appreciate your simplified and very helpful videos ❤️

[@LeafyConversations]

I was just thinking this the other day. These bugs are being carried in by my dogs or us. 😮 Stupid bugs! I have saucers under my plastic pots inside my cover pots. I always prefer taking the plant out and go to the kitchen sink and washing it and the leaves off, then let it drip dry. I will then that night go back and empty the saucer that may have water in it. So far gnats are the only thing I have had issues with and I am getting those under control. I have over 30 plants in my house I haven’t actually counted yet. 😂

[@LeafyConversations]

That is exactly how I feel! So happy for this video!

[@TropicsandDesert]

I was lucky that I quarantined a plant because it somehow sprang mealy bugs from somewhere weeks after I got it. It just never looked healthy and I had inspected that plant so many times. So I put it in the bathroom for several days and just left it there. Well the next time I examined it, it was infested with mealy bugs. 😱 so I just threw that plant out. However somehow mealy bugs had gotten on my string of pearls which was nowhere near that plant. 😫 I was able to save it though because it wasn't completely infested. I really hate mealy bugs

[@andrearea213]

I actually do the exact same thing when I'm done working in the yard. I immediately strip down and put my clothes in the washer and get in the shower. I cannot emphasize enough how much we are vectors for pests. I was working out in the yard one day and my phone was in my pocket. When I came inside, I took my phone out of my pocket, and there was a thrips larva on it!!! How did it even get there? It was in my pocket! I immediately wiped the whole phone down with alcohol. I have never had thrips in my collection before and fortunately caught this and didn't accidentally introduce thrips to my plants. Felt like I dodged a bullet!

[@AlohaPlantLife]

That’s crazy!

[@Kelly_Silverman]

I was told if I transferred everything to pon; I wouldn't even have this problem. I can't afford to put everything in pon right now 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@AlohaPlantLife]

You can still get pests in pon, it’s just supposedly less common and easier to eradicate

[@plantswithsara]

That is a myth. 99% of my collection is in pon and I get pests as often as in soil. Including fungus gnats

[@Kelly_Silverman]

@@plantswithsara Are your plants strictly inside or outside?