I wish I saw your video before I started collecting plants. When I first got spider mites, I could have cried. I was so stressed out. 88 plants later, I've learned that all these people with a lot of plants deal with pests on a regular basis. They always show these beautiful pictures of urban jungles, but never discuss the bad side. Ive accepted bugs as a part of owning indoor plants and no longer stress about them.
So true! I have 100+ plants and in the past year I’ve dealt with fungus gnats (constant battle with these bastards), thrips (twice), aphids and now spider mites. It’s inevitable that there will be something wanting to munch on our pretty looking plants. The key is to accept it and deal with it.
Knock on wood 🪵 Six years with indoor plants and no real problems with pest. 🤔I do have parakeets. I think the first five years, the birds kept everything in check. Past year moved all the tropical plants into spa room. With over 120 plants, morning chores include inspection from a distance. Watering, generally plants are watered on table then returned to location. During this watering process the plant is checked over. Recently dealt with pests on leaves of Monstera Deliciosa. I used three different horticultural sprays in one day. Over the top, but I don't do bugs. Monstera Deliciosa is doing well. The new leaf that was coming in browned even more so I cut it off. I am grateful Serenity Garden is doing well.
“Sometimes we get so excited that we have plants, that we put the new plant on our already crowded windowsill” Ouch, just tag me next time 😂 Thank you for this info, it all seems so simple now ☺️
I work in a flower shop and I have a few little tips regarding pests or rather how to avoid them. If you live in a temperate area I'd say that generally you run a lower risk of running into pests during the colder months which seems a little odd seeing as that's when plants struggle the most for light and air moisture but I do find for whatever reason that during summer is when we get the largest outbreaks while during winter there are years when there's not even one single pest spotted. I have seen ants in the shop before and it's always been tied to olive trees or citrus trees or more rarely azaleas and they have their nests in the pot. If you visit an unfamiliar plant shop, ask to see their english ivy! It's a great indicator of wether or not there's gonna be pests as that's usually the very first place a store gets an outbreak. Optunias are the next thing to check out as those are usually the first to show mealy bugs. As for milipedes, I agree that they're generally not gonna be much harm as long as they have something to eat, when they run out of favoured food like decaying wood or plant matter and moisture they will eat your plant, usually starting at the roots. If you have milipedes in a plant that needs to dry up between waterings I recommend removing them since drought triggers them to eat plant matter. An old plant book I read recommended building them little houses of hollowed out potato halves and they'd stick to eating that. I found that adorable.
Thank you for saying that eventually it becomes about pest management. I feel like no one says that about big collections and I’m over 150 plants indoors at this point and that’s definitely been my experience. Thank you Summer Rayne!!
You are by far my favorite youtuber. I've never seen someone so passionate about plants, and so very brilliant at caring for them and so willing to educate others. You are like a breath of fresh air. Please keep doing what you do. I really hope you make it to the trending tab or somewhere that even more people can learn about your channel. Blessed be~
As an orchid collector with several Catasetum orchids (spider mite magnets!), I've found that spraying the mites off with water then spraying the plant with a neem based miticide is the best way to rid your plant of spider mites. You may have to do it once a week for a few weeks, but it really works. Make sure for spider mites, you use a miticide and not an insecticide!
same. I woke up with one winding down in front of my face 😂 I live on a super high floor of an apt building so i dont even know how they got here but not complaining
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE... GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER... PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT! COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH... = WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO... GRACIAZ! = * SMERKUZHEO! *
This video gave me so much anxiety. One of my plants had mealy bugs and it was such an annoying experience. Now I know there are so many other houseplant bugs out there that I have to learn how to manage. Thanks you for the good information though.
I've gotten such a joy from picking off mealy bugs and squishing them. I just started an indoor garden in June...So far I've had mealy bugs, fungal gnats and aphids. I hate bugs! So the routine has been 2x a week inspections for the infected plants. Once a week a spray with the Insecticidal soap and a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol + squish the other time. For the gnats I put a layer of sand atop all my plants at least 1 inch, plus only water from bottom. Still seeing a few little buggers flying around but I think they might just be from the eggs laid prior to my sand. The aphids just showed up like a week ago or less, as my one plant, a Orchid Frost, started to bloom. As soon as I saw the flower blooms I saw the aphids. nasty little buggers. I even put out a little strip of fly paper to catch the gnats. i know i could put the bugs out that eat the bad ones but I have a phobia of tiny crawling things. I've only 6 house plants thus far, might expand at another time, so it's not too hard to do 2x a week inspections, or daily if I'm in the mood. I have friends who are like: just buy fake plants then there'll be 0 insect problems. Yeah um...no.
Is there a specific type of sand to use? Or can it be any kind? Saw a few gnats flying around my ficus elastica (it’s a new plant and I hadn’t repotted it yet, but I should’ve seen the warning signs when I pulled out a decayed leaf from the soil. Now it’s in a clean pot with fresh soil after taking all the old soil out). I also have a phobia of tiny crawling things so when I found a couple mealy bugs on my pothos, I had dreams about them for a few nights.
Added note about the ants: Ants are known to store aphid eggs in their burrows to put them on your plants in spring. This is gonna be more important for outdoor plants because they're often closer to the nest site. Treat the ant problem before and during your aphid problem for better results if you happen to find both in/around the house.
I never had issues with bugs until I started actually collecting. Now that I have a “plant room” and it is spreading through the house, I find pests all the time. Thank you for the reminder of it being more about controlling than eliminating the pests!!! 💚💚💚
i got the fungus gnat in my house from one of them multi-colored leaf houseplant. i eventually just got rid of the whole plant cuz they were everywhere every time i watered the plant. then one day i was drinking the last of my coffee, i was rolling this thing around on my tongue while on the PC assuming it was a coffee ground until i realized there was different about feel of it. picked it of my tongue to see it was a fungus gnat that got into the coffee cup some how ... those thing are really annoying!!
I've copied this for you This works for all insects like whitefly etc: Even works on H. compacta which is a mealie bug heaven- Add one Tablespoon of dishashing detergent to one cup of any vegetable oil. Store in a jar and mix well together before use so they are well mixed. When you want to use it....mix 1-2 teaspoons of it into 1 cup of water and spray all over the plant...saturate it. Mix it in a bucket and dunk the whole plant.... or dunk the top half and then spray the area close to soil. This is about SATURATION. This is how I treated plants in order to pass inspection thru HI. Ag. It is recommended not to use ANTIbacterial soap nor 'grease cutting' soap...something mild. It is only used as a surfactant...and the oil suffocates. Repeat in 7 days so you get the eggs under the adults you will kill.
I do really appreciate Summer's videos as she is much more direct and not a rambler like so many posting from the plant world. Her tours with in the U.S. and out are fascinating. She's educated enough to discuss with any of the curators of the institutions she's shown us❤️
I use Mexican Butterworts for fungas gnats. They are a carnivorous plant with sticky leaves. They are covered in these gnats at the moment. They work a treat.
I found that we had a "natural culture" of these in my huge cattleya orchid that I grow in semi hydro, I would add water and notice these little white specks pooling around the bottom pellets, hopping around. We started watching Tanner and saw what they were, now we just "water the orchid" any time we start a terrarium! The kids love collecting them and spooning them into all our (closed) terrariums!
@@kimberlyoboyle451 that's great... Yeah I found out through tanner as well... I have springtails in all of my pots. And I love seeing them hop around. :D
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE... GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER... PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT! COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH... = WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO... GRACIAZ! = * SMERKUZHEO! *
I can’t wait for your fungus gnat video. I’ve tried so much and can’t seem to shake them. I hope you bring me a new method to try!! Thank you for being so informative 💕
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE... GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER... PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT! COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH... = WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO... GRACIAZ! = * SMERKUZHEO! *
Thanks for the plant 101 help for BUGS (Pests) ... Your so knowledgeable .. Love it 💕 Knock on Wood .. I hope I don't Jinx myself, but as of today I don't have any bad Bugs on any of my inside House Plants. My collection is growing, last time I counted I had 70 indoor plants. When I get a plant either online or from a Nursery, I put it in a room by itself for at least 2 weeks. And I inspect it over the course of 2 weeks. If all checks out then it joins the other plants. Thanks for the great info. Have a great weekend !
You’re a bug lover too ?! How awesome. I literally became obsessed with indoor gardening after researching good plants for a mantid terrarium (s) that I’m building. Insects are awesome. I love this channel.
Another thing that works on many plant pests is to occasionally put Bt-based mosquito dunks into a watering can used for watering houseplants. (They're meant for areas of standing water outdoors, so if you don't rinse the remains of it away it lasts well over a month.) The Bt toxin ends up in the soil and eventually into the plant, and it disrupts the digestive system of any bugs that eat it as it forms crystals inside them. Doesn't work right away, but after a week or two you may notice a difference. (Off-label use, but should be fine as long as you or your pets aren't drinking that water. No fumes or anything particular that I'm aware of, and it's derived from a chemical made by bacteria.) Had little white flies on one of the plants I was taking care of, and that simple thing made them go away.
Some people (🖐️ me, for example) transfer springtails from their terrariums into their flower pots on purpose, because those little guys love to munch on funghi,and actually keep the soil surface clean and the plants nice and healthy. 🥰
Very informative video! I’m dealing with mealy bugs, aphids, and spider mites and trying with all my might to get rid of them and it’s so stressful! Thank you so much for your tips and tricks. I will definitely be using them and hopefully conquer these little bastards! Lol
Thank you! We moved for first time in 10 years and my poor plants whom in my 20 years of having house plants ZERO insect problems in that time! Move here and OmG spider mites and now mealy bugs or scales or idk but I swear they’re not just on the plants. The dog then the couch then my kid then EVERY WHERE!!!!!! I’m going thru it, and my sweet poor elderly stressed plants are too. I appreciate all your wisdom, experience and helpful knowledge. Thank so much!
Also, I had been assuming it was this houses fault for the pests however, the previous tenants years ago brewed beer, the more recent one put a compost RIGhT next to the house snd had chickens Everywhere 😖☹️🤮. AND there is a peach tree in the front yard and 2 rose bushes in the back. AND last but not least the home WAS had orb spiders out it’s ears until....... the house was bombed which only killed the things that kill off anything I’ve had problems with like mites or mealys. So now I know I have had a perfect storm thanks to your teachings. Sheesh
I always use my plant pressure sprayer with water for "debugging" my plants. By adjusting pressure and spray pattern one can adapt to plant fragility and type of disease. It works for almost all cases.
I have a question Summer. What happens when you no longer need the beneficial bugs to essentially "clean-up" your plants from pests? Are they tossed outside? Shipped back where they came from? Eliminated??? I love the idea of using beneficial bugs to assist with pests on your houseplants! Very clever! 😁
We have so many diffefent pests here in Florida. I grow a lot of plants both indoors and out and it's one thing we struggle with most. I do control a lot of them with the 100% cold pressed neem oil, but when they get out of control during the summer time, it can be really tough to keep them at bay. Thanks for sharing this information and why this happens to you!🍃🐞
I got millipedes in my Gloriosum and cast iron plant and they almost killed both.everyone I asked said the same thing that you did, about them not being harmful! So I wasn’t concerned I just picked them out when I saw them. Although they started out completely fine , once they started multiplying (it seemed like there was 100 within a few days) in the soil, they ran out of decaying plant matter and started feasting on the healthy plant. They were SO difficult to control or manage, the only thing that ended up working was to take the plants out of the soil and get every spec of soil off with a hose, and replanting it in a clean planter. If anyone sees them take them from me- don’t let them multiply 😂
I came back from a two-day trip and discovered two mealy bugs on my Calathea Zebrina. I quarantined it right away and removed the bugs, but I didn't see anything for a week. Today I repotted the Calathea, and saw nothing in the roots. I changed all the old soil today and repotted it. Thus far, I haven't seen any other mealybugs on my other plants except for those two- and they looked like the Crawler stage. I also had a huge fungus gnat problem, but I just let the soil dry out more than usual, for as long as I could, and the gnats seem to have totally gone away.
I was so happy to buy a lot of plants and flowers during this covid-19. Since then I’m dealing with kinds of insects, first aphids, then slugs, now, root maggots, and there are few others I don’t know their names. I’m frustrated with this root maggots, they look so gross.
I'm new to plant care... I have a sweet potato vine, a ponytail palm, panda plant, and one that looks like a park purple hen and chicks plant. I've also been starting plants inside (moon flowers, morning glories, tomato, basil)... I love nature and observing how it all interacts with itself... again, Idk that much about plants but I love entomology, arachnology, zoology ect... That being said, where most people don't like spiders, my soul ripples and wrenches at the sight of a centipede. I can't handle em... I just had my first in-home sighting of a house centipede (hhherrmuhhgerd) crawling up my bedroom wall. NEVER seen 1 in my 5 years of living here. Couple weeks later, one tries to dart inside the door as I was moving some seedling trays outside... point is, I just had a light bulb moment with your comment about plants releasing pheromones when in distress to attract predators of whatever pest is plaguing them and now I wonder what the crap is going on with which plant... I know the house centipede is a great bug to have around in terms of free pest control but IT WAS ON MY BEDROOM WALL 😫
Fungus Gnats can be a really bad problem to some plants that like their soil always moist or wet! And it's not actually the gnat itself that's causing the problem, but rather it is its larvae. Those larvae are really small and almost transparent. They are very quick and can also jump when threatened. They feed on the very fresh and young moist roots of the plant, and since one gnat can lay as many as 1000 eggs per day, millions of larvae can hatch quite quickly in just a single pot that is wet enough. When larvae reach large amounts, they can easily eat the whole root system of a plant in days. I've seen some of my plants so badly eaten from below, that at some point, you just lift the plant off its pot, and there's nothing left under the stem! This had happened to some of my overwatered African violets for instance... Ironically it had happened to the Pinguicula as well, which is a carnivorous plant and feeds on gnats, but at the same time it lives in a swamp-like environment, and is an amazing breeding farm for gnats' larvae. :)
Got rid of my fungus gnats by hanging a bug zapper lite near my plants! I smiled with every Zap I heard! Don't forget to empty the dead ones out of the bottom tray. When I stopped hearing the zaps, I took the lite down. Over a year now. ALL GONE! GOOD LUCK! REV. J
Brilliant video, you are so good at explaining everything! I was fortunate enough to find a ladybird feasting on my outbreak of fungus gnats on my bathroom plants. I guess it flew in from the garden! It set up camp in there for a few days and had its own little party 😄
You really creeped me out with the whole bug talk, but you really know your stuff so I stuck with it the whole time (itching and scratching). Subscribed and notified! Thank you.
Just realized I have thrips on all my plants from bringing in three plants from Wal-Mart! So this helped me out a lot, thank you soo much. Great Video!
I had scale that showed up on two small fig trees and I just couldn't keep up with them so I put the plants in the compost. I know they came with the pest because I didn't have many plants at that time. Since buying new plants I've been dealing with aphids and have found the rinsing to be very effective. Then I keep the plant beside me on the desk for a few weeks where I do squishing sessions every few hours (during commercials LOL).
One time i found plants trown away next to bins. I took them home, cleaned them, repotted etc. few weeks later my Tradescantia i had for years, started to look sad, first i tought i overwatered her. As time went by, something fishy started to happen to other plants as well. It was too late when i found out tiny black thrip on light green leaf of calantea. Since showering plants didnt work, and it got worse, i even chopped a lot of leaves of some plants, it was out of control. Battle for many weeks. Only orchids and cacti survived without any damage. Some plants regrew later on, but i was checking every day for quite some time, if i wont see any of the thrips... It was frustrating to lose so many plants. Two weeks ago, i bought a few propagated babies of Tradescantia again. It is such a lovely joyful plant, i am excited to see her grow her "long hair" again.
Great video, very informative 🏆 But I was itchy through the entire video and now going to shower. It’s very late at night but now I feel I need to get my magnifying glass and check for bugs. Man! I don’t know why I watch such videos at night🤷♀️
I really loved when you said you squish the Aphids in between your fingers lol. I had no idea they popped like that lol. This was really helpful and such great information. I have these thrips, jeez they're annoying and hard to get rid of. I've used alcohol, neem and a soapy water mixture but they seem to come back with a vengeance. This was so helpful Summer. Thank you!
I HAD TO GO SHOWER 1/2 THROUGH THIS VIDEO! So helpful and a blessing to us plant lovers. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Those lace wings are so cute!
Hands down this is the most informative and helpful video about pests I have found. Thank you for talking about springtails!! There is little information on them. I have been stressed about them but I feel totally better now.
Thank you for the advice, it was really helpful. It was pretty tough to watch laying in bed and itching and scratching my body the whole time lmao. Wish I was as courageous and a bug lover like you.. 💪💪
It was a very enlightening video...we really needed all this knowledge when it comes to start collecting plants...to make our house green and near to nature...awesome work...my heart u have won by giving us such a beautiful video..💕😘🌹
Hi Summer! How are you? Awesome video! Thank you! Just a quick question. Should you really compost infected plants with pests? Will the pests get into your compost mixture and then infest your other plants when you fertilize them? Just wondering. I always thought you should just throw infected plants out. Please let me know. Thanks! Gerry 😎
I’ve never had a problem, but then I do manage my compost heap well and it gets to a good temperature. In the UK that’s the general advice - pests won’t survive in a decent heap.
I’m in the same situation that you described in the beginning. I have the smorgasbord and they came from a basil plant. I can’t believe I let them slip by. I’m going with the lady bugs. I’m fine with them in my house. Not fine with losing thousands to bugs. Definitely lessons learned!
This is by FAR the best timed video ever. This morning my boyfriend and I we're going over some pepper plants we have and BOOM a bunch of mealy bugs had hit 2 of the plants. I took to your blog initially to read up about them. Now I'm on my lunch break, munching along watching a bug video that I couldn't be happier about 😂. As always, thanks so much for your content. I am eternally grateful!
Ohhh! I also went a long time in my plant life with no idea what plant pests were till I started growing food plants as well, how interesting! (It's aphids and scale currently that I fight 💀)
Get you some ladybugs. If your aphids are accompanied by ants, put some petroleum jelly at the base of the trunk. This will prevent ants from climbing up the plant to protect the aphids, and allow the ladybugs to do their job. Good luck!
Thanx for all d tips. I’m glad that you focus on d bio-approach n almost “dismiss” the non-organic approach. I esp love the use of good bugs to wipe out the bad ones... almost like an espionage thriller 😄.
Thank you for sharing all your knowledge, experience and explanation for us to use in the care of our plants. I am a new lover of plants. Why am I seeing a lot of isopropyl alcohol used to kill/eradicate pests?
I do admire and share your stance on chemical pesticides.✌🌎 However, I often find that most people who choose to draw that line in the sand deny themselves an extremely valuable and powerful weapon. I'm interested in your thoughts on Pyrethrins. P.S. You must choose the right one of course which is one not mixed with PBO.
@@summerrayneoakes I call it "nuclear neem" since the formulation I use also contains neem oil. My love for hedera helix leaves me vulnerable to pests. As I'm sure you know the tiniest stress on English ivy grown indoors will ring the dinner bell and the pests will descend. Pros: In my experience there's no more effective treatment for aphids, mealies, spider mites & whitefly. Pyrethrin kills in all lifestages too which speeds up eradication considerably. It also has a far greater repellent power than neem alone which doesn't limit its effectiveness to just contact with the pests. Cons: Not many however it's harmful to certain species. Crown of Thorns, jade plants and delicate ferns are all a no go for Pyrethrins. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 😊 Now I'm waiting patiently for today's plant video! 🌱💕🎥
@@tankfly6857 wish you would have saw it sooner. English Ivy is so beautiful but so problematic indoors. The trick with English Ivy indoors is you need really really bright light but with no direct sun, a very fast draining mix and it likes it's surrounding humidity conditions like a typical rainy English morning. These conditions are extremely difficult indoors and the second it starts to get dry the pests will descend in droves. Good luck to you! 🌿👍
When you mentioned growing the potatoes, I lost my mind. I have had plants for two years and this is the first year (when I decided to grow a potato), that I have had these thrips. Thanks so much for the information.
Thanks for your advice. My houseplants that I have I've recently discovered it has Thrips. I don't know whether it was a new plant I bought a few weeks ago, and its affecting my new plants I just propagated. I just hope it doesn't affect the rest of my plants. I'll do a wash of dishwashing liquid soap and spray onto the plants. Ms.Summer I love 💕 all your videos, and I live in Brooklyn, N.Y. .I wish you all the best. Looking forward to hearing from you soon, God bless.
Dealing with a serious thrips infestation outdoors and mealys on my jade plants which are my favorite babies. Thanks for the info!
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this is so helpful. thank you so much!! I purchased DE already and I did b/c I saw snails, millipedes, mealy bugs, and spider mites on my plants and I was not happy. So far so good.
Instead of bugs, another form of biological control is carnivorous plants. I only bought a couple but they grow fast and are super easy to propagate. Over a year they helped get rid of all the fungus gnats infesting my plants.
I absolutely love your channel, thank you so much for providing us with such beneficial information. I am sorry to say though, all types of bugs just creep me out. That is why I am looking into hydroponics, incorrectly assuming the bugs came from the soil. You have corrected that myth, so thank you. I will see what happens in the future, I am just beginning with herbs for now. Thank you so much, you are adoreable!
I love Insects and espacially spiders, so i never could use any chemics. Insofar I´m very happy having a good alternative for getting rid of my plant pests, without killing everything else in our home :) greatings from germany
When i first watched your video of IPM I thought you were crazy, but even though I haven't had any pest outbreaks yet, I'm coming around more and more to using your methods. Now to just get my boyfriend on board...
@@summerrayneoakes You are among the classiest and brilliant people on UA-cam. Your passion for plants and animals is inspiring. There's nothing crazy about you.
I have ongoing spider mites problem. The way I treated them so far is by making a 'tea' from tobacco and hot pepper and spraying that on the plant. I would wash it the day after (force of water is also somewhat helping) and repeat once a week. It is not enough to get rid of the eggs (I remove leaves with them when possible) but definitely helping to control the population. Have you heard about this method? Do you think it's good? I'm still trying to figure out where to buy good lady-bugs in Switzerland...
Scale is the worst.. I’m battling that now! After I just battled it for 8 months last year and thought I was done in June. Nope, I don’t believe how hard it is to get rid of them once u have them.
Your UA-cam channel is a recent discovery for me Summer, and I am gradually playing catch-up with all of your highly informative videos ~ it's like all of my Christmases have come at once. I have to pace myself though, otherwise I could be sitting here for weeks gorging ~ like one of those pesky houseplant critters!
Thanks for this highly informative episode. No wonder we could never get rid of the mealy bug infestation on our Frangipani tree on the balcony. We were using diluted Neem Oil for years after washing the leaves with organic soap solution. Have recently been using the organic Neem spray bought from the nurseries which seems to be more effective but have to stay on top of pest management. I normally let my hubby spray the 4 giant plants on our balcony - two 3-metre tall Scheffleras, a 1.5 metre wide Alocasia Macrorrhiza and the Frangipani tree - because I can’t spray the top of the plants without standing on a stool. We also have a sort of wind tunnel effect on our balcony 10 floors up because we live close to the sea and are surrounded by numerous high-rise apartment blocks. I always get ‘spray back’ even though I’m careful about the wind direction. I didn’t buy any new plants for 2 years because of the mealy bug infestation that my husband only addressed every couple of months!
Summer Rayne what are the tell tale signs of beginning infestation of spider mites before heavy webbing. I'm so glad I found your channel because I've learned there are actually beneficial insects. I should've have figured. God's wisdom. My Desert Rose (I was gifted 4 rescue plants and 4 other rescue succulents) and they had some thin web strings between branches and had spiders on them. Now I understand spiders are good. Im wondering how to tell difference whether web strings or small webs are from spider or spider mites. I also have seen tiny white sphere (egg?) on single strand on edges of the Desert Rose leaves. How can I find out if its Lacewing eggs or some other "bad" bug. Thanks again for your videos they've help me learn not to freak out and act too quickly to treat before I know if its a beneficial insect. Love these series.
BTW I wish I knew how to upload a photo here to show you my first inside house plant I was inspired to buy after seeing your client's apartment makeover (forget title). I lost tag but it's a pretty crisp papery feel green leaves with white stripes. so pretty. good in medium to low light. does seem to need to be watered more often.
Oh are used to have fungus gnats because I would overwater so I just watered less and put sand on top of my soil it stops the lifecycle because they can’t hatch out of the sand is really the simplest solution for them
My first plant was a China Lily plant from a grocery store. Then my 2nd plant was from Home depot, it was a calanthea. The china lily had scales. It looked like it had some sort of disease. I had to toss it bcuz i couldn't get rid of them, and it was slowly dying. Then my 2nd plant has spider mites, i had no idea how to get rid of them and when i used google, i got multiple at home remedies with different measurements of what to use. I used dish soap and 1 website told me to use a lot w/ very little water and it didnt say if i should leave the soap on or if i should wipe it off after. The soap killed my plant. 😮💨 After i got another plant and i got a bad outbreak of gnats. It took me so long to get rid of them. My mom also got them bcuz i left my plant at her place so she could repot it. Today i got rid of the gnats then i got black winged fungus gnats from my flowers outside. I got rid of those too.....now i have soil mites, and they won't go away. They were getting bad, too. I have less now but i wish they would all just go away already. Its so frustrating. I have DE powder for the soil mites but i feel like its not working fast enough
I wish I saw your video before I started collecting plants. When I first got spider mites, I could have cried. I was so stressed out. 88 plants later, I've learned that all these people with a lot of plants deal with pests on a regular basis. They always show these beautiful pictures of urban jungles, but never discuss the bad side. Ive accepted bugs as a part of owning indoor plants and no longer stress about them.
So true! I have 100+ plants and in the past year I’ve dealt with fungus gnats (constant battle with these bastards), thrips (twice), aphids and now spider mites. It’s inevitable that there will be something wanting to munch on our pretty looking plants. The key is to accept it and deal with it.
Knock on wood 🪵 Six years with indoor plants and no real problems with pest. 🤔I do have parakeets. I think the first five years, the birds kept everything in check. Past year moved all the tropical plants into spa room. With over 120 plants, morning chores include inspection from a distance. Watering, generally plants are watered on table then returned to location. During this watering process the plant is checked over. Recently dealt with pests on leaves of Monstera Deliciosa. I used three different horticultural sprays in one day. Over the top, but I don't do bugs. Monstera Deliciosa is doing well. The new leaf that was coming in browned even more so I cut it off. I am grateful Serenity Garden is doing well.
Yeah I have so so many plants and I have to rly inspect them all every few days lol it’s a lot more work than it looks having a lot of plants lol
“Sometimes we get so excited that we have plants, that we put the new plant on our already crowded windowsill”
Ouch, just tag me next time 😂
Thank you for this info, it all seems so simple now ☺️
She came for meee
She came for all of us 😭
I work in a flower shop and I have a few little tips regarding pests or rather how to avoid them. If you live in a temperate area I'd say that generally you run a lower risk of running into pests during the colder months which seems a little odd seeing as that's when plants struggle the most for light and air moisture but I do find for whatever reason that during summer is when we get the largest outbreaks while during winter there are years when there's not even one single pest spotted. I have seen ants in the shop before and it's always been tied to olive trees or citrus trees or more rarely azaleas and they have their nests in the pot. If you visit an unfamiliar plant shop, ask to see their english ivy! It's a great indicator of wether or not there's gonna be pests as that's usually the very first place a store gets an outbreak. Optunias are the next thing to check out as those are usually the first to show mealy bugs. As for milipedes, I agree that they're generally not gonna be much harm as long as they have something to eat, when they run out of favoured food like decaying wood or plant matter and moisture they will eat your plant, usually starting at the roots. If you have milipedes in a plant that needs to dry up between waterings I recommend removing them since drought triggers them to eat plant matter. An old plant book I read recommended building them little houses of hollowed out potato halves and they'd stick to eating that. I found that adorable.
This was hard to watch. It’s making me so itchy! 🤣🤣
I am so glad there’s someone else itching their way through the video! Haha
You are single handed saving plants all over the globe with this information!! Thanks so much ☀️💕🌿🐔🌵🙌🏻😎
Mm
Thank you for saying that eventually it becomes about pest management. I feel like no one says that about big collections and I’m over 150 plants indoors at this point and that’s definitely been my experience. Thank you Summer Rayne!!
You are by far my favorite youtuber. I've never seen someone so passionate about plants, and so very brilliant at caring for them and so willing to educate others. You are like a breath of fresh air. Please keep doing what you do. I really hope you make it to the trending tab or somewhere that even more people can learn about your channel.
Blessed be~
Check out Garden Answer. She is awesome too!!
As an orchid collector with several Catasetum orchids (spider mite magnets!), I've found that spraying the mites off with water then spraying the plant with a neem based miticide is the best way to rid your plant of spider mites. You may have to do it once a week for a few weeks, but it really works. Make sure for spider mites, you use a miticide and not an insecticide!
Thought I had spider mites, just had actual spiders 😂 they were feasting on fungus nats
I don’t know why I don’t have any spiders or ladybirds at home. I’m least scared of them than other crawley beings.
Lol!
same. I woke up with one winding down in front of my face 😂 I live on a super high floor of an apt building so i dont even know how they got here but not complaining
Fungus gnats in my morning coffee. 😑
Have you tried Mosquito Bits, Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap and Gnat Nix? Worked for me.
😎
@@hpeteacher9445 Nah, I usually just prefer creamer :)
LOL! Got me there!
I meant on your plants, not in your coffee.
😎
Yup. They like to attack my herbal tea bag if I leave it in the mug!
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE...
GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER...
PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT!
COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH...
= WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO...
GRACIAZ!
= * SMERKUZHEO! *
Stopped the video and got out jewelers eyes, ok, everyone is safe and healthy... just brought in 15 new plants. So grateful all are healthy
Started watching this while eating breakfast... I think I’ll wait til I’m done eating.
It's a long video! and bugs eating bugs might turn your tummy! haha
Omg Iktr hope it not cereal.
This video gave me so much anxiety. One of my plants had mealy bugs and it was such an annoying experience. Now I know there are so many other houseplant bugs out there that I have to learn how to manage. Thanks you for the good information though.
I've gotten such a joy from picking off mealy bugs and squishing them. I just started an indoor garden in June...So far I've had mealy bugs, fungal gnats and aphids. I hate bugs! So the routine has been 2x a week inspections for the infected plants. Once a week a spray with the Insecticidal soap and a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol + squish the other time. For the gnats I put a layer of sand atop all my plants at least 1 inch, plus only water from bottom. Still seeing a few little buggers flying around but I think they might just be from the eggs laid prior to my sand.
The aphids just showed up like a week ago or less, as my one plant, a Orchid Frost, started to bloom. As soon as I saw the flower blooms I saw the aphids. nasty little buggers. I even put out a little strip of fly paper to catch the gnats.
i know i could put the bugs out that eat the bad ones but I have a phobia of tiny crawling things. I've only 6 house plants thus far, might expand at another time, so it's not too hard to do 2x a week inspections, or daily if I'm in the mood.
I have friends who are like: just buy fake plants then there'll be 0 insect problems.
Yeah um...no.
Good on you for not going plastic
🤘🌱🤘
Thanks. For gnats I'll use that inch of sand and water from the bottom. I used sand before, but not an inch.
Is there a specific type of sand to use? Or can it be any kind? Saw a few gnats flying around my ficus elastica (it’s a new plant and I hadn’t repotted it yet, but I should’ve seen the warning signs when I pulled out a decayed leaf from the soil. Now it’s in a clean pot with fresh soil after taking all the old soil out). I also have a phobia of tiny crawling things so when I found a couple mealy bugs on my pothos, I had dreams about them for a few nights.
Added note about the ants: Ants are known to store aphid eggs in their burrows to put them on your plants in spring. This is gonna be more important for outdoor plants because they're often closer to the nest site. Treat the ant problem before and during your aphid problem for better results if you happen to find both in/around the house.
I never had issues with bugs until I started actually collecting. Now that I have a “plant room” and it is spreading through the house, I find pests all the time. Thank you for the reminder of it being more about controlling than eliminating the pests!!! 💚💚💚
i got the fungus gnat in my house from one of them multi-colored leaf houseplant. i eventually just got rid of the whole plant cuz they were everywhere every time i watered the plant. then one day i was drinking the last of my coffee, i was rolling this thing around on my tongue while on the PC assuming it was a coffee ground until i realized there was different about feel of it. picked it of my tongue to see it was a fungus gnat that got into the coffee cup some how ... those thing are really annoying!!
ｐｅｓｔｉｆｅｒｏｕｓ
I love ladybugs!
@0:49
Saying that is so satisfying 😆
🤣
🤣 I came here for this comment! Great video.
this is one of my favorite episodes. I LOVE to learn more about beneficial bugs
Power to the Insect Love!
I'm living a nightmare right now. It's me vs mealybugs.. they're attacking my 5ft Hindu Rope. I WILL NOT losing this battle, finger crossed.
THAT IS A TOUGH ONE!
I've copied this for you
This works for all insects like whitefly etc: Even works on H. compacta which is a mealie bug heaven- Add one Tablespoon of dishashing detergent to one cup of any vegetable oil. Store in a jar and mix well together before use so they are well mixed. When you want to use it....mix 1-2 teaspoons of it into 1 cup of water and spray all over the plant...saturate it. Mix it in a bucket and dunk the whole plant.... or dunk the top half and then spray the area close to soil. This is about SATURATION. This is how I treated plants in order to pass inspection thru HI. Ag. It is recommended not to use ANTIbacterial soap nor 'grease cutting' soap...something mild. It is only used as a surfactant...and the oil suffocates. Repeat in 7 days so you get the eggs under the adults you will kill.
Me too, mealybugs on my monstera adansonii.
I have the same battle with my adopted String of Pearls!
Oh man, I hope you win.
I do really appreciate Summer's videos as she is much more direct and not a rambler like so many posting from the plant world. Her tours with in the U.S. and out are fascinating. She's educated enough to discuss with any of the curators of the institutions she's shown us❤️
I use Mexican Butterworts for fungas gnats. They are a carnivorous plant with sticky leaves. They are covered in these gnats at the moment. They work a treat.
For the spring tails I actually really like them and make sure to add them to any terrarium builds because they are my little clean up crew!
I found that we had a "natural culture" of these in my huge cattleya orchid that I grow in semi hydro, I would add water and notice these little white specks pooling around the bottom pellets, hopping around. We started watching Tanner and saw what they were, now we just "water the orchid" any time we start a terrarium! The kids love collecting them and spooning them into all our (closed) terrariums!
@@kimberlyoboyle451 that's great... Yeah I found out through tanner as well... I have springtails in all of my pots. And I love seeing them hop around. :D
Springtails also compete with fungus gnats for food and space so it is a bonus.
Thanks! We all need this help and advice. Can't wait for the fungas gnats video!
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE...
GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER...
PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT!
COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH...
= WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO...
GRACIAZ!
= * SMERKUZHEO! *
I can’t wait for your fungus gnat video. I’ve tried so much and can’t seem to shake them. I hope you bring me a new method to try!! Thank you for being so informative 💕
I'm very excited to share more about that.
FOR FUNGUS GNATS ITS SIMPLE...
GET LIDS FROM BOTTLES OR ANY SAUCER...
PLACE SUGAR WATER OR HIGH SUGAR SODA IN IT!
COVER WATER/SODA WITH LID BUT LEAVE SLIGHTLY OPEN ENOUGH FOR GNATS TO EASILY WALK THROUGH...
= WATCH HUNDREDS OF GNATS DROWN THEMSELVES WITH NO MORE NECESSARY WORK FOR U TO DO...
GRACIAZ!
= * SMERKUZHEO! *
try mosquito bits or dunk
Thanks for the plant 101 help for BUGS (Pests) ...
Your so knowledgeable ..
Love it 💕
Knock on Wood .. I hope I don't Jinx myself, but as of today I don't have any bad Bugs on any of my inside House Plants.
My collection is growing, last time I counted I had 70 indoor plants.
When I get a plant either online or from a Nursery, I put it in a room by itself for at least 2 weeks.
And I inspect it over the course of 2 weeks.
If all checks out then it joins the other plants.
Thanks for the great info.
Have a great weekend !
You’re a bug lover too ?! How awesome. I literally became obsessed with indoor gardening after researching good plants for a mantid terrarium (s) that I’m building. Insects are awesome. I love this channel.
Big fan of your channel.
seriously, you're one of the people who influenced me to the world of indoor gardening! Thank you!!
Grossed out 😖 but so helpful!! 👍🏽👍🏽
A reefkeeper here and I really jumped when you mentioned quarantine. Seems like corals and plants do have similar methods in pest management.
Almost 40 year plant freak: got scales (first time I ever seen them) on my bamboo palm this season... dish soap and ammonia mixture took care of that.
to wash them off or just leave on the plant?
Another thing that works on many plant pests is to occasionally put Bt-based mosquito dunks into a watering can used for watering houseplants. (They're meant for areas of standing water outdoors, so if you don't rinse the remains of it away it lasts well over a month.) The Bt toxin ends up in the soil and eventually into the plant, and it disrupts the digestive system of any bugs that eat it as it forms crystals inside them. Doesn't work right away, but after a week or two you may notice a difference. (Off-label use, but should be fine as long as you or your pets aren't drinking that water. No fumes or anything particular that I'm aware of, and it's derived from a chemical made by bacteria.)
Had little white flies on one of the plants I was taking care of, and that simple thing made them go away.
I will pass on squishing bugs in my hands 🤮🤣
This is so interesting. Thank you for this great information. Love the shirt!
Some people (🖐️ me, for example) transfer springtails from their terrariums into their flower pots on purpose, because those little guys love to munch on funghi,and actually keep the soil surface clean and the plants nice and healthy. 🥰
Looking up spring tails !!!
i hate thrips and spider mites the most... now i use an oily water solution to prevent them but those two are the most difficult for me
Very informative video! I’m dealing with mealy bugs, aphids, and spider mites and trying with all my might to get rid of them and it’s so stressful! Thank you so much for your tips and tricks. I will definitely be using them and hopefully conquer these little bastards! Lol
When you separate a plant from others, it can help to put something sticky underneath that will immobilize pests (underside of tape and others).
Never tried that. Thanks for the tip!
I would like a video of plants that attract beneficial insects to an outdoor garden.
Thank you! We moved for first time in 10 years and my poor plants whom in my 20 years of having house plants ZERO insect problems in that time! Move here and OmG spider mites and now mealy bugs or scales or idk but I swear they’re not just on the plants. The dog then the couch then my kid then EVERY WHERE!!!!!! I’m going thru it, and my sweet poor elderly stressed plants are too. I appreciate all your wisdom, experience and helpful knowledge. Thank so much!
Also, I had been assuming it was this houses fault for the pests however, the previous tenants years ago brewed beer, the more recent one put a compost RIGhT next to the house snd had chickens Everywhere 😖☹️🤮. AND there is a peach tree in the front yard and 2 rose bushes in the back. AND last but not least the home WAS had orb spiders out it’s ears until....... the house was bombed which only killed the things that kill off anything I’ve had problems with like mites or mealys. So now I know I have had a perfect storm thanks to your teachings. Sheesh
She has an indoor hose! WOW!
I always use my plant pressure sprayer with water for "debugging" my plants. By adjusting pressure and spray pattern one can adapt to plant fragility and type of disease. It works for almost all cases.
That was EXCELLENT! I don’t have any bugs right now and I watched the whole thing just for the education & awesome editing 🙂💕
I have a question Summer.
What happens when you no longer need the beneficial bugs to essentially "clean-up" your plants from pests? Are they tossed outside? Shipped back where they came from? Eliminated??? I love the idea of using beneficial bugs to assist with pests on your houseplants! Very clever! 😁
We have so many diffefent pests here in Florida. I grow a lot of plants both indoors and out and it's one thing we struggle with most. I do control a lot of them with the 100% cold pressed neem oil, but when they get out of control during the summer time, it can be really tough to keep them at bay. Thanks for sharing this information and why this happens to you!🍃🐞
I got millipedes in my Gloriosum and cast iron plant and they almost killed both.everyone I asked said the same thing that you did, about them not being harmful! So I wasn’t concerned I just picked them out when I saw them. Although they started out completely fine , once they started multiplying (it seemed like there was 100 within a few days) in the soil, they ran out of decaying plant matter and started feasting on the healthy plant. They were SO difficult to control or manage, the only thing that ended up working was to take the plants out of the soil and get every spec of soil off with a hose, and replanting it in a clean planter. If anyone sees them take them from me- don’t let them multiply 😂
I came back from a two-day trip and discovered two mealy bugs on my Calathea Zebrina. I quarantined it right away and removed the bugs, but I didn't see anything for a week. Today I repotted the Calathea, and saw nothing in the roots. I changed all the old soil today and repotted it. Thus far, I haven't seen any other mealybugs on my other plants except for those two- and they looked like the Crawler stage.
I also had a huge fungus gnat problem, but I just let the soil dry out more than usual, for as long as I could, and the gnats seem to have totally gone away.
I was so happy to buy a lot of plants and flowers during this covid-19. Since then I’m dealing with kinds of insects, first aphids, then slugs, now, root maggots, and there are few others I don’t know their names. I’m frustrated with this root maggots, they look so gross.
I'm new to plant care... I have a sweet potato vine, a ponytail palm, panda plant, and one that looks like a park purple hen and chicks plant. I've also been starting plants inside (moon flowers, morning glories, tomato, basil)... I love nature and observing how it all interacts with itself... again, Idk that much about plants but I love entomology, arachnology, zoology ect... That being said, where most people don't like spiders, my soul ripples and wrenches at the sight of a centipede. I can't handle em...
I just had my first in-home sighting of a house centipede (hhherrmuhhgerd) crawling up my bedroom wall. NEVER seen 1 in my 5 years of living here. Couple weeks later, one tries to dart inside the door as I was moving some seedling trays outside... point is, I just had a light bulb moment with your comment about plants releasing pheromones when in distress to attract predators of whatever pest is plaguing them and now I wonder what the crap is going on with which plant... I know the house centipede is a great bug to have around in terms of free pest control but IT WAS ON MY BEDROOM WALL 😫
Wow! So informative! I love it! Thank you for putting out such good content. It is hard to find people that you can trust. You know your stuff!
Fungus Gnats can be a really bad problem to some plants that like their soil always moist or wet! And it's not actually the gnat itself that's causing the problem, but rather it is its larvae. Those larvae are really small and almost transparent. They are very quick and can also jump when threatened. They feed on the very fresh and young moist roots of the plant, and since one gnat can lay as many as 1000 eggs per day, millions of larvae can hatch quite quickly in just a single pot that is wet enough. When larvae reach large amounts, they can easily eat the whole root system of a plant in days. I've seen some of my plants so badly eaten from below, that at some point, you just lift the plant off its pot, and there's nothing left under the stem! This had happened to some of my overwatered African violets for instance... Ironically it had happened to the Pinguicula as well, which is a carnivorous plant and feeds on gnats, but at the same time it lives in a swamp-like environment, and is an amazing breeding farm for gnats' larvae. :)
Got rid of my fungus gnats by hanging a bug zapper lite near my plants! I smiled with every Zap I heard! Don't forget to empty the dead ones out of the bottom tray. When I stopped hearing the zaps, I took the lite down. Over a year now. ALL GONE! GOOD LUCK! REV. J
Brilliant video, you are so good at explaining everything!
I was fortunate enough to find a ladybird feasting on my outbreak of fungus gnats on my bathroom plants. I guess it flew in from the garden! It set up camp in there for a few days and had its own little party 😄
I love how detailled your videos are!! Thank you so much
Very pleased my dear! I'm glad you're enjoying them.
You really creeped me out with the whole bug talk, but you really know your stuff so I stuck with it the whole time (itching and scratching). Subscribed and notified! Thank you.
MacGuyver reference warmed my 80s child heart. 🧡
Just realized I have thrips on all my plants from bringing in three plants from Wal-Mart! So this helped me out a lot, thank you soo much. Great Video!
I had scale that showed up on two small fig trees and I just couldn't keep up with them so I put the plants in the compost. I know they came with the pest because I didn't have many plants at that time.
Since buying new plants I've been dealing with aphids and have found the rinsing to be very effective. Then I keep the plant beside me on the desk for a few weeks where I do squishing sessions every few hours (during commercials LOL).
I love your shirt! And this was very informative and elucidating. Thank you so much!
very pleased you enjoyed!
One time i found plants trown away next to bins. I took them home, cleaned them, repotted etc. few weeks later my Tradescantia i had for years, started to look sad, first i tought i overwatered her. As time went by, something fishy started to happen to other plants as well. It was too late when i found out tiny black thrip on light green leaf of calantea. Since showering plants didnt work, and it got worse, i even chopped a lot of leaves of some plants, it was out of control. Battle for many weeks. Only orchids and cacti survived without any damage. Some plants regrew later on, but i was checking every day for quite some time, if i wont see any of the thrips... It was frustrating to lose so many plants.
Two weeks ago, i bought a few propagated babies of Tradescantia again. It is such a lovely joyful plant, i am excited to see her grow her "long hair" again.
Great video. Was battling thrips that took one of my plants. Bought some ladybugs to take care of them and they worked great!
Great video, very informative 🏆 But I was itchy through the entire video and now going to shower. It’s very late at night but now I feel I need to get my magnifying glass and check for bugs. Man! I don’t know why I watch such videos at night🤷♀️
I really loved when you said you squish the Aphids in between your fingers lol. I had no idea they popped like that lol. This was really helpful and such great information. I have these thrips, jeez they're annoying and hard to get rid of. I've used alcohol, neem and a soapy water mixture but they seem to come back with a vengeance. This was so helpful Summer. Thank you!
I HAD TO GO SHOWER 1/2 THROUGH THIS VIDEO! So helpful and a blessing to us plant lovers. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Those lace wings are so cute!
Hands down this is the most informative and helpful video about pests I have found. Thank you for talking about springtails!! There is little information on them. I have been stressed about them but I feel totally better now.
Thank you for the advice, it was really helpful. It was pretty tough to watch laying in bed and itching and scratching my body the whole time lmao. Wish I was as courageous and a bug lover like you.. 💪💪
It was a very enlightening video...we really needed all this knowledge when it comes to start collecting plants...to make our house green and near to nature...awesome work...my heart u have won by giving us such a beautiful video..💕😘🌹
Hi Summer! How are you?
Awesome video! Thank you!
Just a quick question. Should you really compost infected plants with pests? Will the pests get into your compost mixture and then infest your other plants when you fertilize them? Just wondering. I always thought you should just throw infected plants out.
Please let me know. Thanks!
Gerry
😎
I’ve never had a problem, but then I do manage my compost heap well and it gets to a good temperature. In the UK that’s the general advice - pests won’t survive in a decent heap.
Thank you for letting me know.
😎
I’m in the same situation that you described in the beginning. I have the smorgasbord and they came from a basil plant. I can’t believe I let them slip by. I’m going with the lady bugs. I’m fine with them in my house. Not fine with losing thousands to bugs. Definitely lessons learned!
This is by FAR the best timed video ever. This morning my boyfriend and I we're going over some pepper plants we have and BOOM a bunch of mealy bugs had hit 2 of the plants. I took to your blog initially to read up about them. Now I'm on my lunch break, munching along watching a bug video that I couldn't be happier about 😂. As always, thanks so much for your content. I am eternally grateful!
Ohhh! I also went a long time in my plant life with no idea what plant pests were till I started growing food plants as well, how interesting! (It's aphids and scale currently that I fight 💀)
Get you some ladybugs. If your aphids are accompanied by ants, put some petroleum jelly at the base of the trunk. This will prevent ants from climbing up the plant to protect the aphids, and allow the ladybugs to do their job. Good luck!
Very informative! So looking forward to the fungus gnat video. I appreciate this.
I love how you are the best plant lady and you choose such cute earthy clothing. Thank for all the knowledge and great tips.
When you release good bug to eat the bad ones, do they take up residence in your home? Do you see them weeks after their food is gone? Xxx
Linda Wiseman I was wondering the same thing!!
You can take the plants outside and they will leave to find more food. Most times.
Thanx for all d tips. I’m glad that you focus on d bio-approach n almost “dismiss” the non-organic approach. I esp love the use of good bugs to wipe out the bad ones... almost like an espionage thriller 😄.
I knew they were purposefully flying into my nostrils!! Thought I was going mad!! 😂😂😅
Thank you for sharing all your knowledge, experience and explanation for us to use in the care of our plants. I am a new lover of plants. Why am I seeing a lot of isopropyl alcohol used to kill/eradicate pests?
I do admire and share your stance on chemical pesticides.✌🌎 However, I often find that most people who choose to draw that line in the sand deny themselves an extremely valuable and powerful weapon. I'm interested in your thoughts on Pyrethrins.
P.S. You must choose the right one of course which is one not mixed with PBO.
I haven't used it to be perfectly honest, so would appreciate your thoughts!
@@summerrayneoakes I call it "nuclear neem" since the formulation I use also contains neem oil. My love for hedera helix leaves me vulnerable to pests. As I'm sure you know the tiniest stress on English ivy grown indoors will ring the dinner bell and the pests will descend. Pros: In my experience there's no more effective treatment for aphids, mealies, spider mites & whitefly. Pyrethrin kills in all lifestages too which speeds up eradication considerably. It also has a far greater repellent power than neem alone which doesn't limit its effectiveness to just contact with the pests. Cons: Not many however it's harmful to certain species. Crown of Thorns, jade plants and delicate ferns are all a no go for Pyrethrins. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 😊 Now I'm waiting patiently for today's plant video! 🌱💕🎥
@@petercardona1559 Wish I had known this before I got an english ivy a couple weeks ago
@@tankfly6857 wish you would have saw it sooner. English Ivy is so beautiful but so problematic indoors. The trick with English Ivy indoors is you need really really bright light but with no direct sun, a very fast draining mix and it likes it's surrounding humidity conditions like a typical rainy English morning. These conditions are extremely difficult indoors and the second it starts to get dry the pests will descend in droves. Good luck to you! 🌿👍
Thanks for the tips Peter!!
The beginning of this vid felt like you could have been talking about pesty-people too. It's a pest-eat-pest world out there. Stay alive ✌
When you mentioned growing the potatoes, I lost my mind. I have had plants for two years and this is the first year (when I decided to grow a potato), that I have had these thrips. Thanks so much for the information.
I got thrips when I decided to grown green beans indoors! Good to know about potatoes!
Thanks for your advice. My houseplants that I have I've recently discovered it has Thrips. I don't know whether it was a new plant I bought a few weeks ago, and its affecting my new plants I just propagated. I just hope it doesn't affect the rest of my plants. I'll do a wash of dishwashing liquid soap and spray onto the plants. Ms.Summer I love 💕 all your videos, and I live in Brooklyn, N.Y. .I wish you all the best. Looking forward to hearing from you soon, God bless.
Dealing with a serious thrips infestation outdoors and mealys on my jade plants which are my favorite babies. Thanks for the info!
this is so helpful. thank you so much!! I purchased DE already and I did b/c I saw snails, millipedes, mealy bugs, and spider mites on my plants and I was not happy. So far so good.
Instead of bugs, another form of biological control is carnivorous plants. I only bought a couple but they grow fast and are super easy to propagate. Over a year they helped get rid of all the fungus gnats infesting my plants.
Wish they did the same for thrips😢
I absolutely love your channel, thank you so much for providing us with such beneficial information. I am sorry to say though, all types of bugs just creep me out. That is why I am looking into hydroponics, incorrectly assuming the bugs came from the soil. You have corrected that myth, so thank you. I will see what happens in the future, I am just beginning with herbs for now. Thank you so much, you are adoreable!
I love Insects and espacially spiders, so i never could use any chemics. Insofar I´m very happy having a good alternative for getting rid of my plant pests, without killing everything else in our home :) greatings from germany
When i first watched your video of IPM I thought you were crazy, but even though I haven't had any pest outbreaks yet, I'm coming around more and more to using your methods. Now to just get my boyfriend on board...
I'm OK with people thinking I'm crazy :)
@@summerrayneoakes You are among the classiest and brilliant people on UA-cam. Your passion for plants and animals is inspiring. There's nothing crazy about you.
Yup your spot on I’ve seen everything but as soon as I took out the sweet potatoes I start seeing pesticides work (org and inorg)
I have ongoing spider mites problem. The way I treated them so far is by making a 'tea' from tobacco and hot pepper and spraying that on the plant. I would wash it the day after (force of water is also somewhat helping) and repeat once a week. It is not enough to get rid of the eggs (I remove leaves with them when possible) but definitely helping to control the population. Have you heard about this method? Do you think it's good?
I'm still trying to figure out where to buy good lady-bugs in Switzerland...
I am very glad this is all chemical free
Scale is the worst.. I’m battling that now! After I just battled it for 8 months last year and thought I was done in June. Nope, I don’t believe how hard it is to get rid of them once u have them.
Your UA-cam channel is a recent discovery for me Summer, and I am gradually playing catch-up with all of your highly informative videos ~ it's like all of my Christmases have come at once. I have to pace myself though, otherwise I could be sitting here for weeks gorging ~ like one of those pesky houseplant critters!
I watch you again and again! Thank you for all the wonderful info. Keep growing and thrive on!!
OMG more videos of your beneficial munching the pests! Very relaxing to watch the carnage. Please please please!!!
Thanks for this highly informative episode. No wonder we could never get rid of the mealy bug infestation on our Frangipani tree on the balcony. We were using diluted Neem Oil for years after washing the leaves with organic soap solution. Have recently been using the organic Neem spray bought from the nurseries which seems to be more effective but have to stay on top of pest management. I normally let my hubby spray the 4 giant plants on our balcony - two 3-metre tall Scheffleras, a 1.5 metre wide Alocasia Macrorrhiza and the Frangipani tree - because I can’t spray the top of the plants without standing on a stool. We also have a sort of wind tunnel effect on our balcony 10 floors up because we live close to the sea and are surrounded by numerous high-rise apartment blocks. I always get ‘spray back’ even though I’m careful about the wind direction. I didn’t buy any new plants for 2 years because of the mealy bug infestation that my husband only addressed every couple of months!
Thumbs up and Subscribed!
Very informative, clear and direct to the point.
Thank you!
Summer Rayne what are the tell tale signs of beginning infestation of spider mites before heavy webbing. I'm so glad I found your channel because I've learned there are actually beneficial insects. I should've have figured. God's wisdom. My Desert Rose (I was gifted 4 rescue plants and 4 other rescue succulents) and they had some thin web strings between branches and had spiders on them. Now I understand spiders are good. Im wondering how to tell difference whether web strings or small webs are from spider or spider mites. I also have seen tiny white sphere (egg?) on single strand on edges of the Desert Rose leaves. How can I find out if its Lacewing eggs or some other "bad" bug. Thanks again for your videos they've help me learn not to freak out and act too quickly to treat before I know if its a beneficial insect. Love these series.
BTW I wish I knew how to upload a photo here to show you my first inside house plant I was inspired to buy after seeing your client's apartment makeover (forget title). I lost tag but it's a pretty crisp papery feel green leaves with white stripes. so pretty. good in medium to low light. does seem to need to be watered more often.
Oh are used to have fungus gnats because I would overwater so I just watered less and put sand on top of my soil it stops the lifecycle because they can’t hatch out of the sand is really the simplest solution for them
My first plant was a China Lily plant from a grocery store. Then my 2nd plant was from Home depot, it was a calanthea. The china lily had scales. It looked like it had some sort of disease. I had to toss it bcuz i couldn't get rid of them, and it was slowly dying. Then my 2nd plant has spider mites, i had no idea how to get rid of them and when i used google, i got multiple at home remedies with different measurements of what to use. I used dish soap and 1 website told me to use a lot w/ very little water and it didnt say if i should leave the soap on or if i should wipe it off after. The soap killed my plant. 😮💨 After i got another plant and i got a bad outbreak of gnats. It took me so long to get rid of them. My mom also got them bcuz i left my plant at her place so she could repot it. Today i got rid of the gnats then i got black winged fungus gnats from my flowers outside. I got rid of those too.....now i have soil mites, and they won't go away. They were getting bad, too. I have less now but i wish they would all just go away already. Its so frustrating.
I have DE powder for the soil mites but i feel like its not working fast enough
So much information in this video, I have a lot of thinking to do now. Thank you very much :)
Wow I just found this video when I woke up to some spider mites on my elephant ears! You are amazingly knowledgeable, thanks for sharing!