Houseplant Pests

Houseplant Pests can become so damaging that they often make a plant worthless and controls become so difficult and expensive that it may not be worth the trouble. Unless the plant is valuable or has sentimental significance, it is often cheaper and easier to replace a damaged plant. Discard badly infested plants before they spread problems to other interior plants in the home. Preventing pest problems is always easier than trying to control pests after they have done severe damage. Houseplant problems are generally grouped into three different categories. Environmental problems These are usually related to water excesses or deficiencies, temperature extremes, poor soil or water conditions and toxic chemicals. These problems cause the most difficulties in growing plants and account for the death of most interior plants. The most serious plant environmental problem in the home is lack of light. If plants do not get enough light they literally consume their tissues and finally collapses and die. There is no substitute for lack of light. The next major environmental problem is water. Too much or too little are both fatal but the most frequent problem is the too much water. This is often aggravated by letting the plants sit in saucers of water, using potting soil that does not drain well or by watering too frequently. Pots without adequate drainage holes are also prone to kill plants. In addition to the water in the soil, the water in the air or in our case the lack of water causes serious problems. Most plants do best with a relative humidity of around fifty percent. Our homes are drier than the Sahara desert because of our forced air heating. Add humidity to the air by using a humidifier, setting the plants on a pebble tray or grouping the plants together. If the lack of humidity is severe, the plants often become scorched on the edge of the leaves. Pay attention to the temperatures that the plants are exposed to. Most tropical plants are comfortable at the same temperatures that we enjoy. However just because the thermostat is set at 72 degrees it does not mean the plants are staying warm. If ice is forming on the inside of the window, the temperature near the plants is almost freezing. Such temperatures can cause serious problems on heat loving plants. None of these can be controlled by applying pesticides of any kind. The only solution is to keep the plants healthy by providing the right growth environment for the plants. Larry A. Sagers Regional Horticulturist Utah State University Extension Service Thanksgiving Point Office