Hi! I have no experience with plants, 0. I've been given this plant about a month ago and it looked fine for all this time. I look at it almost daily. I looked at it today, and was shocked. It is completely covered with small insects, they look like transparent ticks. The windowsill around it is like sprayed but i never sprayed plants, and in little feather like bits.
I've gathered they might be aphid. But I don't even have the window open ever due to malfunction, how could this happen over the last 48h? How to prevent it? Is this even possible to get rid of all those small things with soap water?
Couple of days ago I've noticed my calla started regrowing and just decided to look after those plants properly. I have not seen any insects on calla, but is it in danger?
The infested plant was gifted to me by an abusive person should I just plant it outside and let it survive on its own?
I do want to save calla, and have it indoor.
Please, any advice, I'm such a noob, but i really want to have several plants inside. And this affected plant, is it even good for indoor?
Kind regards, val
by dreamy_vale
25 Comments
I’d put it outside or trash it.
They were probably in the soil and hatched recently.
They are aphids. Nothing to do with leeches nor old books. They produce some honey-like substance, can’t remember the English word for it, that attracts ants. Then ants farm on aphids for this “honey”.
This is… very bad. Are you attached to this plant in anyway? You may want to trash this before investing in any other plants. This is… beyond infested.
So that looks to be a carnation. Those are typically grown outside and I’m not sure would survive inside with that amount of light. I would take this baby outside and put it in some soil.
Looks like aphids for sure. Bad. You can try to find some ladybugs for sale locally and they’ll eat them. But if you don’t have other flowers/plants they may just leave. You can try spraying it with neem oil or a dawn dish soap/water mixture. I believe they sell insecticidal soap as well.
If you have any other plants I’d really get this one outside and away from them and start checking the others.
Release the ladybugs! 🐞
Spray them off with a water hose on the highest spray setting. Then cover the plant with neem oil spray! Repeat if needed. Aphids aren’t nearly as hard to deal with as other pests in my experience.
Easy! You should have lacewings and or lady bugs!. If you have a tent or an outdoor space, set it outside, let them go wild. It will cure that right up! Also these are huge
https://preview.redd.it/8oq5zevg0czg1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6f7e3e24fb0f05ea17f56b51612dc7d7cb8414d
Aphids. As pests go, they aren’t that bad to get rid of. Knock what you can off with a hard jet of water, follow up with insecticidal soap spray. This is a carnation though and not really suited to be a houseplant long term. It will do better planted outside (assuming you’re in the right climate zone for it?)
Absolutely savable!! Just don’t bring it back in for a bit. Aphids are not nearly as gnarly as other pests in my experience. As others have said, spray hard with a garden hose and then with neem oil. I had a sedum I forgot to plant from last year absolutely covered like your plant and I just sprayed him and then again the next day and he is as good as new a week later.
That plant likes sun.
Idk I wouldn’t throw it away I think that’s an overreaction for aphids. I’d just hose it down with a strong spray of water and put it outside. You don’t have any predators inside. You can’t put it directly in the sun, start with shade since that’s what it’s used to
If you can put it outside, do that and save your other plants. Show your love to beneficial insects by laying out an aphid buffet. Bon appetit🍽️
I don’t know why everyone is saying to trash it. Aphids are easy to deal with. A little dish soap in a spray bottle with water will get rid of them. Carnatiobs need to be outside though. It won’t make it indoors.
Whenever I have a problem with these yellow aphids they are being farmed by ants. Things like ladybugs are unhelpful because the ants just kill them. Spraying them off or using pesticides doesn’t help because the ants just replace them. I have to find the source of the ants before I can address the aphids.
Just wanna unpack this part:
“This infested plant was gifted to me by an abusive person”
OP, I think this is a sign to let the plant and the person go. Get yourself a healthy plant and relationship.
Aphids reproduce like non other because the females don’t require mates and can give birth to nymphs. If you want to save this plant, I’d suggest unpotting, removing all the soil from the roots, and giving a hydrogen peroxide bath. 1 part hydrogen peroxide 3 parts water and a dash of dish soap. Dunk and swish around in the solution and make sure you get all of it covered. Then rinse thr plant down with fresh water. Prepare a new pot with new indoor potting soil when replanting and I’d place the plant somewhere a bit more isolated from the rest. Inspect your other plants regularly too so you can ensure they haven’t spread to your nearby babies. Good luck! 🙏
That’s a dianthus! It’s not a houseplant and it won’t survive long indoors. The aphid infestation you’re seeing now was probably dormant in the soil to start out with.
You are supposed to plant it outdoors, either in a container or directly in the soil in the garden. That’s the best thing to do if you have the outdoor space. You can hose off most of the aphids and eventually other insects will be attracted to the aphids left and will munch away on them.
Dianthus come in annual, biannual and perennial variaties, so it may or may not make it through to next year. It’s hard to say without a full identification.
Outdoor plants are not supposed to be pest-free, nature usually finds a way to balance things out.
This plant won’t do well indoor anyway. Spray off as many as you can with the shower or with a hose and then put it outside for beneficial insects to take care of them.
Put it outside and let the beneficials come in to take care of them
Pick up some dr bronners peppermint soap. mix a little bit with some water in bottle and spray the f out of this plant and any near it. Respray every couple days till they stop coming back.
Dr bronners is a castille soap which is toxic to many pests, as is the peppermint oil.
https://preview.redd.it/tpu0qkzybczg1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a113bce266d063d71d4de91fe478655528fa4e2
Get some ladybugs
Just hold it upside down and wash it under cool water. You can literally flick them off, they don’t bite. Make a mild solution with mostly water and one tsp dish soap and spray on plant (keep it out of the sun). Make sure not to spray the soil.
They die out fairly quickly.
Or if you can find a 🐞 ladybug, set it on this plant. She will wipe them out asap
