






This is going to be kind of a long one, so apologies.
I have three monsteras that were previously indoors, yet moved outside once I moved to a new spot with a backyard. For about two months, they were shaded by an orange tree in the yard that’s over a decade old.
I finally moved them to the east side of the house to receive indirect light after tackling the overgrown yard (no one had taken care of it in five years, so i’m completely rehauling it.)
Unfortunately, I discovered that both the large orange tree and the small lemon tree were harboring glassy winged sharpshooters. The spawn of satan itself decided to lay eggs in all of my monsteras. I since have scraped all the eggs out and done several rounds of Captain Jack’s dead bug brew and separately applied a homemade spray made of 70% isopropyl alcohol, neem oil, peppermint castille soap and water wiping each leaf front to back with a brush to get every crevice.
One of my monsteras was incredibly root bound in its 8 inch pot, so i carefully repotted it in a 10 inch one. I’ve done this many times and am very comfortable potting plants and mixing soil together. There’s some thrip damage that happened prior but since has been dealt with and didn’t cause the massive yellowing that’s happening now. I’ve attached a couple photos of the sharpshooter egg locations before I scraped them all out.
Some of the plants in the yard that were neglected by prior owners had chiggers, spider mites and thrips. I’ve since gotten rid of the infested plants and figured carefully spraying each leaf like I did would prevent it spreading to the monsteras.
However, the past week or so, I’ve noticed that all of my monstera leaves are now slowly yellowing. I’m at a loss for what to do and feeling a bit defeated. Is it due to the other pests found in the yard? Do glassy winged sharpshooters spread bacteria that already is slowly killing my beloved monsteras?
I don’t know how to get rid of the sharpshooters besides neem oil. I’ve read that praying mantis might take them out but the only breed I can find online for sale is the invasive chinese mantis. I’m afraid that no matter how much I get rid of them, they’ll just fly in again from other people’s yards because they love citrus trees. The orange tree and lemon tree both seem to be faring fine.
If anyone has any new ideas or advice, I’ll take it with open arms— my monsteras were the plants that got me interested in house plants and gardening and I’ve had them for three years. I wish I hadn’t brought them outside but I didn’t have the space for them indoors because they were all slowly getting massive.
Thank you all very much, I appreciate anyone that took the time to read this.
by giantlasagna

2 Comments
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[mushrooms](https://planethouseplant.com/why-are-there-mushrooms-growing-on-my-house-plant/) – mushrooms in houseplant soil are harmless to your plant. Because of their life cycle, they may seem to appear overnight. They appear because the conditions were right – usually warm, dark, humid, and moist soil. [More [photos here](https://www.lovethatleaf.co.nz/blogs/plant-care-guides/white-fuzzy-balls-eggs-mould-indoor-plants-soil)
Consider also posting to r/mycology if the above links are not helpful
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