Of the many benefits indoor plants posess, pests are not one of them. At Tonkadale we are obsessed with your success and have much experience dealing with pests of indoor plants and the solutions to eliminate them. Best practice is to inspect plants each time you water so you can get after insects as soon as possible and before they become an infestation.

In case you don't make it to the bottom of the blog, here's a link to a video and an amazing infographic detailing all the best information to identify and treat pests of indoor plants!

• Aphids appear most commonly on the growing tips of plants.
• Black, brown, green, or orange in color.
• About 1/16” in size, typically easily visible.
• Indoor plant favorites include angel vine, succulents,  
• Aphids leave behind a clear, sticky residue called honeydew as they feed resulting a layer of black sooty mold.
• Eight, Insecticidal Super Soap, and Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew are the best treatment options.

• Fungus gnats closely resemble fruit flies.
• The juvenile form or larva are found in potting soil.
• Larva in the soil feed on fungus and decomposing organic matter which is often found on old or overwatered soil.
• Adults emerge from soil and eat very little with reproduction as their primary purpose.
• Always purchase potting soil from a reputable supplier.
• Allowing soil to dry between watereing.
• A soil cover such as sand or small pebbles may act as a barrier and prevent egg laying on the soil surface.
• Replace soil is an infestation occurs.
• Use yellow sticky traps to lure and trap adults.
• Larva can be controled by watering in Mosquito Beater which contains Bacillus thuringiensis, which acts as a microbial insecticide.
• Most insecticidal sprays will kill fungus gnats on contact, but their pupae and eggs are hard to treat with sprays.

• Mealybugs are about 1/5" long and wide.
• Mealy bugs have a white, waxy appearance which in mass looks like cotton or perlite.
• They can be found anywhere on plants but prefer to hide in unfolding leaves and difficult-to-spot places.
• Physical removal with Q-tips or a soft cloth is an easy first step to reduce population.
• Pruning away infested plant parts can also reduce popluation pressure.
• Eight, Insecticidal Super Soap or Horticultural Oil are the best treatments for mealybugs.

• Spider mites are difficult to see but are usually red, brown, or pale yellow.
• The two-spotted spider mite is the most common pest of indoor plants.
• In heavy infestations, spider mites create webbing, usually at the growth points.
• Spider mites are usually seen on citrus, palms, alocasia, ivy and always appear on the undersides of leaves.
• Spider mite damage looke like tiny yellow dots or stipling leaf surfaces by way of their piercing mouth parts used to siphon out sugars
• Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew or other Spinosad-containing products, Horticultural Oil are among the best options for control.

• Scale are found in various sizes, commonly 4-5mm, but sometimes smaller, usually brow or black in color.
• Scale have a hard outer shell and appear to be simple, immobile bumps on leaves or stems.
• Many species of scale excrete honeydew (a clear, sticky sap), which is often how infestations are spotted.
• Physical removal or scraping can be used to reduce adult poputations
• Horticultural Oil or Neem Oil are the only controls for scale insects, though complete control is difficult to achieve.
• Oils work by suffocating scale insects.

• Thrips are typically very small, 1-2 mm long.
• They have narrow, long bodies.
• Thrips have many possible colorations, usually light green, brown or orange.
• Feeding damage looks like silvery or faded patches on leaves or flower petals due to rasping, scraping mouth parts.
• Trap adults with yellow sticky traps.
• Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew or other Spinosad-containing products, Eight, or Insecticidal Super Soap are best treatments.

• Whiteflies can be as small as 1/12", somewhat triangular in shape.
• Found in clusters on the undersides of leaves.
• Not actually flies, closely related to aphids and mealy bugs.
• Whiteflies hadve piercing sucking mouthparts.
• Often found on poinsettias, citrus, mandevilla, hibuscus.
• Trap adults with yellow sticky traps.
• Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew or other Spinosad-containing products, Eight, or Insecticidal Super Soap are best treatments.

• Active Ingredient: Neem Oil plus Pyrethrins
• Pyrethrins mimic chrysanthemum extract which is toxic to insects.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Suitable for Organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Spinosad
• Naturally occurring bacteria found in old rum distilleries
• Kills mites, thrips, caterpillars.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Suitable for organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Lambda-cyhalothrin (a pyrethrin)
• Pyrethrins mimic chrysanthemum extract which is toxic to insects.
• Broad spectrum coverage, kills all insect pests besides scale with small residual control.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Not suitable for organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Mineral oil.
• Works by suffocating insects by coating them.
• Effective on contact against all insects and mites. No residual control.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Suitable for organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Basically soap and water
• no need to rinse or wash after application.
• Bugs have a hard time moving, suffocate. No residual control.
• Can control most insects and mites.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Suitable for organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Cottonseed Oil, Clove Oil, Garlic Oil
• Kills mites, thrips, and aphids
• Spray directly onto insects
• Works by suffocating insects
• Suitable for organic gardening

• Active Ingredient: Extract from the Neem tree in Africa
• Repellent, contact kill, and insect growth regulator.
• Can be used to control any insect or mite.
• Spray directly onto insects
• Suitable for organic gardening

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