COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL November 25, 2015
How to: Get indoor pests to
bug off without chemicals
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COLORING CONTEST
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BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
I
nsects lurking under leaves,
climbing up stems and set-
tling into the soil of houseplants
frustrate indoor gardeners to no
end.
But there are answers, ac-
cording to Amy Dreves, an en-
tomologist with Oregon State
University’s Extension Service.
“Winter is a good time to
check indoor plants for sap-
sucking insects like mites, thrips,
mealybugs, scales, whitefl ies
and aphids,” she said. “Spot-
ting problems and responding to
them early can keep populations
from exploding.”
Dreves suggests a number of
strategies to keep your indoor
pests at bay without resorting to
chemical controls.
First of all, learn your house-
plants’ needs and keep them
healthy with the correct amount
of light, water and nutrition.
Stressed plants encourage prob-
lems. For example, hot, dry and
dusty conditions promote mite
outbreaks and feeding plants
too much high-nitrogen fertil-
izer makes for a delicious din-
ner for aphids.
When you spot a problem, iso-
late infested plants from others
so the insects don’t spread from
plant to plant, Dreves said.
If whitefl ies are present, you
can carefully vacuum them off
with a hand-held vacuum, dis-
lodge them with a soft spray
of water or wipe leaves with a
sponge. If you go the vacuum
route, freeze the bag to kill the
contents.
Another trick, she said, is to
place aluminum foil or refl ec-
tive mulch around the base of a
plant. This may disorient winged
pests like thrips and aphids and
discourage them from landing.
Monitor early and often for insects, including aphids
and mealybugs, to keep houseplants such as this
pothos pest-free.
Or paint a small dish yellow and
fi ll it with water to attract and
drown them.
Use yellow sticky traps,
available at garden centers, to
capture aphids and whitefl ies.
Blue sticky traps are good for
snaring adult thrips, while white
ones work best for adult fungus
gnats. Kill fungus gnat larvae
that live in the soil by reducing
the amount of water you give
plants; they love moisture. Also,
remove standing water in the
saucer.
Swabbing bug-ridden leaves
with a small paintbrush dipped
in rubbing alcohol will destroy
soft-bodied aphids and mealy-
bugs. This works best when
infestations have just gotten
started.
In a greenhouse setting, you
can release tiny parasitic wasps
specifi cally for control of aphids
and whitefl ies, Dreves said.
These predator insects are avail-
able at most garden centers.
Some pests can be easily
eliminated by shaking them onto
a sheet of paper and discarding;
or by hand if you are not too
squeamish. Pinch off heavily in-
fested leaves or other plant parts
and destroy.
Spray plants plagued by soft-
bodied pests with gentle insecti-
cidal soaps or light horticultural
oils available at garden centers.
These may hurt some plants, so
spot treat one leaf fi rst. Also,
soaps and oils are not as effec-
tive on winged adults, because
they fl y off and come back lat-
er.
You may want to consider
throwing out heavily infested
plants. Discard soil and clean
the pot or container as well.
If you feel you have to resort
to chemical pesticides, keep in
mind that few pesticides are
registered or considered safe for
indoor use on houseplants, ac-
cording to Dreves. Read labels
carefully for where and how to
use a pesticide. If indoor use is
not listed on the label, take the
plant to be treated outside, away
from children and pet traffi c ar-
eas. Leave the plant outside a
day or two after spraying.
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