How To Control Houseplant Pests (Spider Mites, Thrips, Mealybug, Fungus Gnats...) 

Good info. Anyone always get itchy when we talk about plant pests? Never fails 😂

I had so many fungus gnats and I didn't know what to do. So I watered my plants with 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 4 parts of water. I also sprinkled cinammon powder on the top of the soil. I also changed the soil of the really infected plants and my problem is solved. 5 of plants went to trash before I find the solution to my problem. I hope this helps guys

My mom always liked to use tobacco water to spray plants. Tobacco is a natural insecticide.

My pothos has mealy bugs and I have been trying to use it to get rid of the bugs, and it hasn’t been working. So I’m glad you posted this video, because I was starting to get frustrated. Thank you!

Thanks for posting this Nick. You are one of the only plant people that I have heard that uses something other than neem oil. As plant owners, we each get to decide what works best for our situation. Thanks for the information on how you deal with pests and what you use.

I just moved and had all my plants in bins together and discovered one or two had thrips. Im in for it now. Thanks for the helpful video Nick!

This is the first video I’ve seen of yours and I subscribed before even finishing the video. Very informative and so wholesome please continue to be wonderful!

Nick, I love you. You have just saved my plant collection!

Mosquito bite have been the most effective for me! Thanks for all the helpful tips! ❤️🌱

Nick, awesome info. I am a small plant collector and really dislike the idea of the bugs in my house. I now feel I have more options than neem oil. I enjoy your videos. Thank you 💚🌱

Mealybugs have wiped out tons of my plants lately this video is perfect timing

Love the idea of lacewings taking care of the bad bugs. I have a huge burle Marx also. It’s one of my many favs. Thanks for sharing.

I found gnats in my miracle grow soil. I mixed 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, one tablespoon of sugar, few drops of dish soap, half a cup of warm water. In a container near my plants. They were attracted to it and drowned. It worked great. For now on I leave my soil bag outside to freeze in the winter which kills them.

Thank you so much for this video!! It’s the best pest control video I’ve seen so far, and really helpful :D also, your pointy teeth are absolutely adorable

Great tips Nick! Wow...400 plants phew! That's a full time job alright!!!! Makes sense to have the lacewings to help with that. I am still thinking of using beneficials but atm I have a manageable number of plants so will wait and see how I do. Thanks for the great info 👍🏼

Totally agree with the awful smell of Neem oil and thank you so much for addressing fungus gnats! I have tried letting my plants dry out a LOT over and over and still have them. I'm going to try the mosquito bits and hope it will help. Thanks!

Well, i have been using neem oil with coconut oil and i never had any problems with pest(knock in wood), on the other hand, i grow all my plants in semihydro which is not so predisposed to pest....and you are right, neem oil smell awful but helped me a lot especially in my garden, because i had pest there. Lovely video 😊💚 and thank you for the info.

Nick is really cute when he talks about plants!

I need a Q&A with your roommate lol

Thank you! This video addressed all my questions! 🎉

I use mosquito bits in my work as a biologist, they are incredible to control mosquitos in watersheds. So effective and so safe!

"Gnawing type of fashion" cracked me up for some reason. Thank you for the informative video!

My calathea recently got thrips and it's not doing too well at the moment. It's frustrating but glad that I saw your vid! I am currently trying to rid my fear of bugs and insects-.- Thanks so much for sharing!

Great video! I've had mealys and thrips and also find neem oil ineffective so I use systemic on every plant as well as Capt. Jack when needed. SNS used as a drench eradicated thrips on one of my large philodendrons. Also, alcohol kills mealys instantly if the plant can take it.

Thank you so much,you saved me so much money just getting into this!

Great video! My philodendron is also the thrippy culprit and neem oil isn’t cutting it! I’ve been working systematic into my soil for a couple of weeks now and just placed an order for captain jacks. With 62 plants all squeezed into my bedroom, it’s worth it to protect them as they are all likely affected by the thrips !

Just going through my first round of fungus gnats... thanks for the tips!

I always wondered if you dealt with pests considering the amount of plants you have. I've got less than 100 plants in my house and was always bug free (asides from fungus gnats) but recently found thrips on a few of my plants. I used Bonide systemic and it works so well! I tried neem in combination with it but you're right about the smell. I couldn't describe it but rotten oranges is exactly how it smells when you've got over 50 plants to spray down. It's awful! I love that Bonide doesn't have a scent.

I just bought bonide spray today hoping it'll work on my new thrip problem and just now I find this video. You speak to me! The thrips just took out my philo silver sword so now I might just have to buy a ton of lacewings to save the rest of my babies!

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for that Captains Jack's recommendation. You may have just saved my precious orchids from thrips. I couldn't bring myself to use neem. The smell gives me migraines, and I was concerned about getting oil on my orchids roots. I try to avoid systemics, because I have pets and small kids. I've had houseplants for years, but this is my first battle with thrips. They were accidentally brought in on an African violet. 😬🤦

Love the detail in this vid. Thanks for the advice

Great video Nick. I was looking for something to control thrips on African Violets and didn't want to use Neem Oil. I am ordering some Captain Jacks instead. Thanks for all your tips, looking forward to checking out your other videos. Subbed

This is perfect! I’ve started an ivy collection (I have 4 now) and I’m terrified of spider mites. It got them once this summer, but I caught it early and just washed them off. Hopefully I can collect them in peace!

One trick I've learned for preventing fungus gnats is to introduce springtails to your potted plants to outcompete the fungus gnats. Like fungus gnats, they'll eat fungus that grows in your planter which can actually be beneficial to your plants, but they don't fly so you don't have to worry about them being a nuisance. They have an added benefit that they burrow into your substrate and can help clear any harmful fungus that may take hold in your planter. I used springtails to help save a bird's nest fern from root rot and it worked very well.

Great and informative video.... I absolutely HATE bugs but I LOVE my plants.... So, even though I want my home to look like a jungle, I can’t lol... I’ll contend with living vicariously through my RU-vid plant family’s jungle homes. ♥️

What an awesome video. So informative. Thank you!

Very helpful video, thank you for sharing your experience with us. In regards to the lacewings, do they die once the pests are gone and do they work for spider mites as well? I'm always worried that I don't have enough pests to sustain them so I end up holding off. I must admit that when I ordered some for mealy bugs and when I saw a lacewing munching down on one it was the best feeling and it got me totally hooked on beneficial insects!

VERY informative video!! You covered all the options🤗🤗🤗

I just use a blast of non organic bug spray. As l don’t have more than 20 plants atm l very, very rarely have to use it. It’s great going organic and all that, but l don’t want to play around trying different organic products and home remedies while my plants get munched. The pesticide is localised to my plant pots anyway. I’d guess that many who use organic pesticides drive cars (l don’t), and what damage do they do to trees, plants and lungs...? I’ve checked Captain Jacks... And in the UK it’s £27! Waaay too much for a bug spray imho. Thanks for the vid as always, Nick 🙏🏻

Thank you! This is exactly what I needed.

Omg, I hit that “Buy Now” button so fast upon listening to you talk about these products. My worst fear is spider mites. Right now I consider myself lucky that I really only have a few gnats flying around one of my plants. BUT I WANNA BE PREPARED TO FIGHT THE SPIDERS.

I use hydrogen peroxide and water to treat Fungus gnats. and I use Alcohol + dish soap + water for Spider Mites

LOVE the Bromide Systematic granules. I have ordered them about 4 times. When I went to order them the 5th time (this is over a period of years), I was informed they no longer ship the product to Connecticut ... probably due to some environmental restriction. Rats !!!

finally someone mentions white flies and ahids! they are hard to deal with. but never seen a mealybug or thrips in my life. probably i'd scream on top of my lungs if i see one of those... just ugh... that would be the day i start question my need to keep plants.

Great video, thanks Nick. I have some Encarsia wasps coming to dry to deal with Spider Mites. I've found them to be very variable in their effectiveness as I think they tend to die quickly in summer heat but it's getting cooler here (in the UK) now so hopefully they'll do the job and clean up my giant (too large for the shower) Alocasia.

I had been watching a few of your videos and decided to check and see what your advice on getting rid of spider mites was. Of course, I had been using a spray made up of neem, dish soap and water. I only saw the mites on one plant but it freaked me out so much that I first decided to treat only it and the plants surrounding it. Soon, though, I found myself treating all my plants. I thought I had a lot of plants..,.40-50, but I pale in comparison to you, lol. It's been a lot of work because I also decided that it would be a great time to repot many of them because I've been too ill to care for them properly for so long. Anyways, gonna try the products that you recommended. I'm still a bit leery about the mites even though I treated many of the plants twice, already. On another note...but keeping to the business of plant pests.....I wanted to mention how every time I repotted plants, I ended up with fungus gnats. I have since come to learn that MiracleGro products, which I often bought, come with the 'bonus' gnats. I don't know about other commercial soils, though. Btw, learning lots by watching.....umm, actually, binging..... your videos so I have also subbed!

thank you for pointing out the price difference of buying larva vs eggs. I bought eggs and well, I don't even know if they hatched. I will buy larva next time for sure!!!

Thank you for discussing neem oil I found it never worked for me either. I started using dr Bronners soap, peroxide minimum 3% and water also when I’m watering my plants I rub the top edge of the pot with rubbing alcohol careful not to get in the pot. I think this keeps bugs from wanting to go in the pot I also brought a few lady bugs in and out then in the plants

Hi Nick, how long do the beneficial bugs live? what happens to them over time? Lots of great information on how to take care of annoying pests, I know as a plant parent we have all had to deal with one or more of these bugs at any given time. I'm just glad that there are things we can do to kill them and get them under control, and hopefully they won't return.

I discovered my first ever Thrips infestation on my huge Philodendron Selloum today... it's so huge (w/pot 50 lbs) that my husband had to carry it to the walk in shower where I sprayed it thoroughly with insecticidal soap. It's too much work to spray it often due to its size. I ordered Bonide granular which I am happy you recommend! Bugs freak me out! I didn't notice any on any other plants... thanks for the tip on the lint roller tape 🤣 it works!

I use mineral oil, a tsp per gallon to spray on the plant and pests. The NEEM just interrupts the reproductive cycle of most pests, doesn't actually kill them. :)

Hi Nick! This spring I got ladybugs at my local nursery and picked 3 and put them randomly in my plants. No insects this year and cute ladybugs🐞 seen here and there. I haven't seen them lately though. 🤪lol. I'm thinking my birdie thought they were toys for him. For wonderful gnats I always keep a small bowl of water in my kitchen sink if there's floating gnats in the morning I know they are on a plant somewhere. I used Raid house and garden spray and I've never had gnats again. I didn't use it when I had my ladybugs of course!

So right Nick! The neem oil inside one's home is really noxious.....And it was too agressive for my plants. Giving the Deadbug brew a try today.

I’m glad I found your channel. This video was very helpful, I wish I could like it a bunch of times.

Great video Nick! I love your videos because I'm a "plant nut" too. I had to comment on your suggestions for pest control. I learned of a natural cure many years ago that I have used many times. It is a nicotine spray made with chewing tobacco. Nicotine is toxic to all insects and this works great! Combine one handful of cheap chewing tobacco with 4 cups boiling water. Let steep until cool. Strain and pour liquid into empty 1 gallon container. Add 1 tsp of dish SOAP not detergent (I use organic) then fill the rest of the way with fresh water. You spray this all over the affected plant and let it dry. ANY bug that goes for a drink of plant juice will get a lethal dose of nicotine and croak. I only use this indoors as I wouldn't want to kill any pollinators. It will eventually lose it's effectiveness, that's when I reapply. The spray lasts for quite a while in the bottle too. Just make sure you strain it thoroughly when mixing up a batch, or it might clog your sprayer. Keep up the excellent work Nick, I eagerly await your installments as they are always interesting and informative. Pete the Plantman

I use neem for mealy bugs, but each time my plants had them, I caught them early and the infestations were not very bad. I make my own concoction with neem, hydrogen peroxide, soap and water. I used it on my roses and tomatoes, too when they got some weird bug I haven’t been able to id. It worked. But, I don’t have 400 plants! The mosquito bits and sticky traps are great for fungus gnats.

Thanks for the video, great content

We have the same nemesis: thrips and spider mites. Many of my babies died of thrips. I tried neem oil and dish soap but it didn't work. Do i went for the big guns: insecticide pyretherin. They went away but now I have spider mites. Man! It never ends. But thanks for sharing how you deal with them.

"mites are not insects" omfg thank you Nick

What happens to the lacewings when they become adults? Do they fly around the house? Do they die? Lol

Thanks for all the great tips and advice for past control. I have had a terrible time with mealies and slugs this summer. I saw a few knats too but think it may have been due to worm castings.

Thank you so much for all of this information I just brought in tons of my plants to winter them and de-potted and washed over 100 of my plants and I still have to bring in a lot more but I don’t won’t to depot and clean them all it’s a lot of work, what do you use if you’re bringing an outdoor plant inside?

I like the lacewing idea 😃!!! 🤙🏾 thanks!

Best plant pest video yet ! So glad to hear something different than alcohol suggested . Yes . Alcohol will kill a few Mealybugs and their eggsacs . But they’re back in a few days . And it burns the leaves of my succulents ( or dries them out . Ugly either way ). It’s maddening. I use the Bonide Systemic that you use. Did ya know you can buy a much bigger container that’s not labeled “ House Plant “ , but contains the same ingredient. .22% Imidacloprid. It’s a much better value . I have some Monterey brand Spinosad . I’ll try it . I think I have thrips on my succulents. I have over 200 plants . Gonna do green lacewings after the Spinosad has had time to settle down . Do you use the Captain Jack Dead Bug Brew on succulents at all ? Just curious if it burns their leaves or messes up the farina . And , does the Bonide Systemic kill the green lacewings? Thanks for the video.

Great info Nick thanks

4:03 this is what I was really curious about and you answered it yay!

Thank you for this video!

Thanks for sharing! Good tips! 💚🌱👍

Thank Nick! Just ordered some green lacewings for thrips.

So funny how I got here 😂 because the neem oil don’t work for me 😅 . Thank you for this very helpful video

I've had green lacewings coming in from outside in spring. They're cute and never do any harm so I just leave them alone. Never knew they were good for pests tho. Gonna move them from the walls to my plants from now on.

Thanks going to pick up some Bonide systemic tomorrow. Mealybugs

The systemic works VERY well, but that is because it is VERY toxic. I use it, so I am not saying don't, I am saying be very careful (not nonchalant) when using it. Wear plastic gloves when handling, avoid breathing in the dust (I wear a cheap dust mask bought at Lowes) and when watering the plant, do not get the pot bottom runoff from the plant on your skin (wash it off immediately.) As with any chemical product that actually works, there is real potency to it and real caution needs to be exercised in it's use. I am very glad you mentioned treating the plant during regular watering schedules (when the plant is dry.) So many give advice (especially with organic soap recipes) to spray a plant weekly to control bugs. That would involve getting the pot soil wet way too frequently, resulting in root rot. Sure, you can tip the plant to spray just the foliage, but when you up-right it again, a lot of that moisture runs down the stems and wets the soil anyway. .

Hi Nick, how often do you spray the Captain Jack’s when you are fighting off an infestation?

Thank you for this information! I tried neem oil because everyone swears by it...but I'm still have issues. I just went and got the Capt. Jacks in concentrated form! Tomorrow is plant maintenance day! So here is too hoping!

I mostly deal with mealybugs and I just use an alcohol spray. It takes a while for them to go away completely but it works eventually

Thanks for the great info & explanations! I'm a beginner with houseplants & have trouble trying to identify what kind of pest is squirming around in there... any helpful hints on identifying?

Thank you for this information.

Thanks Nick for the info. Right now I have been noticing a few fungus knats here and there but nothing serious. I did go out and buy an organic insecticide called Fungicide 3 from Lowe's. I do have to admit that I have been too afraid to use it because I am afraid of harming my plants. I will read carefully and consider using it though.

I've been loving your videos lately! I never used to care about houseplants but lately, I've been more into them and bringing more home. I just realized that thrips were attacking my Monstera Deliciosa. I tried a spray (not Captain Jack but I'll look for him next time). If that doesn't work I'll try the lacewings. Do they stick around for a long time? Or just kinda die off eventually? Thanks!

Had my first battle with spider mites recently and won thanks to you! Thank you for the Captain Jack's tip. I also use mosquito bits, I put a sprinkle on top of the plant soil. You can't put too much or they mold. Yuck! I would put them in water directly, but don't like the way it smells. :)

What i do: mealybugs = water/small amount rubbing alcohol mix and spray. fungus gnats = use flystrip spider mites = rubbing alcohol water mix spray it and repot in pot with drainage holes and keep the soil dry between watering. Thrips = for houseplants use special store bought pest spray, spray the soil, stem and leaf, keep your infected plants in isolation form other healthy ones.

Definitely getting mosquito dunks and pellets! Have the systemic, yellow stickies and spray. Hate fungus gnats!

Thank you so much for explaining the lace wings I did have a question. How long do they last on your plants..

Thanks so very much for posting this. I was wanting to know about the granuals instead of the powder. Does the Bonide Systemic Insecticide granuals damage the soil. I watched a vid by a lady who said to never use it because it kills the microbes in the soil that feeds your plants.

Very informative video

Very interesting and a good alternative. I don’t know where I get spider mites from…I haven’t introduced any new plants and it gets very frustrating. The last plant I purchased had mealy bugs…I caught it before they got to spread to my other plants.

So helpful thank you

Yep getting ready to dose it all with Jacks Dead Bug. I switch with bonide systemic and the green bottle insecticidal soap.

So informative thanks! Do adult/winged thrips look similar to fungus gnats? I thought I was having a fungus gnat issue but found thrips (ugh) on succulents and now I'm wondering because lots of them died in my empty 'yellow' laundry basket and I know gnats like yellow 😆

I hate Thrips. I even somehow got them in my grow tent growing hydroponic peppers lol. Dont ask me how it happened. I can only think its from having my patio screen door open. Captain Jacks is awesome stuff though. Really knocks the thrips out and is non toxic to humans. They also Make Capt Jacks in a Powder. I agree with u on neem oil I think that stuff is overrated

Very helpful 👍

Hi! I've also heard about using predatory mites to deal with thrips. Is that the same thing as green lacewings? I would love your opinion between the two if you have one :)

how long do the lacewings live for usually?

Yes, the crappy Walmart and Home Depot and Lowe’s hydrophobic Neem oil mixed with other chemicals variations aren’t cutting it here in El Paso. I don’t know what I have, I got the spider mites under control but something else is devastating my pepper plants yet my watermelons are thriving

Plant mom since Oct. 2019 here and yes, it's disheartening as a new indoor gardener! But folks like you give me hope. I had already started using cotton swabs w/rubbing alcohol but it was so much work to go leaf after leaf. So I went to my local nursery. The gardener talked me out of neem oil because of the smell and also it's expensive. She recommended Bonide Houseplant Systemic also, which is very easy to use indeed and very helpful! Now I just need to get on the spider mites and fungus gnats! The yellow sticky traps only catch a few gnats. I think they're on to me... I recently made my own organic bug spray using water + baking soda + mild liquid soap + drops of pure essential oils: clove, tea tree, eucalyptus, peppermint (again because I don't want to use neem). Time will tell on effectiveness as I have only sprayed yesterday, but others swear by it.

I have thrips!!! 😭 I bought ladybugs and I hope it works. If not then I might try the green lace wings. Thanks for the tips. Your video is very helpful!!

It’s interesting that so many people have not had success with Neem oil. Last year I had a major infestation of scale on my big shefflera plant, and was ready to toss it. I took it outside on the deck, trimmed off the worst branches, and sprayed the crap out of it with a mix I made of Neem oil, dish soap and water, then repeated when it dried. I continued to spray it every few days for a couple of weeks and no more scale with the bonus of shiny leaves. It looks great now! I am currently dealing with my first incident of mealy bugs and man did they spread before I caught them-I didn’t know what they were. Using selective pruning and my Neem oil spray now to address that, and it seems to be working but still early days. From now on I will be using Neem oil prophylactically to repel pests. I think I hit critical mass last year with the number of plants I have which is resulting in pests. Another vote here for Mosquito bits tea to deal with fungus gnats. I used Miracle Gro potting soil. :(

Coming here from my first thrips experience :( god I hope these can be saved

Nick, will the lacewings then breed/lay eggs and create more lacewings thus providing a constant supply of these beneficial bugs? Or do they simply die off and if so, how long is their life span? Very curious to know . .