Pest Prevention, Treatment & Pesticides:

There is a variety of different insects that can wreak havoc on your plants. For common plant pest types I use these for and the methods of treatment, check out our post on common plant bugs.  Thankfully with a few steps, you can combat the pests and enjoy your indoor jungle in peace. While prevention is the best thing when it comes to plant pests, bugs will eventually happen. So when you do get them, It may take time and repeated treatments, but if you do get pests, there are ways to control them. Click here to jump right to the products I use.

Prevention:

First, prevention. What can you do to keep creepy crawlies from coming into your humble abode? Well, the key thing is to quarantine new plants before introducing them to the rest of the plant gang. I know the feeling of wanting to put a new plant on a hanging shelf on display as soon as you bring it home, but even if you inspect new plants, often there can be a hidden mealy bug in the crevice of a plant,  a spider mite so small you can’t see it at first glance, or eggs lying in the soil, just waiting to hatch. Sounds like a horror movie right? I hear you, bugs are the cause of my worst nightmares. Outside of quarantining new plants, I also have a routine of cleaning the leaves very well, by hosing them off with a garden hose or a shower when I bring them home and then spraying the leaves with a natural pest control spray,  my DIY foliage spray or an insecticidal soap a few times over the first week. I choose something like a natural spray or an insecticidal soap because with a plant that is already adapting to a new environment, I try to limit the use of harsh chemicals on the plant. I also closely inspect the leaves (both front and back), stems and the top of the soil every couple of days during the quarantine period.

You also should quarantine any infected plants at the first sign of pests, during treatment, in order to try to stop them from spreading to the other plants around them.

Another way to prevent plant pests from invading your indoor jungle is to keep healthy plants. Pests target plants that are already on the decline. Aside from many sap-feeding insects that are more likely to attack healthy plants, according to the University of Illinois, other insects may be more likely to attack unhealthy plants that are too weak to produce chemicals to defend themselves. Younger leaves are also more vulnerable, because they tend to contain more water and nitrogen than older leaves, so pay special attention to brand new leaves on your plant. Proper care should be taken, including consistent watering, healthy soil, well draining pots, cleaning leaves, fertilizing depending on the plant, grooming straggly stems, removing dead leaves and inspecting leaves regularly for signs of insect damage.

 

Once you have determined that there are pests, the next step is tackling what kind of pest you have and beginning treatment. The diagnoses can be extremely tricky, as many pests that attack plants are so small, you may have a hard time spotting them with the naked eye. I personally use a magnifying glass for pests, to inspect the plant and to determine what type of pests are on the plant.

Here, I have a detailed comparison of 2 minimum risk pesticides (Earth’s Ally and Neem oil) and my DIY insect spray. For the types of insects I use these for and the methods of treatment, check out our post on common plant bugs.

We are constantly learning more about our plants, what they enjoy and what we genuinely like using, so this list is ever evolving! We also post a lot about the products we currently using on our Instagram.

DIY insect spray:

Using a spray bottle, mix all of the ingredients together well, and shake before using/during use.

Natural (minimum-risk) pesticides, a comparison:

Neem oil based products such as Bonide Neem Oil RTU as well as Rosemary oil based products such as Earth’s Ally Insect Control are considered minimum-risk pesticides. 

There have been numerous experiments on the effects of natural/plant derived pest control. For spider mites, mealy bugs, thrips, whiteflies and aphids.  According to https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19736770/ 

  • Natural oil based products containing essential oils such as cottonseed, cinnamon and rosemary oil or soybean, rosemary, and lavender oil provided > 90% mortality of citrus mealybugs.
  • Natural oil based products containing essential oils such as cottonseed, clove, and garlic oil or citric acid based products were most effective against the twospotted spider mite (> or = 90% mortality).
  • Natural oil based products containing canola, coriander oil, and triethanolamine or neem (clarified hydrophobic extract of neem oil) or eugenol, sodium lauryl sulfate, peppermint, and citronella oil provided > 80% mortality. 
  • Insect Spray, which contained 0.5% spinosad, was most effective against western flower thrips with 100% mortality. All the other products evaluated failed to provide sufficient control of western flower thrips with < 30% mortality.

Neem oil is probably the most common natural oil used in plant care in the United States, at least based on the house plant hobbyist groups I have observed. However, in certain countries, such as Canada and the UK, the active ingredient in neem oil sprays is banned, and it doesn’t smell pleasant at all, so in addition to neem oil, I am going to compare it to another natural pest control, which has rosemary oil in it, as an alternative.

Neem oil: 

What is neem oil? 

  • Neem oil is a naturally occurring insecticide distilled from the essence of the seeds of the neem tree, which was originally found in the eastern countries India and Burma. Today, the tree has been exported to many other parts of the world (like Saudi Arabia, the Caribbean, and etc) to facilitate increased production of the popular oil.
  • The neem oil is a feeding inhibitor, delaying development and growth, reducing fecundity and fertility, changing behavior and causing anomalies in eggs, larvae and adults of insects or mites
  • According to the national pesticide information center, Some adverse reactions to neem oil have been shown in cats where neem oil was used for flea control. 
  • Poses a hazard to bees when directly exposed to treatment 
  • Neem oil has shown promising insecticidal, fungicidal and bacterial properties, with minimal side-effects.  It’s also rich in antioxidants, making it useful in preventing free radical generation and preventing diseases. However it must be cold-pressed to be most effective, which means you would have to mix your own for optimal benefits. 
  • Neem oil can be used for certain insect and fungal disease issues. If pure neem oil is used, without the other active ingredient in most pre-mixed sprays, It kills insects by suffocation, covering their bodies with oil that blocks their breathing openings. It is most effective against immature insects. Mature adult insects aren’t typically killed and may continue to feed and reproduce. Thus, close monitoring of pest lifecycles is necessary for timing a neem oil application.
  • Even when neem is applied to immature-stage insects, do not expect to see immediate results. It can take time to work, and reapplication may be necessary to completely control insect populations. Aphids, beetle larvae, caterpillars, lacebugs, leaf hoppers, leafminers, mealy bugs, thrips and whiteflies are commonly listed as pests controlled by neem pesticide products. Make sure to accurately identify insects, and only apply neem oil if that pest is listed on the product label. Neem can harm beneficial insects as well as pests.

What is Earth’s Ally insect control, with rosemary oil? 

  • Earth’s Ally is an OMRI listed contact insecticide , miticide and repellent. With high concentration of active ingredients formulated with 100% organic botanical oils. Rosemary is the primary active ingredient that kills and repels pests
  • So why rosemary oil instead of neem oil? Well if the pleasant smell in comparison isn’t enough of a reason, Earth’s Ally is independently tested and proven safe for the bee population.
  • In addition to the treatment of your typical plant pests, 12 essential oils derived from plants were compared based on their mosquito repellent effectiveness. Out of the 12, rosemary oil had the longest repelling effects. 
  • Insects are attracted to the smell of your plants, scents such as rosemary and peppermint have been shown to mask the smell of your plant and repel insects. You will notice this on fungus gnats when you spray, even if they don’t come in direct contact with the spray!
  • Oil based sprays all work in the same way as far as killing insects, which is by smothering. So the effectiveness of killing them would essentially be the same, but since this one also repels them, it can help keep the bugs from coming back.  The botanical oils affect the pest nervous system and cause them to be paralyzed. The oils block the tiny sphericals soft-bodied insects use to breathe and cause suffocation on contact.
  • Earth’s Ally is formulated with a blend of Rosemary, Clove and Peppermint oils
  • Earth’s Ally Insect Control formula has 90% spider mite mortality in independent lab testing
  • Earth’s Ally is independently tested and proven safe for the bee population.
  • There have been scientific studies on products with a blend of natural oils, including rosemary oil with wintergreen oil, rosemary with cinnamon and cottonseed oil, which show the effectiveness of rosemary oil on plant insects. 

So what is the consensus:

Based solely on my opinion and what I have seen with insect control, prevention and treatment, of spider mites, mealy bugs, fungus gnats and millipedes*  there wasn’t a notable difference in the effectiveness of neem oil versus rosemary oil based Earth’s Ally, (oil based sprays work the same, by smothering the insects), however, Earth’s ally had no negative affects on my plants. While i have noticed some negative effects to foliage overtime from repeat uses of neem oil. Earth’s Ally also smells SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER than neem oil, which is a huge bonus. I have used both sprays as a preventative when bringing new plants into my home, but based on the smell alone, I have been reaching for the Earth’s Ally spray more often than not, since discovering it. My plants, in pots love it so far!

Wishing you the best of luck with keeping your plants, that are PlantedinPots, pest free and healthy! I will continue to add to this post as I learn more about bugs that feast on plants. For more tips, tricks and DIYs that I have learned during my houseplant journey, check out more PlantedinPots blog posts or youtube channel. Or for your daily dose of plant inspiration, follow PlantedinPots on instagram! Happy Planting!

Insect Control Products & Pesticides:

Here are the products I use for controlling insects. Below that, I have a detailed comparison of 2 minimum risk pesticides (Earth’s Ally and Neem oil) and my DIY insect spray.

We are constantly learning more about our plants, what they enjoy and what we genuinely like using, so this list is ever evolving! We also post a lot about the products we currently using on our Instagram.

We are constantly learning more about our plants, what they enjoy and what we genuinely like using, so this list is ever evolving! We also post a lot about the products we currently using on our Instagram.

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Visit our Plant Products page for a full list of plant products we use and love. 

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