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insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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Posted by brwndot (My Page) on Sun, Oct 18, 09 at 17:25
| I've found little gnats flying around two peace lilies on separate occasions. The plants are in different rooms but I treated both with Bonide systemic granules. It seemed to work well on the first plant but not on the other. I've found little larva on the bottom of the pot and in the drip tray water.
I bought it on super clearance from Lowe's or Home Depot in July. It looked pretty dried out and abused. I clipped away dead/yellow stems and misted the plant between waterings. I was so pleased when it bloomed two weeks ago :) I haven't moved the plant to a new location or changed the way I care for it. But today I saw that the entire thing had nearly collapsed -- leaves are very wilted. I gave it just a little water and saw the little wormy/larva things in the drip tray. Not sure if this plant is in a poor state because I missed a watering, the bugs or both. I'd love any ideas on how to treat. Thanks!

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Here is a link that might be useful: larvae
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| I have a fungus gnat problem that I can't seem to control, too. I've been using Indoor Pharm, but it only seems to temporarily deter them. They always come right back. Plus, it can't be used on all plants, which sadly I learned with my jade. I will keep watch of this thread and hopefully learn how best to rid my plants of these pesky little things. Good luck to you! |
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| Fungus gnats usually only happen if you're using a primarily organic potting mix and keeping it moister than you should. If you're seeing them on your jade, you probably have an overwatering problem. On the other hand, I don't think the larvae in the first post are from fungus gnats. Fungus gnat larvae are smaller, translucent, and they don't have legs. |
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| Ah, I do use mostly organic potting mixes - that would explain some things. Thank you, Amccour. My main problem is I can't seem to get a handle on the fungus itself. I definitely don't overwater, but whenever I do water the mold starts showing up not long afterward, and subsequently the darn gnats as well. Is my house humidity level too high or something? Now, with my jade I did not have any issues with insects whatsoever, but when I sprayed all my other plants I went ahead and sprayed the jade, too, as a preventative measure - huge mistake and one that I will never repeat. I since do not spray any of my succulents with Indoor Pharm, though I do have to at least spray their soil to keep the gnats from burrowing into it. I like that this particular stuff is all natural, but I would prefer to find a more reliable solution to my problem. |
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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As with any time there is moisture around, we can expect what insects thrive in it. Fungus gnats live on the decaying matter that is always present in soil. AS moisture levels increase, the composting of miniscule bits of matter is then why we see an increased number of those pests that live on it. Hence the advice always is to try to let the plant dry out a bit longer; don't water as per a schedule, but test the plant's moistness before watering. With watering, we encounter drainage....and if such drainage water is not got rid of promptly, such water is then drawn back up to increase the moisture level. Generally, the plant that we think needs water, can be allowed to another day, or two, or three before it actually needs watering. This is one method of reducing the number of gnats. Misting will also often reduce the numbers of pests that attack our houseplants. It can, for a time, do instead of watering. We might also take a look at how much light the plant needs and how the sunlight might be contributing to its needing water so much. The surface dries out, the roots though are well moisturized...and we water; thus increasing the amount of water sitting around the roots. Sometimes, we don't water to drainage, we assume the plant doesn't really need it, so we water in dribs and drabs...hoping some of it reaches the depths. Sometimes its not gnats, but pesky insects such as thrips or whiteflies which are barely visible to the naked eye. For these definite methods of control is employed. Anytime you see a pest or damage from what is believed to be a pest, its a good idea to isolate the plant from each other. Spider mites, for instance, spread like wildfire from one plant to its neighbor and if not caught early, can cause a lot of damage that maybe ends up killing the plant. If you can see them, then use a hand vac, if you cant see them but suspect they're in the soil; do a leaching, immerse the plant totally in water letting the water saturate the plant fully, letting the bubbles stop before assuming the plant is wholly inundated. Then as the bugs surface---they have to breathe---we scoop them out and treat the watering as a normal water period and let the plant fully drain. The leaching method though is recommended to be done only once or twice a year, fully saturating the soil is not recommended to do as a way to control bugs. |
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| Will continue look for these little pests. I'm concerned that they'll move to other plants. Will try immersing the plant tonight. And I'll definitely ease up on the watering -- it's much cooler now and I'm sure the plant could go for longer. Thanks so much for the detailed response! |
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| those look like some sort of baby millipedes. they grow up to be a darker brown color and live in the soil. I would suggest changing the soil or running hot (not boiling) water down into the soil. From my experience they seem harmless, but rather icky and unwanted pests |
Here is a link that might be useful: millipede?
RE: insects on/around Peace Lilly -- pics
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| It turns out the bugs were coming from a another rescue plant, which is infested. Threw it out last week, washed out all pots and haven't seen any since. There are though, fungus gnats or something similar flying around. Haven't seen the adult version of the larva but will try hot water to be sure. |
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