Recently, potted plants have increasingly become a design choice.
They perform an aesthetic role, decorating the room, adding color at any time of the year. They are purchased for interior decoration of various rooms: children's rooms, kitchens, offices, halls.
However, house plants are not only about aesthetics and beauty. The benefits of a natural air purifier are much greater than those of an artificial one.
Potassium permangantsovka
When midges appear, you must first let the soil dry, and then replace the irrigation water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. You only need a few grains per liter of water so as not to burn the roots. The plant can also be sprayed with this composition.
Potassium permanganate has a good effect in the fight against fungus in the soil. If you smell mold, dry the soil and water it with a pale pink solution.
It is not recommended to use the product on an ongoing basis. This can disrupt the acid-base balance of the soil and lead to the accumulation of manganese in the soil. As a result, not only pathogenic microorganisms will die, but also beneficial bacteria.
Who can live in a flower pot
There are a lot of pests for indoor flowers. Some of them settle in a land coma. When the housewife notices small whitish worms in the tray or near the stem, the plant must be rescued immediately. But first you need to determine what kind of parasite you will have to fight. These can be the larvae of some insects or adults. Let's list the possible options.
Nematodes
Protostomal roundworms. There are almost a million species in total, but only plant nematodes inhabit flower pots. These are very small whitish worms. They feed on plant debris or living greens.
Varieties of plant nematodes
Free. They can live on different parts of the plant body, moving from one place to another. They affect the entire bush. With free cyst formation. They settle in the roots, destroying their shell. They form root cysts or reservoirs with fertilized eggs. Gallic. They live on root shoots. They deposit secretions on them, which provoke the formation of galls or thickenings. Individuals settle inside them. Ripe eggs rupture the shell of the thickening, it bursts, the larvae crawl into the soil.
One of the signs of nematode infection is the appearance of rounded swellings on the root shoots. In addition, small areas of yellow color appear on the leaves. Subsequently they darken, become brown or black. The leaves are deformed and reduced in size, the stems are bent.
Enhytrea
Small, up to 10 mm long, translucent worms. They settle on the roots and do not rise to the surface. Therefore, it is difficult to notice the presence of enchytrea, unless by chance during the transplant process. In nature, they feed on decaying organic matter. But in a limited space, such as a flower pot, root shoots are eaten. If the colony size is large, the infected bush quickly dies.
You can suspect the presence of enchitraea based on indirect signs. The leaves begin to turn yellow, wither and fall off. The flower slows down and noticeably lags behind its healthy neighbors in development.
Having noticed this, you need to carefully remove it from the ground, as when replanting. In infected specimens, the roots are covered with enchytraea. Mechanical removal is useless; you need to look for an effective way to get rid of white worms in the ground.
Springtails
They are also called fools or springtails. Very small arthropods. The largest specimens reach 5 mm. Their peculiarity is the jumping fork located in the lower part of the body. With its help they are able to move quickly. Poduras feed on decaying organic matter; if it is not available, they switch to young shoots and roots.
The degree of damage caused depends on the size of the colony. If it is small, there is no threat to indoor flowers. But as soon as the number of pests increases, the greenery dies.
It is difficult to spot springtails. Most often, tiny white worms are found in the flower tray after watering, where they are washed away with water.
Otherwise, there are no specific signs of damage. The bush turns yellow and its growth slows down.
Sciarides
They are also fungus gnats or flower gnats. Adult specimens do not pose any danger to greenery. But the larvae living in the soil mixture destroy the root system. The plant slows down in growth, turns yellow and dies.
Infection can be suspected by the appearance of adult sciarids. These are small winged insects that circle around flower pots.
Their larvae are miniature white worms with a black head. The length of the individual is from 3 to 5 mm. Adult sciarids, when exposed to favorable conditions, such as warm and waterlogged soil, multiply quickly. Therefore, when the first midges appear, you must immediately begin to fight them. In the best case, they have not yet had time to lay eggs, then it will not be difficult to deal with them.
Landscape
10 garden plants that will help you no longer worry about pests in your area
Currently reading:
Classic style in the interior: features, ideas...
6 cool kitchen life hacks you need to know...
How to choose a sofa to match the color of the walls: 7 successful...
Correct and beautiful: 8 visual storage ideas...
Sulfur from matches
Sulfur is part of complex fertilizers. In addition, fungicides based on this microelement are used for treatment at the first signs of a fungal disease.
To rid indoor flowers of pests, experienced flower growers stick matches into the ground with their heads down. After some time, the midges and their larvae will disappear, and the plant will receive almost free feeding.
The disadvantages of this method include the need to frequently change matches: the sulfur on them dissolves in one day. Wooden sticks left in the soil can rot and cause pathogenic flora to multiply.
Ways of bugs appearing in pots
Most often, it is white bugs that appear on indoor plants. There are a number of ways for beetles to appear in the soil:
- through an open window from the street. This happens if the larvae or adults are on trees;
- poor quality
White bugs in a pot.
the soil that was brought. This problem often arises if the soil for planting is not purchased, but collected;
- soil moisture is too high, which causes rotting;
- various midges and insects that like to lay their eggs in the ground.
Garlic
Strong antibacterial agent. Its smell cannot be tolerated by insects. If you are not afraid of a specific aroma, water your indoor flowers with garlic infusion.
Garlic destroys mold spores, prevents plant diseases and repels all insects. It is necessary to chop 7-10 cloves of garlic, pour a liter of boiling water over them and leave for at least a week.
Strain the resulting concentrate, measure out 50 g and stir in 10 liters of water. This solution can be used to both water and spray plants.
A simpler, but less effective way is to put a few cut cloves in a flower pot.
Advantages of using garlic: getting rid of pests, preventing plant diseases and saturating the soil with useful substances. The disadvantages include a pungent odor, the duration of preparation of the infusion and its short shelf life.
Prevention measures
It is easier to prevent insects from infecting plants than to fight them.
Listen to the advice of experts:
- Even if you notice one fly or worm, check all the pots.
- Replace the soil, wash the containers.
- Adjust watering, do not over-moisten the soil.
- Do not use folk remedies for fertilizer - tea leaves, meat juice. These products create favorable conditions for the proliferation of pests.
- Do not place vases with purchased flowers near indoor plants.
Monitor newly acquired plants and soil. Follow the rules of flower care; a healthy plant is less susceptible to pests.
Tobacco infusion
To prepare the product, tobacco dust, shag and dry tobacco leaves are suitable. Approximately 400 g of powder should be poured into 10 liters of water at room temperature and left for a day.
After a day, strain the mixture and spray it on indoor plants. Nicotine, which is part of tobacco, kills all insects.
To better retain the liquid on the leaves, you need to add a little laundry soap to the resulting composition.
Caution should be used: use a protective mask and store separately from food. Nicotine is a poison not only for insects, but also for humans.
It can cause dizziness, nausea, and heart rhythm disturbances. This substance is especially toxic to children and pets.
Cold
All insects love a warm and humid atmosphere, and cold has a depressing effect on them. Sometimes it is worth taking flower pots out onto the balcony, especially in early spring and late autumn.
The cold will not only destroy pests in the soil, but also harden the plants. First you need to find out which colors are indicated for such procedures. For example, geranium and fuchsia can easily tolerate temperature drops of up to 10 °C.
However, not all plants are so patient. Even a slight drop in temperature can cause the death of heat-loving tropical crops, in which case complex measures will have to be used to combat insects.
Lemon or lime zest
A cheap way to kill harmful insects is to use citrus peels. They will not only repel pests with volatile phytoncides, but will also become a vitamin supplement for the root system.
You need to break the lemon or lime peels into pieces and put them in a flower pot. This procedure should be carried out several days before the next watering, so that natural waste does not mold on wet soil.
The disadvantages of the method include the short duration of its action: when dried, citrus peel quickly loses its effectiveness.
Mosquito fumigator
The compositions that are filled with purchased fumigators are an excellent means of combating flower midges. They do not kill the larvae in the flower pot, but only repel insects for several hours or days.
In addition, they are used up quite quickly. Therefore, the method, despite its ease of use, is not the most effective.
The room must be ventilated from time to time to avoid dizziness, headaches and allergic reactions, which can be caused by low-quality products at a low price.
Insecticide
The most effective way to combat any harmful insects is the use of professional insecticides. Good results in pest control can be achieved with drugs containing imidacloprid or thiamethoxam. These substances are synthetic analogs of nicotine.
Based on them, many pest control products have been created. When sprayed, the drug penetrates the above-ground parts of the plant and remains there for a long time.
The substance itself does not harm plants, but kills insects that land on them. Worms and larvae living in the soil also die.
Like the use of any chemical pesticides, the use of such products can negatively affect the health of people and animals. Bio Spark is considered the safest drug containing a small dose of imidacloprid. When working with it, you must wear gloves and a respirator, and then thoroughly ventilate the room.
How to get rid of worms
Regardless of which pest has settled in home flowers, they all live in the soil. It is hardly possible to simply remove them from the ground. Transplanting into a new soil mixture will help only if the infection occurred recently and the colony has not had time to grow. It's done like this. The roots removed from the soil are carefully examined. All infected or damaged areas are removed and the sections are disinfected.
All adult parasites are removed or washed off from the root shoots. Larvae and eggs cannot be removed this way. Therefore, immediately after transplantation, the soil mixture is treated with an insecticide solution. It must be understood that this technique will be effective only if the number of insects is small. In other cases, chemicals or folk remedies will help. It's better to start with non-toxic methods. If they don't help, move on to stronger remedies. We offer effective ways to get rid of worms in flower pots.
Insecticides
For control, different types of insecticidal preparations are used. We offer a list of the most effective ones.
Insecticides
"Inta-vir". Nerve poison. Causes the death of parasites within 24 hours. The eggs remain intact. "Carbation". Sterilizes the soil, protects flowers during budding and flowering. Can be used once. Fumigator type drug. "Confidor". Penetrates into plant tissues and remains in them for a long time. Worms are insensitive to it and only kills insects. "Fitoverm". Paralyzes the nervous system of worms and insects. Twice application is recommended. "Agravertine". Effective against all types of parasites, non-toxic to humans. In hot weather its effect is enhanced.
Before getting rid of worms using insecticides, you must carefully read the manufacturer's instructions. The drugs are toxic, so it is necessary to strictly follow the dosage and safety rules. Otherwise you may get poisoned.
Folk remedies
These drugs are non-toxic and not dangerous to people or pets. But their effectiveness is lower than that of insecticides. Perhaps they will not help in the fight against a large colony, but at the initial stage or as a prophylactic agent they are quite effective. We offer a list of methods on how to get rid of white worms in flowers.
Non-toxic techniques
Prepare a water solution of soap. It is best to take household goods, made according to GOST, with a high fat content. Soap shavings are diluted with water, and the resulting solution is sprayed on the infected bush. The treatment is repeated several times. Dissolve 5 g of tobacco leaves ground into dust in a liter of clean water. Allow the drug to brew for 24 hours. Spray the infected bush and the soil in the pot generously. Treat the bush in this way every 6-7 days for a month and a half. Dissolve potassium permanganate crystals in water to obtain a pale pink liquid. Water the flower bush with it. Repeat the treatment several times. Place garlic cloves or citrus peels on the ground inside the pot. You can treat the soil with a strong-smelling oil, such as anise or rosemary.
Some flower growers are confident that sulfur from matches will help get rid of parasites. It is scraped off and the powder is sprinkled on the soil, or matches are simply stuck near the stem with the heads down.
Country cottage area
How to get rid of whiteflies on home flowers and seedlings
