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Good pests or bad pests? #777302

Asked November 07, 2021, 10:41 AM EST

Hello, I have a couple of pests showing up on my houseplants that I can't tell if they're beneficial pests like springtails or predatory mites or pest mites or something else. I'm familiar with pest mites in various forms but these ones are stumping me. The black ones appear to be not bothersome as the plant doesn't seem to care about them. I always assumed it was a form of springtail but wanted to check. The clear/white ones I'm not sure about in terms of beneficial or harmful. This is a photo of a dead carnivorous plant that has lots of them on it but I've also found them on a few seemingly healthy plants. On those plants, I've not seen them on the top or underside of leaves at all (as I would expect of pest mites) but have seen them around the base and stems of plants (specifically a couple calatheas and a syngonium). The first and second photo are of the clear/white bugs and a photo of the pot for size reference. The 3rd photo is just a close up of the black bugs on a different pot. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Genesee County Michigan

Expert Response

Let me start by saying that plants do not normally come with bugs. Any bugs inside your home on your houseplants should be eradicated. And the sooner you eradicate them the less damage will occur.

Your pictures cannot be blown up enough to determine exactly what kind of bugs your plants are infested with, but the white ones are a soft body type, perhaps aphids or whiteflies. Both of these pests suck nutrients from plants. Aphids do not fly and can often be eradicated by placing them somewhere where they can be hit with a fairly strong spray of water. White flies fly when disturbed. They are quite difficult to get rid of, but yellow sticky paper will help.

I cannot ID your black bugs, but again, bugs do not belong on plants. Even if they are "good" or "predatory" bugs, they are looking to feed on some bad guys, so either way--good guys or bad guys they need to go since they are in your home. You can be a little more tolerant of bugs outdoors and wait for the predatory bugs to do their work. But indoors? Not so much.d

You stated that you see the white ones on healthy plants. I can't help but wonder how long those plants will be healthy before they succumb to damage from these nutrient sucking critters!

My suggestion is to get rid of the bugs.  If you can't, then get rid of the plants and get new ones after you've waited a sufficient period of time for all the bugs to perish.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied November 07, 2021, 12:34 PM EST

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