Black balls around houseplants brought indoors - Ask Extension
Hello! Good morning. I brought my houseplants indoors. I heard some insects chirping for a few days. Now I see small black balls around the pot...
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Black balls around houseplants brought indoors #882957
Asked August 26, 2024, 7:35 AM EDT
Hello!
Good morning. I brought my houseplants indoors. I heard some insects chirping for a few days. Now I see small black balls around the pots. Can you please help identify what these are and what I need to do to solve this issue? Thank you!
Ramesh.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
The black pellets are a sign that you have a caterpillar or two within the plant. Looking very closely at all leaf surfaces should help you find them. Those look large which could suggest that the larvae are almost ready to pupate to turn into butterflies or moths.
We can't tell what plant you have from just the fallen leaves, but you could safely return the plant outdoors for a while and they will likely wander off soon to complete their lifecycle.
Most plants can be left outdoors until night temps are regularly in the mid-50's or so.
More about overwintering tropical houseplants can be found here:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/overwintering-tropical-plants/
Christine
We can't tell what plant you have from just the fallen leaves, but you could safely return the plant outdoors for a while and they will likely wander off soon to complete their lifecycle.
Most plants can be left outdoors until night temps are regularly in the mid-50's or so.
More about overwintering tropical houseplants can be found here:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/overwintering-tropical-plants/
Christine
