Techniques for keeping bugs out of your home
I remember when I first started to keep plants over 5 years ago. I had bugs my first spring, which I’m fairly certain came through my fruit. I quickly went online to see what types of solutions were available to me. This is what I found.
Fly Tape for Tropical Plants
There’s a bunch of types of sticky pads people are using. Recently, more and more people are using the yellow butterfly sticky pads. They work great, at catching lots of bugs. Here’s why I don’t recommend them:
- They don’t look attractive
- They don’t deal with the source of the problem
Apple Cider Vinegar with Dish Soap
When you get gnats and other insects living in your soil. A great trap for them is using apple cider vinegar mixed with dish soap in a saucer. This method works with the vinegar attracting the insects, the dish soap breaking the tension in the vinegar so if a bug lands on top, they will sink and drown. This is an easy and effective strategy, but here’s why I don’t recommend it:
- This solutions smells
- This does not deal with the source of the problem
Systemic Granules
All right, so out of everything, this is seriously a god send. I started using this, but after a week, it felt like nothing changed. Then all of a sudden, one day all the bugs were gone.
Systemic granules stop insects from breeding in the soil and it also kills pests that try to feed on your plants.
I recommend dosing your plants with this quarterly. Ever since I’ve used this chemical, I never have issues with bugs creating hives in my tropical plants. However, if you live by a canyon, you might have issues with spider mites.
Unfortunately, this solution does not work on all bugs. For spider mites, I recommend and insecticide soap or just mix some dish soap with water in a spray bottle and spray your leaves weekly.
With the combination of both system granules and an insecticide soap, your plants will remain pristine and gorgeous, as long as you’re meeting all the other requirements for fertilization, water, soil, humidity and lighting.