Does my Spider plant soil fungus gnats? After watering my indoor potted plants, within about 36 hours, I noticed a soil surface infestation of what looks to be fungus gnat larvae. A large number of the larvae look like whitish thin worms from 1/4 in. to 1/2 in. long. I wasn't able to see the notorious black tip on the end of the body. The rest are about the size of a nail head with 6 legs and antenna.
Also I am finding a number of what looks like large eggs, about 3/16 in. diameter from God knows what insect species. They are yellowish to amber in color with watery yellowish goo inside and a thin brittle clear shell. What the heck could they be? Aliens? Am I wrong about the fungus gnats? Any suggestions? Help!
It might be something called scale. If the outside of the pot is sticky and the plant has a sticky residue, then this is the likely culprit. You can save the plant by spraying it with an insectide and then repeating it in a week. Look online for pictures. Make sure to isolate the affected plant from any others in the house until it is cleared. I have saved several plants from this problem Good Luck.
You can also give your plant out of the pot a bleach rinse, 1 TB to 1 gal of water. THEN get new soil. AND bleach your pots to kill any residue. Anytime you bring in plants in the fall from outside, seal them in a large plastic bag, spray some house/plant spray which will kill friends brought it. Must leave the plant in bag a couple days--read instructions. Yes, those little balls are the egg sacks and hold many new bugs ready to infect other plants too.
Absolutely, change out that soil! If you can afford it buy new soil.
Spider plants are really easy to propagate. Cut off some of the runners and root them in other soil just in case it does not take well to the soil-switch!
EWW! I would take the spider plant out of the soil, shake the roots gently, wash in warm water carefully. I would use new potting soil that has been microwaved for about 30 seconds or so to kill any critters..let it cool for a few minutes. Then replant the spiderplant in the soil, and spray the spider plant with water with a small amount of dishwashing detergent to keep off bugs. See if that works. Hope this helps. I would also freeze any potting soil overnight in the bag in a trash bag to kill any critters. I do the freezing this with all flour and such to kill any eggs of bugs or anything gross like that. Good Luck, I love spider plants!
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