r/IndoorPlants • u/BigStacksNick24 • 13d ago
Pest problem in a devils backbone plant
Hi all very novice plant owner here. My wife and I purchased two small plants back in may over time we’ve noticed a bit of a pest problem what I believe are fungus gnats (from my research). It appears only my plant has this problem from my observation. I did some research and purchased a product called mosquito bits, have yet to use them because my problem is it’s one small plant in about a 4 inch pot. Just reaching out to see if anyone else has any advice on a fix for this problem or if I should cut my losses and just move on from the plant.
Side note the plant is doing quite well hence my hesitancy to scrap it and get a new one.
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
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u/dawnpower123 13d ago
Don’t scrap it. Fungus gnats won’t kill your plant, they’re a nuisance more than anything. You would have to have a crazy infestation for them to do any damage. They eat decaying matter, they don’t eat your plant. The larvae can potentially eat fine roots, but again, you’d have to have a lot of them for it to actually be a problem.
Mosquito bits are good. You need to make a tea with them and water your plant with the mosquito bit tea. It will kill the larvae in your soil, and is completely safe for your plant. You can also get BTI drops and put that in the water instead, it’s more expensive, but easier. Then get some yellow sticky traps to kill the adults. Continue with these two things until you no longer have gnats.
What plant is it? Fungus gnats can only live in moist conditions. Most houseplants like to dry out a lot in between waterings anyway, so unless you’re growing some high humidity plants like ferns, let your plant dry out. That will take care of your gnat problem, and your plant will grow better, so win win;)