Restore Your Greenery-Inspired Interior: 5 Natural Pesticides for Indoor Plants

Rose Morrison

Oct 17, 2024

natural pesticides for indoor plants - a hand watering a plant

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Are pot plants an important part of your interior design? While those ornamentals make your space more vibrant and cozy, they require regular maintenance to stop various crawlers from attaching to their leaves and branches and feeding on them. Deter the pests with these natural pesticides for indoor plants.  

Common Pests in Indoor Plants

Despite being kept indoors most of the time, pests can grub on your pots’ leaves and enter your home. Here are some common pests found in indoor plants.

Aphids

These tiny sap-sucking insects feed on the underside of the leaves and branch tips. While they’re relatively harmless, they stop the growth of your beautiful plants. 

Mealybugs

natural pesticides for indoor plants - an aloe vera infested with mealybugs

Have you seen those white, fluffy insects on the stems or leaves? Those are mealybugs. They feed on the leaves, causing them to rot and fall prematurely.

Soft Scales 

These smart crawlers attach to your indoor plant and cover themselves with a waxy shield. This coating blocks insecticides from touching them, so they remain stuck in a feeding spot unless you manually remove them. 

Thrips

If you notice your houseplants aren’t growing, check for translucent white or dark brown winged insects. Thrips are tiny, 1/16-inch pests that are hard to spot until your plants show signs of delayed growth. They also bite, which causes slight irritation, so be careful when handling them.

Fungus Gnats 

Adult gnats lay eggs in moist pot soil. Once these eggs hatch into white larvae, they burrow into the ground and feed on the roots and organic matter. 

Spider Mites

These tiny arachnids have mouthparts that pierce the undersides of the leaves to feed on them. Severe infestation can kill your scheffleras, ivy or hibiscus or stunt their growth.

Whiteflies

Houseplants like ivy, barberton daisy and peace lily not only adorn your living space, but also remove some of the atmosphere pollutants, purifying indoor air. However, they get easily infested with white, gnat-like insects. These whiteflies infest ornamental plants and cause premature yellowing of the foliage.

Homemade Pesticides To Restore the Vigor of Your Indoor Plants

natural pesticides for indoor plants - a hand spraying to a plant

You don’t have to spend hundreds for commercial products to get rid of pests. Here are recipes for natural pesticides for indoor plants.

1. Dish Soap Spray 

Many consider this solution a holy grail for controlling aphids, thrips, mites and whiteflies. Soap works effectively on small, soft-bodied insects by washing off their protective coating and drying them out.

To make the spray, simply mix one pint of water and two teaspoons of dish soap. Transfer the mixture to a bottle and spray directly to areas where insects appear. Since some plants are sensitive to soap, refrain from treating leaves without any visible signs of insect populations.

2. Neem Oil Spray

Neem oil is a staple ingredient in natural pesticides for indoor plants. It works for aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies and other soft-bodied creatures. 

You can buy neem oil products in spray bottles labeled “ready to use” or “concentrate.” Both will have directions for use. For concentrated neem oil, you need to dilute it with water and dish soap. Read the label for the correct ratio mix. 

If you get a ready-to-use spritz bottle, simply spray the affected areas until they’re dripping with oil. After 3-4 days, check for pests and reapply if necessary. Neem oil suffocates insects and stops them from feeding on your plants, eventually killing them. 

3. Garlic Spray

If you have extra cloves in the kitchen, you can easily make a natural pesticide to manage slugs, aphids and other insects.

You need one head of garlic, four cups of water and two tablespoons of liquid soap to create the mixture. First, peel the garlic. Toss the cloves in a blender and pour in one cup of water. Blend until it’s fine. Add in the remaining water and soap and meld for another minute. Then, transfer the mixture to a glass bottle and allow it to steep overnight or for up to 24 hours. Strain the solution the next day and transfer it to a spray bottle. Store it in the refrigerator and use it within the week. 

Garlic contains sulfur compounds that naturally repel insects. It’s an affordable natural pesticide for your indoor plants.

4. Hot Pepper and Chili Spray

natural pesticides for indoor plants - chilies

Chili is loaded with capsaicin, which is known as a natural repellent. Making an extract spray can help you get rid of aphids, mealybugs, white-footed ants and other crawlers. 

Chilies can sting the skin, so cover your eyes, arms and hands when preparing the solution. The first step is to crush ripe chilies until they turn into a paste. Transfer the paste to a cloth bag and soak it in sufficient water for at least one hour up to overnight. 

In the morning, squeeze the juice using rubber gloves. For each liter of the chili solution, add 1/2 bottle cap of bar soap and 10 milliliters of cooking oil. Before using, remember to wear gloves and goggles to protect your hands and eyes. Spray directly on the affected leaves. Reapply when necessary.

5. Banana Peel Spray

Like garlic, banana peels contain sulfur, which repels pests and assists the growing roots. Follow these steps to make a nontoxic repellent out of this waste.

Chop the peels into small pieces and soak them in water for two to three days. Strain the liquid, funnel it into a spray bottle and spritz it on the leaves or branches. This solution can help deter aphids. To upgrade the solution, add a spoonful of Epsom salt and crushed eggshells to the mix.

Save Your Indoor Plants With Homemade Pesticides

Bug repellents can be pretty expensive, especially if you treat your pots regularly. Try these natural pesticides for indoor plants to prevent pests from feeding on your greeneries.

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