Guide to Sustainable Indoor Plants - Part 4: How to Deal with Pests

As we continue our discussion of Sustainability within the indoor plant hobby, it is time to turn our attention to pests. In my mind, this is easily the most important step in changing our view of how we act and interact with our plants. The common practices are very harmful. They are also completely unnecessary. More importantly, if we shift our view from pest eradication towards pest management it will shift our views towards a more sustainable viewpoint overall.

This is important to me as much of the way I approach plant care is dictated by my perceived relationship with my plants and nature as a whole.

Pest Management

The most popular videos about dealing with common pests all have the same (very harmful) perspective. All pests, even perceived pests, must be fully eradicated if you want any chance of saving your precious collection. After all, one spider mite, nearly invisible to the naked eye, can reproduce asexually and take over before you even notice. Better to get rid of them all no matter how much neem oil it takes.

A ladybeetle ready for lunch

Or so the conventional wisdom goes. There are a whole host of issues with this way of thinking. So, let’s look at it.

The biggest issue to me is how we view “pests” in the first place. The fact that this term has been informally taken over to refer to an annoying person means that it carries a negative connotation. Pests are an annoyance. The fact that we deal with this annoyance with total annihilation tells a lot about how this VERY IMPORTANT aspect of nature is looked at. We want to get rid of them so we don’t have to deal with them.

But pests are VERY IMPORTANT. They are food for beneficial insects. They are ecosystem managers. They stop one particular species of plant from dominating and taking over. They are a diversification tool for the natural processes of life.

Even the term ‘Pest’ is not a particular distinction in and of itself but rather a label given to any insect or animal that engages in behavior destructive to the goals of people. In other words, the same insect munching on a plant humans cannot eat and did not grow for show would not be a pest.

Pests are only pests because we THINK they work against our goals. But truth be told they work for us if we are willing to work WITH them.

“Yeah, but I just don’t want them in my home.” This is often the response I get when trying to tell people that pests are good. I understand the sentiment. Most people cringe at the idea of insects, arachnids, and other creepy crawly things inside their homes. But even if you didn’t have plants you would still have these creatures there. HELL! You NEED them to have a healthy life. House spiders save lives every day.

And if you are going to be bringing in nature from outside, which is exactly what growing plants is, then you must accept the fact that some of the other things from outside will come in from time to time. Even if you check every plant, you bring in, even if you quarantine them many ‘pests’ will still find a way in, some even float in through open windows or hitch a ride on your clothes. It isn’t their fault you created a paradise for them to live in and thrive, away from the cold, heat, or rain that often helps keep plant muncher populations in check.

One of the most important concepts that is popular among gardeners, farmers, and organic growers, is what is known as IMP or Integrated Pest Management. Why this has yet to trickle down to the houseplant community is beyond me.

The concept is simple. Pests are not to be eradicated, simply managed. Many of my favorite plants have long-term relationships with various insects and arachnids. The most notable are my monsteras which host a small but happy population of thrips.

Though it’s not just the monsteras and it’s not just thrips. Mealybugs on some lemons, spider mites on a few others. But the thrips are by far my most aggressively hungry friends. Because of the lifecycle of most of these creatures, it is nearly impossible to fully eradicate them even if we wanted to. Thrips for example lay their eggs INSIDE plant tissue so constant spraying every day, if not multiple times a day, for weeks would be needed.

I mean that’s just too much work. Plus, it’s a waste of a TON of toxic products. Even Neem Oil is not good for the environment and it’s not that effective so going to all that work still wouldn’t guarantee success and new pests are likely to show up during the eradication phase making your whole effort doubly pointless.

It’s SO MUCH work for a slim chance it will do what you want it to, and even if it does it won’t be long before new and more aggressive pests show up.

So what are we to do then? What are our options?

For me, the first step is to ditch ANY pesticides you might currently be using. This includes Neem oil and dish soap. You don’t have to throw them away but hide them far back in your closet behind a bunch of other stuff and use them ONLY when an infestation has gotten so bad it becomes a problem. (even then do so with extreme caution)

These products, even the ever-popular neem oil, are harmful to the environment in the long term and they lose their effectiveness over time. Meaning the more you use the more you will NEED to use to do the same job next time, and even more the time after that.

One of the most effective ways to deal with pests is physical removal. For scale and mealy bugs, this may look like wiping them off one by one with a cotton swab. For thrips, aphids, spider mites, and many others, spraying them down in the shower can be a great way to keep the numbers in check. Physical removal beats chemical sprays every day!

The other important step is to learn to live with smaller numbers of pests. Many people fear these insects will take over the entire collection if they don’t step in. And looking at social media you might think this is justified as so many even large profile plant influencers go into full-on panic mode at the site of something crawling on their plant.

I have seen countless videos of people instructing their viewers to act fast with their favorite pest killer before they spread anywhere else. The sad part is so many of those videos showed people destroying beneficial bugs instead (also technically speaking the term bug refers to a subsection of insects but since most people just use it as a catchall for creepy crawlies I figure I won’t fight the wave)

But the truth is this will not happen. Total take-over would only take place if you had all of the same plants in poor growing conditions or if you are trying to maximize growth at the expense of actual plant health (yet another reason over-fertilizing can be a major problem) Left unchecked some pests might destroy certain plants but most plants can defend themselves to a large degree if the environment is good. Rather than panic. I recommend intervention only when there is a visible problem. And even then avoid the sprays when you can.

Keen to know more about sustainable indoor plants?

Go check Part 1: Soil, Part 2: Water & Part 3: Nutrients.

LEAVE IT THE FUCK ALONE Out Now!