I've been keeping a couple of my indoor plants out on the balcony for the summer, but now that the weather is turning cooler, I need to bring them back inside. The issue is that my balcony was totally taken over by spider mites this summer. I tried treating the plants, but I was cautious about using harsh chemicals since I didn't want to harm the local pollinators, plus most of my balcony plants are annuals anyway. Fortunately, my indoor plants—a coleus and a wandering dude—look healthy and haven't shown any signs of pests. However, I'm worried about bringing unwanted pests into my indoor plant setup. Should I quarantine my indoor plants when bringing them back inside? Do you recommend any preventative pest treatments? I'm okay with using systemic treatments since my indoor plants won't attract any pollinators. What do you all do in situations like this?
3 Answers
I've faced a similar issue with a few of my plants. I tried neem oil and then switched to insecticidal soap, but nothing seemed to work. Right now, I've moved my affected plants into the garage, away from the others, hoping to sort things out. If I can’t resolve the pest problem, I might just take cuttings, clean them up, and propagate them for a fresh start. Good luck with your plants—spider mites are tough to deal with!
I definitely recommend quarantining your plants to be on the safe side. I'm currently treating some of mine by spraying them with soapy water—I've done it three times over ten days and plan to do one last spray before bringing them inside. I like to keep my outdoor plants out until just before the frost to help limit bringing any pests indoors.
I think I'll wait a bit too, since it seems the first frost isn't expected for a while!
If you don’t have a lot of plants, repotting in fresh soil can really help. Just remove the plants from their pots, bag up the old soil, and toss it. Clean the pots if you're reusing them, rinse the plants and roots thoroughly with warm water, and repot them. I have a ton of houseplants, so for me, that'd be a huge task, but since it sounds like you can handle it, this might be a good option for you!
Yeah, that sounds doable for me. My coleus needs a repot; it grew like crazy after almost dying back in June. The wandering dude is a new addition, but it’s super resilient!
Good luck, mate! Spider mites are a real hassle. Fingers crossed it doesn't come to propagation!