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ldmv98

Worms in my house plant

ldmv98
15 years ago

I found some thread like worms in the drip pan of my Ficus tree. Does anyone know what this is? It definitely is NOT earthworms. It's some sore of parasite or larvae. I'm guilty of over watering, but I've been trying to do better. I have never seen this before. I'm wondering if it's harmful to humans. Again, they are thread like. Imagine a piece of thread wiggling in the drip pan... that's what it looks like. Can you help me?

Ldmv98

Comments (22)

  • jeannie7
    15 years ago

    Cant identify what you may have but let's assume it shouldn't be there so let's get rid of them.

    Do the immersion method. Take the plant to where it can be dunked totally in water. a laundry tub is a good place but maybe a large bucket will do.
    Use tepid water, no need to shock the plant.

    Wait until the bubbles stop. This tells you the entire soil is water-filled and the air pockets have fully been immersed.
    Any air breathing insect has to come to the surface where you simply gather them and wash them down the drain.

    Treat this as a thorough watering and allow the plant to dry down as you would a normal practice.

    This leaching method should not be used more than 2 or 3 times a year. The roots should not be allowed to be soaked so much too often.

  • ldmv98
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Yes, I do feel better. I have been searching the internet trying to find out what type of pest this is in my house plant.
    I do understand they are harmless, but how do I remove them from my house plant? I read online they can lay thousands of eggs, I surely don't want more of them.
    Linda

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    15 years ago

    I've heard back from Linda saying that what she has are, indeed, horsehair worms. What I would do is simply dump the saucer out into a nearby mud puddle (or similiar) so that the parasites can produce future generations of grasshopper control.

  • sherrinevins
    13 years ago

    Hi, I purchased a house plant from the store and replanted it using store potting soil. A few weeks later, I noticed a centipede like worm that curls into a ball and has a hard exoskeleton on the surface of the potting soil. I dug through the soil, and there are hundreds of them. I also see a few fruit like flies buzzing around my plant. I read online to use two tablespoons of laundry detergent mixed with water to kill them. after I did this, all they did was come to the top of the soil, and start climbing up my plant. HELP.... what should I do??? I love my plant but these bugs are FEAKING me out!

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    Repot your plant. And complain strongly to 'the store' from which you purchased this plant. There is no excuse for selling a plant loaded with millipedes and fungus gnats.

  • sherrinevins
    13 years ago

    Thank you for your response. You are right, they are Fungus Gnats. I will complain. Is there anyway to get rig of these bugs. I found a few big ones roaming my home..... ewww.

  • jessincam_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    I recently started taking my house plants outside during the day to sun. The first day I took them out, I pulled out the dead leaves and stems. One of my plants, a tree that I think is a type of palm, has dead stems on it. I started cutting off these stems and realized that there are little worms that kinda look like a larger version of maggots. They are hollowing out the trunk of my tree and killing it. Please help I really love my tree.

  • scatta11_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    is there any other way to get rid of these soil worms-a spray or something

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    12 years ago

    Jess & Margo - in both cases it's considered proper procedure to first identify the pest and then take the least noxious route to bringing their numbers to an acceptable level, but in both of your cases I think there is a common remedy.

    Bayer makes topical sprays that contain a systemic insecticide (Imidacloprid) which is very safe (for mammals) and would have a low chance of harming any beneficials if sprayed on houseplants outdoors. Alternately, there are a number of granular products meant to be applied to the soil that can be used indoors, and that also contain Imidacloprid, but the spray is more effective on woody plants.

    As always - be sure to read & follow label instructions carefully.

    Al

  • Joe1980
    12 years ago

    Horsehair worms aren't going to reproduce in your houseplants, because they need a host to parasitize, so unless you have crickets or grasshoppers in your house, they'll die off. As for pests in plants, save your complaints. I have yet to find any place that sells tropical plants that doesn't have fungus gnats somewhere in the place. I'm not affraid of buying a plant with fungus gnats flying around, but that's where it stops. I always take the rootball out of the pot of any plant I want, and make sure there is no bugs in there. I also check all foliage and stems thouroughly as well. For the gnats, if a plants has some, I'll make sure to NOT bring it in my house, until I've cleaned and repotted it outside, so the gnats can go fly away somewhere out there. Oh, and a note, since I repotted ALL my plants with Al's 5-1-1 and gritty mixes, I haven't seen a single fungus gnat, and I used to have plenty of them. I am very cautious with my plants and leaving them outside, to try & avoid bringing bugs in. I have a large deck, and that's as far as some go. Never would I put a plants out on the lawn or in the yard somewhere, because that to me is just inviting bugs in.
    Joe

  • ScottBenowitz
    10 years ago

    How about adding a drop or two of bleach or liquid drano when you water your plants? I'd be very careful with this, I suspect that if you add in more than a very small amount, you'll damage the roots of your plant, and you'll risk damaging or killing your plant- I am NOT a biologist, I have only a layperson's knowledge here, but in terms of pH and water chemistry, I suspect that plants can tolerate a few drops of some of the acids (such as HCl) which are found in household products, and even a couple of drops of those would probably kill your worms pretty quickly....
    I've not tried this yet, but the next time I see worms in the soil of my houseplants, I might experiment with this....

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    Hi Scott, welcome to Gardenweb! That would put your PH off the charts. I wouldn't do that to any plant I like.

  • GeorgiaCutter
    10 years ago

    Just out of curiosity, what would the application of Seven Dust do ? I've used it in the garden but not on house plants. In my case, the little white worms are coming out of pots I have small fig plants planted in ?

  • scrumps1995
    9 years ago

    Hi, I have recently joined and although I am trained as a florist and know about flowers, soil is a mystery. I bought a Pineapple Lily/Eucomis plant for my mum and dad for their garden, they never got round to planting it so it sat in its put for about a year. Its still healthy but when I moved it into a different pot I noticed aload of Slater bugs living inside. After going through the soil picking them out, I noticed there were some worms in there, they are tiny probably about 1cm in size and very thin. They were either white or a very pale green. Was just wondering what these worms are, if they are harmful to the plant and if I can get rid of them as ideally I would like to put the plant inside.

    I have attached an image below of what they kind of look like. This photo was not taken by me as my camera isn't that good and you couldn't see them but after googling a few things I found this image which is very similar to what they look like. If anyone has any ideas please let me know as I would hate to see this beautiful plant die if it can be saved. Thanks.

    Here is a link that might be useful: worms.

  • MsGreenFinger GW
    9 years ago

    Maybe fungus gnat larvae? If the plant was outside it's hard to tell without pic. Try neem oil, that should help.

  • PRO
    janegracetaylor.com
    8 years ago

    Diluted Dawn dishwashing liquid instantly kills both of these insects .I tested it on the white worms.they do live without a host and I suspect are all the way up the trunk .you may have to use a systemic but the diluted dish soap ruins their habitat.you may have to do it twice if new ones hatch.then use clear water to wash the soap out the next few waterings.This works on spider mites too.

  • Mentha (East TN, Zone 6B-7A)
    8 years ago

    Dawn will also kill all the good microbes in the soil. In essence making the soil sterile and it will also damage feeder roots. If you've already unpotted it, you can wash the roots of soil and start with new soil that isn't infected with worms. While worms will not harm the plant, they are definitely something you don't want in your house. There are also larvae that will attack bromeliads that look like worms. Without seeing an exact picture instead of a slideshow of many pictures it's hard to tell what you have.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    8 years ago

    PLEASE don't use dish soap or any other detergents (including Ivory) on your plants - EVER. Dishsoap/ detergent’s effect on plants varies with the mode of exposure. If the top of the plant is treated thoroughly with even mild detergent solutions such that all surfaces including leaves are covered, the detergent can easily dissolve the protective coating of cuticular wax on the leaves of the plant, causing abnormally high rates of water loss and possible necrosis of all or part of the leaf. Cuticular waxes prevent leaves from drying out, and help stop pathogens from attacking the leaf. Strong solutions will even dissolve cell membranes, causing death of the cells.

    If a detergent solution is used as a soil drench or makes its way into the soil as a consequence of overspray or run-off, the effect on roots is immediate. Because one of the main function of roots is to absorb water and nutrients dissolved in water, they lack the waxy protective coating that leaves employ. Detergent solution in contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion’s share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone.

    There are widely available insecticidal soaps, designed to be used topically and made from potassium fatty acids, that are specifically formulated to be safe for mammals & birds, death on most insects they contact, and safe for plants. If you need something soapy, it would be much better if you selected a product intended for use on plants than one intended for other purposes.

    Al

  • gholamreza1095
    7 years ago

    Hi, I have recently joined, about a week ago I found all of the leaves and stems of my house plant pot are dying and yesterday I found on my plant some leaves has dead stems on it. I started cutting off these stems dying, I dug through the soil, and found there are dozen of worm. I re-potted my plant with new soil without worm. OK what should I do next, Please?



  • Myisha Lamar
    6 years ago

    Hello,


    I know this is a relatively old thread but... I was reading about the worms and recently found them in my money tree.. they had layer a bunch of eggs... I initial thought that it was spider mites because it looked like a web.. until I sprayed with the soap water mixture...


    Long story short.. after reading through the comments and advice from friends.. I have removed the plant form pot and soil.. soaked the base of the plant in a water acv mixture (that bought all of the worms out of the plant) and re potted and sprayed with neem oil and another insecticide...


    My question has to do with the crickets... our kid has gotten a Gecko in the past few months and we have had crickets in the house.. he has lost a one or two of them while feeding his pet...


    If they need crickets or grasshoppers to do their thi by and we have crickets in the house.. what can I do.. to keep this from happening again.. if the plant survives

    Photo was taken before I purged the plant

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