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Spider mites are a common pest that can easily get out of control on house plants because of our dry winter air. A thorough weekly check of our indoor plants can prevent heavy infestations like this.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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The best way to control indoor plant pests is to inspect them frequently so that the problem is discovered while populations are small.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Whiteflies are a common outdoor pest in vegetable gardens, but they will also attack other plants like the indoor plants that we take outside for the summer. Careful inspection before bringing plants back indoors can prevent problems with this hard-to-control pest.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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I wonder if some can help me know how to treat my inside palm tree for these (see photos)?

Spider mites?

I have an elephant ears with bugs on it. Help!

This does look like a severe spider mite infestation on the palm. Depending on the extent of the damage, your plant may or may not recover and put on new growth.

The alocasia (elephant ears) looks like it may have a problem with mealybugs, but I can’t say for certain because I don’t see all the details I need when I expand your photo.

Did your plants spend some time outdoors in the shade this summer? Hitchhiking outdoor pests are a common source of indoor plant pest problems. Even though outdoor plants are exposed to many pests, there are many natural controls outdoors that help to manage the situation. The problems come when you’re ready to bring your plants back indoors. Pests can travel back inside on your plants, but beneficial predators/parasitoids won’t be indoors to continue their work.

Many of these pests can be washed off of your plants with a strong spray of water before you bring them in, so keep this in mind every year if you have plants that spend the summer outdoors. After you wash off the plants and bring them in, you should check your plants carefully for any remaining mites, aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs and other common pests.

Look on the undersides of leaves and along stems. Pay special attention to leaf and flower buds and examine leaf axils (the places where leaves attach to stems). Another option is to use a systemic insecticide. It’s best applied a week or two before you bring your plants indoors. Systemic insecticides aren’t always effective for mites but give good control for aphids, scale and mealy bug.

The fastest way to deal with the parlor palm and elephant ear pests now is to use strong sprays of cool to tepid water at the kitchen sink and or in the shower, depending on the size of your plant, to wash most of them off. Get good coverage of both the upper and lower leaf surfaces.

Once your plant is dry, apply insecticidal soap, again giving good coverage of upper and lower leaf surfaces. Test the spray on just one frond or leaf first. If you don’t see any ill effects after a few days, go ahead and treat the entire plant.

Insecticidal soap may need to be repeated about once a week or as often as the label recommends. Do this for a few weeks to catch any survivors from your earlier treatments.

If you only see a few pests on a leaf or two, you can also try simply wiping them away with alcohol on cosmetic puffs.

Some indoor plant pests can also be controlled with systemic insecticides. Read the product label carefully to confirm it can be used indoors and apply it according to the label instructions.

None of these treatments will undo the damage that has already occurred, but they will protect new growth. Inspect your plant frequently. Make sure you include any new growth in your monitoring and protect it with insecticidal soap as well.