this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2024
28 points (93.8% liked)

Houseplants

4629 readers
7 users here now

Welcome to /c/houseplants @ Mander.xyz!

In between life, we garden.



About

We're a warm and informative space for plant enthusiasts to connect, learn, and flourish together. Dive into discussions on care, propagation, and styling, while embracing eco-friendly practices. Join us in nurturing growth and finding serenity through the extraordinary world of houseplants.

Need an ID on your green friends? Check out: !plantid@mander.xyz

Get involved in Citizen Science: Add your photo here to help build a database of plants across the entire planet. This database is used by non-profits, academia, and the sciences to promote biodiversity, learning and rewilding.

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Be kind and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.



Resources

Recommendations

Health

Identification

Light Information

Databases

FOSS Tools



Similar Communities

DM us to add yours! :)

General

Gardening

Species

Regional

Science


Sister Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Plants & Gardening

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Memes


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Anybody know what creepy crawlies is in my attar of roses pelargonium? Had them a few weeks ago, sprayed with soapy water. They died. This morning they were back. The plant is just a tiny little baby, I'm worried it's something that'll kill the plant.

Update: Thanks everyone! I've done a good round of Google -ing now on springtails. Definitely looks like the case . The plant doesn't seem to mind, but I'll keep in mind not to overwater the little baby . Thank you for your advise!

top 7 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Guenther_Amanita@slrpnk.net 11 points 4 months ago

As others have said, springtails.
They usually only eat dead stuff, but still can harm the plant sometimes. But mostly, they're disgusting imo.

Best ways to get rid of them:

  • Don't overwater your soil. Keep it on the dryer side and add some drainage (stones on the bottom, some perlite, etc.) to keep everything aerated
  • Or, try switching to inorganic substrate, e.g. pon or LECA. That way, you can get rid of pretty much any soil living pest. But by transplanting the plant you can also kill it, especially since it's already stressed.
[–] Tyoda@lemm.ee 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Springtails? You can test by seeing if they jump away from you.

If so, I think they only eat dead stuff. But I also heard they can sometimes chew on roots (and there are a lot of them here...)

[–] Rovanja@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Lets hope so! I'm gonna change the soil today, just in case.

[–] Luccus 6 points 4 months ago

Probably springtails. They are not harmful, but may indicate overwatering (unless the plant needs constantly wet soil). They eat fungi and float in water, which is cool.

[–] hallettj@leminal.space 3 points 4 months ago

I recognize those from every Serpa Design terrarium video ever made: "Next I put in springtails to control fungus, and eat dead plant matter."

[–] confusedpuppy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 months ago

They look like springtails to me. I use springtails and isopods in my gecko's terrarium as a clean up crew.

The isopods eat the poop while the springtails eat any mold that would grow in moist conditions. I do have plants in there too so all that bug poop goes right back into the soil to be reused.

They can't survive outside of a moist environment for long and will simply dry out. I have no idea how harmful they are to plants alone but at least you don't have to worry about mold.

[–] Alice@hilariouschaos.com -2 points 4 months ago