We all either have or would love to have Herbs at home. They are useful for cooking and other things. But is it actually good to have them indoors or do they attract unwanted guests? In this article, I will answer every aspect of this question and how to avoid getting bugs in your home.
So does growing Herbs indoors attract bugs? The short answer is, not really. Indoor plants or vegetables don’t typically send out signals that attract bugs. The bugs you may find on indoor gardens are often more likely than not brought in by new plants you may occasionally add or introduce to your collection. The bugs are, therefore, imported as opposed to attracted by the plants.
Signs That Your Plants Might be Infected or Infested
Watch out for Cobwebs. Cobwebs usually occur when the plant is attacked by pests. These can be mites, whiteflies etc.
These attackers often pass over to other healthy plants nearby. If you notice that your plant is under siege, isolate it as soon as you spot potential signs of an infestation.
If you see white, powdery coatings, most commonly found on the tips of young twigs, buds, flowers, and young fruits then your plant most likely has ashtrays.
If you see small black dots or if you find your leaves to dry up or change color then you might have Leaf miners on your plant.
Aphids can cause deformation of plant tissue and can cause parts of the plant to dry up. The attacked plants are lagging in growth, less flowering and less forming of fruits.
How to Avoid Getting Any Bugs in Your Home?
Watch your indoor plants closely
Vigilance is key when trying to keep bug infestations at bay. By monitoring your plants every day, you stand a good chance of catching these little buggers before they become a full-blown colony of bugs infesting your plants.
Keep an eye out for any signs of an infestation like holes in the leaves or plant discoloration.
Clean Your Containers Before Planting
Clean and sanitize your pots before transplanting your plant, you will have effectively prevented most insects and bugs from establishing or finding a favorable breeding ground in your indoor garden.
Maintain Proper Growing Conditions
You need to maintain proper growing conditions as is required for the specific plants you have in your indoor garden.
As mentioned earlier, keeping the soil damp at all times creates a favorable breeding ground for fungus gnats.
It is the same case with most other pests. If you do not keep the right kind of growing conditions such as sufficient airflow, you will soon find yourself with an infestation in your hands.
Take Good Care of the Plants
This includes watering them and removing dead leaves from the pots.
You should also quickly isolate any plants that you feel may be infested.
How to Get Rid of Bugs?
Use Neem Oil
Most indoor gardeners are not going to use toxic chemical bug sprays or insecticides.
This is not only dangerous to the plants themselves, but also to anyone else, including pets, living in the same house or wherever your garden is.
It is, therefore, prudent to use organic methods such as applying Neem Oil. This oil is derived from the Neem plant and is effective in fighting bug infestation by preventing insects from laying eggs.
Use Organic Pest Sprays
You can easily order or create your own organic pests sprays that are not harmful to humans.
For the most part, soapy mixtures blended with some citrus can do the trick.
Creating Your Own Organic Pest Sprays
Natural options and solutions always exist. The answer to almost all problems can be found in nature.
Use Garlic
Garlic spray is one of the most famous natural pesticides.
Chop ten teaspoons garlic in 1 liter of water (you can add 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper to the mix as well).
Let it boil, then let it simmer for 15 minutes. After that, remove from the stove, cover and let stand until the mixture is completely cooled down.
Pour it into a spray bottle and use it by spraying it around houseplants or pour it around infested plants.
This spray can stand in the refrigerator for 10 days.
Use Basil
For this spray, you need 4 cups of water, 1 cup of fresh or 2 tablespoons of dried basil leaves and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent.
In a larger pan heat water until it is boiling. Add the basil leaves and cook for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and let it cool down.
Add the liquid detergent to the mixture and pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
This is a very effective pesticide against aphids.
Use Salt as a Base
Dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt in 5.7 liters of water.
Leave that stay for five minutes.
Use this mixture against caterpillars, worms, spiders and similar insects.
Similarly use bitter salt against black spots and spots on leaves, molds, fading and similar diseases. Dissolve 60 grams of bitter salt in 7.5 liters of water and apply the mixture to the plants.
Citrus fruits
For this mix, you need 2 cups of lemon or orange peel and 4 cups of water.
Boil the water and remove from the stove, add the peel, cover and allow it to cool. Procedure and use against butterflies of yours.
