Indoor greenery is the perfect way to upgrade your home office setup. Bringing a touch of nature into your home can help with focus, reduce stress, and improve air quality – as well as look beautiful. But you can get more than you bargained for when you buy a new houseplant.

Nobody wants bugs crawling all over their keyboard. Luckily there are ways to avoid getting insects on plants. And if you do end up with uninvited guests, it’s easy to control and treat plant pests before they become a problem.

Avoiding plant bugs

Before treating pests, it's important to know how to avoid them. When buying plants, choose those with healthy foliage and no visible insects, and be sure to check where leaves join the stem, looking for eggs or webbing on the soil.

Once you bring your new plant home, quarantine it for two weeks, inspecting it regularly for pests. This protects your other plants if bugs appear. Additionally, use fresh substrate for repotting or sterilize soil to kill mold spores and insect eggs.

Lastly, ensure your plants have the right growing conditions, as healthy plants resist infestations better. Clear dead leaves from the soil, regularly wipe leaves with a damp cloth, and avoid overwatering since damp soil attracts pests.

Identifying and treating common pests

Fungus Gnats
Fungus gnats are small black flies that live in damp soil and lay their eggs in the top layers of potting mix, where the larvae feed on fungus. While harmless to adult plants, they can be annoying if they buzz around your desk during calls.

To avoid fungus gnats, water your plants from the bottom and let the soil dry out completely before watering again. If gnats are already present, treat the infected plant with a mixture of dish soap and water to kill the larvae. Additionally, use flypaper or a homemade fly trap with apple cider vinegar and dish soap to catch the adults.

Spider Mites
If you see cobwebs on your houseplants, you likely have spider mites—tiny creatures that feed on leaves and are hard to spot. They prefer dry conditions and houseplants needing less water. Look for yellow or brown specks on foliage and yellowing leaf edges.

To eliminate spider mites, hose down the leaves in a sink or shower to dislodge most bugs. Then, treat the plant with neem oil (available as a spray or mixed with water) to kill the remaining mites. Use neem oil once a week until the mites are gone.

Mealybugs
These white, fluffy bugs cluster where leaves join stems, feeding on sap and causing leaves to yellow and droop. They leave a sticky residue called honeydew. You'll likely see them before they cause significant damage.

To remove mealybugs, wipe them off delicate leaves with a damp cloth. For sturdier plants, a shower works well. After removing the bugs, treat the plant with neem oil to prevent their return.

Thrips
Thrips are slender black insects that live on plants and in soil, depending on their lifecycle stage. They lay eggs on leaves, and adults can fly. Dry silvery spots on leaves indicate sap-sucking thrips.

To catch adults, use fly traps or place fly-eating plants like a Venus flytrap near the infected plant. Wash leaves to remove eggs, then treat the plant with neem oil to prevent further infestation.