Tiny TINY brown/Gray bugs in potted soil

8 years ago

I have two plants, a fiddle Leaf Fig and a philodendron and both have been struggling a little bit. Thought it was either under or over watering... but last night I looked in the soil and saw, not very many, but the most TINY little bugs I’ve ever seen. I have to look pretty hard to find them but I’ve tried testing and I don’t think they jump at all? Ive tried poking one at the end of my pen and it doesn’t jump when I move it... just scurries away. What are these and how do I kill them? They’re too small to photograph but I’ve attached photos of the plants in case anyone has other suggestions about the browning leaves. On the fiddle Leaf it’s lost the bottom three or four leaves and the others have Browning areas on them. Same with philo.

Featured Answer

Sean L

8 years ago

I have a similar problem - I’ve attached four photos: two make the insect look oval and brown, but the other two make them look more silver. I am not sure if this is just due to the color of the background. With the naked eye the insects in all four photos seemed to be the same insect.

I am reaching out because the plant these insects are inhabiting (an anthirium) is slowly dying. It has dropped 80% if it’s leaves and has stopped putting out new growth. I am concerned that the insects are feeding on the roots, as I don’t see any insect damage to the leaves or “branches” of the plant. I inherited the plant from my grandmother when she passed about a year ago and it appears to be very old and has 8 inch long “trunks” and was very full when I originally took it home.

A few moths ago, at the recommendation of a local nursery, I replaced the first 1” of soil with sand and refrained from watering my plans for roughly 2 weeks. I have since gotten back to a once-weekly watering schedule allowing the surface to dry between waterings. Although I no longer see these insects on the surface the plant continues to struggle. Recently, when I lifted the planter, I found them scurrying around on the underside of the pot.

Any help identifying or understanding how to get rid of them would be very very much appreciated!

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Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
compare to fungus gnats ...

and they usually occur with pots that end up too wet.. too much ..

did you forget to post the pix???

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=fungus+gnats&t=ffcm&ia=web
Jean
8 years ago
Please post a picture anyway. We can often ID by knowing their general shape and color.
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Andrea Carey
Original Author
8 years ago
Well they’re not flying away? They’re not in top of the soil but if I dig around for a minute and look really carefully I will see one crawling around. I was suspicious to even look becuase I feel like my plants are struggling for no reason. I don’t have photos of the little bugs because they are too small to even photograph. Like the size of the end of a bobby pin. Ive tried loading the pictures of my plants but it just sits there and spins without loading?
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
8 years ago
Please try to give more ID info their like shape. May be thrips.

tj
Jean
8 years ago
Unlikely in the soil.
Laurie (8A)
8 years ago
I had dirt nematodes in a potted plant years and years ago. The plant was deteriorating. I had looked in the soil a few times, but this time the soil was wet. The wet soil made them active, and move a little. It was a creepy sight to see. They are not a good pest. I got rid of the plant.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
8 years ago
Laurie, your issue was likely fungus gnat larvae. Nematodes require a microscope, for the most part.

I think that everyone who has containerized plants should have a hand lens of some sort. Even a simple magnifying glass with a handle can be of help, if the object is already large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Andrea Carey
Original Author
8 years ago
The little bugs are more oval shaped. Tiny little silver or gray bugs. They don’t jump and are buried in the very top layer of soil. If I dig around with a little stick I can see them scurry away. Not so fast that I can’t kind of chase it around with my stick but they got lost in the dirt becuase they are so tiny.

My fiddle Leaf is losing the lower big leaves it came with around the bottom but strangely I now have a baby branch growing with two leaves on it down there. So it’s like it’s shedding the heavy leaves that it’s not strong enough to support or soemthing and growing a new baby one? I’m not sure what to do becuase I feel like it shouldn’t be losing leaves so rapidly too.
Swati Sharma
6 years ago
Hi, I am facing same issue and they have started crawling everywhere in house after invading all the planters indoor and outdoor... Did anyone find any solution
Lucero Espinosa
5 years ago
I have the same little silver bugs on soil and at the bottom of the planter. What is this insect?