In tropical climates or with the arrival of the warm months in humid environments, it is very common for mosquitoes to appear in our gardens and terraces, and even on indoor plants. They can be common mosquitoes or, more commonly, the so-called substrate flies or ground mosquitoes.
This pest can negatively affect the health of the plant, in addition to being an annoying inconvenience that can fill our garden or home with these small insects. if you want to learn how to get rid of mosquitoes on plantsjoin us in this EcologíaVerde article in which we talk about various remedies to achieve it.
Why do mosquitoes come out on plants?
The plant midges They almost always appear for the same reason: excess moisture. If you water your plants too often or favor the creation of an environment that is too humid in the substrate with things like placing a layer of stones on its surface or using saucers under the pots that you do not remove the excess water right away, it is likely that it will not be long before you see gnats and mosquitoes around the plants.
It is not always a pest of the plant itself, but on many occasions the insects simply live in this moisture-saturated substrate, which they need to complete their life cycle. The ground mosquito it spends about two weeks in its larval stage, during which it feeds on fungi, decaying matter, and the root hairs of plant roots. This weakens it, logically, but it can cause something much more dangerous, and that is that the wounds left are often a route of entry for infections of fungi on plants that can kill them. In such a case, we recommend applying these homemade fungicides before the plant is too damaged.
After this period, it remains in the pupal state for between 4 and 6 days, and passes into the adult phase, in which it takes the form of a small clumsy fluttering mosquito, which lives for around ten days. Each female can lay up to 300 eggs in the substrate, which will hatch in approximately 6 days, giving rise to the start of the cycle again with the larvae. The eggs of these mosquitoes have an elongated shape, like a spearhead, and can be found grouped in moist parts of the substrate or in cracks.
If there is really a lot of humidity, more species of these insects can appear, along with the small mosquitoes of the earth, such as the tiger mosquitoes olos giant mosquitoes. These, surely, will not affect the plant much, but several species of these insects do bite people and other animals that may be in the house.
How to get rid of mosquitoes on plants
In general, the egg and larval phase of this pest goes unnoticed, and we only detect them when we see the adults fluttering around the plant or moving through the substrate. However, do not rush and use insecticide: this can kill the plant and it is always better to avoid the use of very processed or very strong chemicals. It is always best to resort to home remedies to remove mosquitoes from plantswhich are ecological, cheaper and are not harmful to our crops.
- The first of the remedies against mosquitoes does not even require any ingredients: just stop watering the plant. If mosquitoes have appeared, it will almost certainly be due to excess humidity. If the plant is drought resistant, let the soil dry out completely and once it has, let it dry for a few more days before watering it again: this will kill many of the eggs and larvae.
- If the affected plant does not resist drought but it does resist humidity, you can do the opposite. Submerge the pot in water for half a day to try to eliminate the larvae, then take it out and let it drain and dry well before watering again.
- If none of these remedies kills the plague, you can make your own natural or homemade insecticide.
We recommend you do a nicotine insecticidewhich does not affect the plants and also goes away in a very short time.
- Use tobacco or regular cigars, keep only the inside of the cigar and grind it fine or crush it with a mortar, adding a little water.
- Boil crushed tobacco leaves or the crushed extract of the contents of regular cigarettes until the smell is very strong.
- Let the tobacco insecticide cool and place it in a spray bottle.
- Apply the nicotinized liquid directly on the base and substrate of the affected plant and in less than 72 hours you should notice a drastic decrease in the pest.
We recommend this other article on How to make natural insecticides for plants.
How to prevent mosquitoes on plants
How to drive away mosquitoes from plants? As is always the case with plant pests and diseases, preventing them from settling in our plants is usually much more important than solving the problem. In the case of mosquitoes, prevention is very simple and involves avoid excess moisture.
Most plants, in fact, do not tolerate very wet substrates well, so this will usually be good news for them even if there is no threat of mosquitoes. Do not water more than necessary, remove the excess water from the dishes after watering a few minutes after it and remove the coverings of decorative stones on the surface of the substrate that favor the accumulation of moisture.
Also, you can use mosquito repellent for plants. These are usually made from citronella or other aromatic herbs, which keep a wide variety of pests away. Another option is that among your pots or groups of plants in the garden you include the anti-mosquito or citrus Geranium.
Also, you can use these Home Remedies for Mosquitoes and drive them away from the plant area of your home.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to get rid of mosquitoes on plantswe recommend that you enter our category .
