If you suddenly find yourself in a situation where you are wondering how to get rid of insects on your snake plant, then you have come to the right place.
We all don’t like those pesky pests that interfere with our plant care efforts, especially if you’re doing your best and they show up.
It’s super annoying.
Luckily, I’ve got you covered here and it’s going to be a pretty comprehensive article on the signs of errors, the types you’ll have to deal with, how to get rid of them, and prevention tips.
If you already know the symptoms or the type of infestation you have, you can scroll down to find your options for getting rid of bugs on your snake plant.
So let’s see what you need to know to permanently eradicate these pests and insects.
Contents
Signs of insects on snake plants.
In addition to being able to spot the pests themselves, you’ll often notice the signs of an infestation before the insects, especially if the type of pest you have is very small or hiding under leaves.
Therefore, you will often have to rely on signs and symptoms to know that you have a pest problem.
Here are some signs and symptoms that you have a possible pest infestation on your snake plant.
- Your snake plant is falling
- The leaves of your snake plant have turned yellow.
- There are holes in the sheets.
- the leaves curl
- brown leaf tips
- The leaves have turned white or pale.
- Leaves are sticky (honeydew remains)
- understory growth
- Small bumps on the sheet surface.
- Cottony ovals (cochineal)
- Cobweb-like material (red spider)
- Your snake plant looks dry and generally unhealthy
Keep in mind that while most of these signs point to a pest problem on your snake plant, there may be something else going on.
This is especially true if you look very closely and there are no errors.
That said, you should always check your snake plant for insects before you throw it away, as you don’t want these pests to cause further damage or spread.
Types of Insects on Snake Plants
Unfortunately, there are many types of insects that can attach themselves to snake plants, and they vary in size and color.
Fortunately, most of them can be eliminated with the same type of treatments, so you can treat them all at once.
That being said, here are most of the insects you might encounter with snake plants and how to identify them or what to look for.
red spider
Spider mites are one of the smallest pests you will ever find on a snake plant, as they are typically (1/50th of an inch) tall.
They can also vary in color from yellow, red, green or gray, but the telltale sign of mites is the web they leave behind.
Don’t get me wrong, although these creatures are super small, they can do a lot of damage to plants and even kill your snake plant if left untreated.
The mites get to work gobbling up your plant cells and draining the sap from the leaves, which in turn leads to a loss of nutrients in your snake plants.
If you ever notice the silky weave or very small holes in the leaves, you most likely have spider mites.
Another way to tell is to place a piece of paper under a sheet, then smell the sheet to see if you hear or see any of the mites hitting the paper.
It’s honestly pretty crazy how much damage small bugs can do.
mealybugs
Scale insects are another common pest that can invade snake plants and cause problems.
These bugs vary in size, but you can expect them to average about 1/10th of an inch in size and are usually pinkish or white in color when covered in wax.
The telltale sign that you have mealybugs on a snake plant is if you see little fluffy ovals with a wagging tail.
Again, scale insects feed on the leaf sap of the snake plant and take nutrients with them.
This can lead to leaf drop due to nutrient loss or leaf curling in response.
Scale insects also secrete a honeydew substance after feeding, which quickly turns into sooty mold.
Bah.
aphids
Aphids are super annoying and scary creatures that can affect plants of all kinds, and unfortunately your snake plant is not exempt.
These creatures have pear-shaped bodies that measure approximately (1/10th of an inch), but can be smaller and range in color from red, green, to black.
While aphids can’t (fortunately) really affect the health of your snake plant, they can cause problems like stunted growth, curled leaves, and yellowing of the plant.
However, these symptoms can become quite severe if they form in large numbers.
Once again, the aphids feed on the leaf sap of your snake plant, losing nutrients and also leaving behind that honeydew goo.
super boring.
thrips
Thrips are another type of pest you may encounter when growing snake plants.
These creatures are also quite small (1-2 mm) and are usually yellow to brown in color.
They can also have wings which personally drive me crazy.
A telltale sign that you have a thrips infestation are silvery streaks on the leaves after they have fed.
Like mites, you can also tell if you have thrips by placing a piece of paper under a leaf, then tapping that leaf to see if any creatures land there.
Pro Tip: Thrips are attracted to blue and yellow colors. source so you can place blue or yellow sticky traps nearby to see if you have thrips on your snake plant.
white flies
Whiteflies are medium-sized (1/16 to 1/10 inch) pests with yellow upper bodies and white wings.
His name is therefore mostly correct.
These pests can feed on the underside of your snake’s leaves and absorb nutrients just as easily as the other insects mentioned.
This can lead to leaf drop, stunted growth, yellowing, and even leaf drop if it lasts long enough.
The telltale sign of whiteflies is having beautiful insects, whiteflies.
Again, I’m not a fan of insects that can fly and I know many of you feel the same way.
Pro Tip: Whiteflies are another type of pest that are attracted to the color yellow, so yellow sticky traps can work very well to see if you have them or to remove them from your snake plant.
mold gnats
Fungus gnats are small (1/16 to 1/8 inch) flies that unfortunately reside mostly in the soil of potted plants, such as the snake plant.
These creatures are usually gray or black in color and are attracted to soil moisture. This is why it is very important not to overwater your snake!
These insects can and will also lay their eggs in the soil and the larvae can stunt plant growth and damage roots.
Pro Tip: If you notice these little flies, you should assume that your snake plant soil is already infested with grubs. From there, you can fill the soil with neem oil or replace the soil and transplant it firmly.
How to get rid of errors
For the vast majority of these errors, unless otherwise specified, several different methods can be used.
Here are some tried and true ways to get rid of bugs or pests on snake plants and you can choose the best one for you based on what you have on hand.
So here are different options.
water and pressure
If you don’t have any pest control products on hand, you can simply try using water with light pressure to spray the insects onto your snake plant.
This can work for many types of pests, but keep in mind that for best results this is the least effective option among the others listed.
When spraying, make sure the pressure is not so high that it damages the leaves or causes cracking.
Also, just spray your plant to kill as many insects as possible.
insecticidal soap
Insecticidal soap is a great way to get rid of insects on snake plants because this product kills insects on contact simply by spraying the plant.
Insecticidal soap is also safe for snakes and can actually be made from household materials if you don’t feel like buying it already made.
To be sure, you can combine the following items.
- 2 tablespoons pure liquid soap
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Dilute in 1 gallon of distilled water
- Add this to a spray bottle and mist your plant.
Keep in mind that for best results you will need to spray your plant more than once to ensure all insects are killed.
In general, I recommend it as an option.
take oil
Neem oil is arguably one of the best pest control products because it works so well on most types of insects.
All you have to do is spray your snake plant once or twice and the bugs will be gone.
It works as an insecticidal soap, but neem oil also works as a pest control and fungicide.
Just be sure to only spray when your plant is in shade, as it tends to scorch the leaves if in the sun before it dries out.
Works great, even on fungus gnat larvae!
If you want to try neem oil, you can get it here.
This is my method of getting rid of insects and pests.
Prevention
Prevention is the key to not getting infestations on your snake plant, but they can still appear randomly, but not as likely as if there were problems already.
So here are some tips you can implement to reduce the risk or frequency of insects appearing on your snake plants.
- Provide a clean growth environment.
- Control humidity
- Don’t Overwater Your Snake Plant
- Provide good air circulation, especially indoors.
- Regularly check your plant for problems
- Isolate all affected plants from others to reduce their spread
- Prune the unhealthy parts of the plant
final thoughts
If you’ve come this far, you now know just about everything when it comes to identifying bugs and how to get rid of them.
Pests and insects can be annoying, but once you know what to do, everything becomes so much easier.
So, as always, have fun caring for your plants and enjoy the experience!