No matter how vigilant you are with plant care, you will most likely still find some sort of pesky pests on your plants eventually. If you have a regular plant care routine, this will help you identify any issues before you have a full-blown outbreak on your hands.

If you are purchasing a plant in-store, make sure you inspect it before you buy. Check for signs of any pests, like webbing or any damage to the plant.

When you bring your new plants into your home, it is important to give them a good clean. I usually give mine a shower to hopefully wash off any pests, and then a good clean with my Plantastic Potion. If you’re not familiar with our Plantastic Potion, you can read all about it in our blog “Using Our Plantastic Potion.”

Isolate your plants! In my opinion, this is the most important step. If you have the room, place the plant away from any other plants for at least 1-2 weeks. If you have missed any issues, this will give you time to treat them before they spread to the rest of your collection. I learned this the hard way. A couple of years ago, I purchased a Hoya compacta online. I gave it a clean and added it straight to my collection. A couple of months later, I noticed webbing on a bunch of my plants, and I had a spidermite outbreak! If you've had spidermites before, you know how much work and time it takes to get it under control. At the time, I had nearly 300 plants, it was a nightmare.

After a couple of weeks, if you're confident there aren't any issues, give the plant one last clean and add it to your collection. Just keep an eye on the plants around it, just in case you missed something.

Good luck! 🤞