Moths in potting soil - how to get rid of them?

Andiline · 11-25-2007

Just have a problem... last night I found 3 black moths (they are a little bit bigger than the small moths I find near my closets every now and then) in my kitchen and living room. Found some more in my living room this morning and finally detected that they seem to be in the potting soil of two of my plants in my living room. I have no clue how they got there since I haven't done anything with my plants for a couple of months (except watering them of course) and now I am at a loss as to how to get rid of them. I already sprayed insect spray on the soil and watered the plants then but is there something else which is better? Shops are closed on sundays over here so I can't go to a specialised shop to ask....

Seakony · 11-25-2007

did you have those plants outside for a while? I always try to re-pot any plants that have been outside with new soil. Try some dalmatious earth on them (sp?) or 7 dust. If you can re-pot them in new soil..the better. Sometimes before potting, I will pour boiling water over the dirt to kill any eggs before putting in my plant. I get these little bitty gnats that fly around.. they drive me nuts.

Andiline · 11-25-2007

No, haven't had them outside. Someone told me the moths probably came from outside and I should use that stuff with glue on it to get them. I already have that which is how I found out they are in the soil. If there are still as many as I had in the last 24 hours I will take out the upper part of the soil and replace it with new one. Hot water is a good idea but I am afraid it would kill my plants as well...

Seakony · 11-25-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andiline

No, haven't had them outside. Someone told me the moths probably came from outside and I should use that stuff with glue on it to get them. I already have that which is how I found out they are in the soil. If there are still as many as I had in the last 24 hours I will take out the upper part of the soil and replace it with new one. Hot water is a good idea but I am afraid it would kill my plants as well...

No// don't pour it on the plants...remove the plants first. then re-pot them. There are probably moth eggs in the soil.
AThey either came from another plant you brought inside or they werea already in the soil when you bought it.

Seakony · 11-25-2007

I also used to get moths from birdseed. So I would put the bag of birdseed in the freezer for 48 hours before opening the bag.

Andiline · 11-25-2007

But I haven't bought any plants or re-potted anything for at least 5 months.... that's why I am at a loss to understand where they suddenly are coming from.

Sol · 11-25-2007

What you might consider doing is putting a thin layer of sand on top of the soil. This usually suffocates eggs. I have a big problem with mites and this helps kill the eggs.

ElvisP · 11-25-2007

Moths don't come from eggs per-say. They come from pupas, just like butterflies. There are some very small caterpillars that might have come from outside and found a home in your pots and fed from you plants. Or the eggs from mama moth were on your plants already. Then, they change skins and after a few weeks they build a pupa (a sack) where they go into hibernation for a few weeks or months. Moth pupas are very small like half inch long and look like a long bean. Then the moth comes out. I'd feel guilty killing those things after watching one go through the process.
My son found a caterpillar and we fed it thinking it was a butterfly. We nurtured the thing, watched it replace it's own skin and build the pupa...only we didn't know it was a moth and when we saw the moth we got rid of it not realizing it was that caterpillar we nurtured for 3 weeks

.

The egs are deposited on leaves....if you have a hight power microscope, you might want to scan your plants lol.

Sorry, I have no advise.....

11-25-2007	#1 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 7,589	Moths in potting soil - how to get rid of them? Just have a problem... last night I found 3 black moths (they are a little bit bigger than the small moths I find near my closets every now and then) in my kitchen and living room. Found some more in my living room this morning and finally detected that they seem to be in the potting soil of two of my plants in my living room. I have no clue how they got there since I haven't done anything with my plants for a couple of months (except watering them of course) and now I am at a loss as to how to get rid of them. I already sprayed insect spray on the soil and watered the plants then but is there something else which is better? Shops are closed on sundays over here so I can't go to a specialised shop to ask....

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11-25-2007	#2 (permalink)
Seakony añejo Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: no longer in Mesquite with nothing to do Posts: 10,148	did you have those plants outside for a while? I always try to re-pot any plants that have been outside with new soil. Try some dalmatious earth on them (sp?) or 7 dust. If you can re-pot them in new soil..the better. Sometimes before potting, I will pour boiling water over the dirt to kill any eggs before putting in my plant. I get these little bitty gnats that fly around.. they drive me nuts.

11-25-2007	#3 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 7,589	No, haven't had them outside. Someone told me the moths probably came from outside and I should use that stuff with glue on it to get them. I already have that which is how I found out they are in the soil. If there are still as many as I had in the last 24 hours I will take out the upper part of the soil and replace it with new one. Hot water is a good idea but I am afraid it would kill my plants as well...

11-25-2007	#5 (permalink)
Seakony añejo Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: no longer in Mesquite with nothing to do Posts: 10,148	I also used to get moths from birdseed. So I would put the bag of birdseed in the freezer for 48 hours before opening the bag.

11-25-2007	#6 (permalink)
Andiline añejo Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Cologne, Germany Posts: 7,589	But I haven't bought any plants or re-potted anything for at least 5 months.... that's why I am at a loss to understand where they suddenly are coming from.

11-25-2007	#7 (permalink)
Sol Chupacabras Whisperer Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: The Gem State Posts: 10,384	What you might consider doing is putting a thin layer of sand on top of the soil. This usually suffocates eggs. I have a big problem with mites and this helps kill the eggs.

11-25-2007	#8 (permalink)
ElvisP añejo Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,780	Moths don't come from eggs per-say. They come from pupas, just like butterflies. There are some very small caterpillars that might have come from outside and found a home in your pots and fed from you plants. Or the eggs from mama moth were on your plants already. Then, they change skins and after a few weeks they build a pupa (a sack) where they go into hibernation for a few weeks or months. Moth pupas are very small like half inch long and look like a long bean. Then the moth comes out. I'd feel guilty killing those things after watching one go through the process. My son found a caterpillar and we fed it thinking it was a butterfly. We nurtured the thing, watched it replace it's own skin and build the pupa...only we didn't know it was a moth and when we saw the moth we got rid of it not realizing it was that caterpillar we nurtured for 3 weeks . The egs are deposited on leaves....if you have a hight power microscope, you might want to scan your plants lol. Sorry, I have no advise.....

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