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how to get rid of worms in houseplants a
worm presence in a large garden can be
beneficial to plants the worm casings
providing nutrients and they're
wriggling bodies aerating the soil in a
single house plant
however worms can lead to a decline in
plant health because they nibble on
plant roots especially if there is no
decaying plant matter available in the
soil the common earthworm cut worms and
composting worms such as red wigglers
are most likely to be found in house
plants but several pests have worm-like
larval stages that can be treated in the
same way as a real worm infestation
things you'll need tweezers bucket or
tub sterile potting soil chlorine bleach
inspect each plant carefully for signs
of worm infestation in some cases the
worms might be present on leaves or on
the soil surface
earthworms tend to burrow in the soil at
the bottom of the pot so you might be
able to find them with a little digging
or by peeking through the pots drainage
holes earthworms tend to reveal
themselves more readily at dusk and on
cloudy days but shouldn't be too
difficult to spot within the confines of
a planter moved worm infested house
plans to a quarantine room away from any
other house plants so the problem
doesn't spread to unaffected plants keep
them separated for a few weeks which
allows time to get rid of the worms and
to check that the problem doesn't
persist before moving them back in the
original location any new house plants
you bring into your home should be
treated this way to avoid the spread of
worms and other pests as well as
diseases pick up any worms that you can
see on the soil surface and on plant
leaves you should be able to pick up
surface worms between your finger tips
but a pair of tweezers works well if you
prefer not to touch the worms this might
be all you need to do to get rid of
worms unless you have earthworms in the
soil
release earthworms or composting worms
outdoors in a vegetable garden or flower
bed where they are beneficial to the
soil but far away from other potted
plants harmful pests such as cut worms
and leaf miner larvae should be
submerged in warm soapy water to kill
them so
they don't harm other plants there are a
range of insecticidal soaps that are
effective at killing pests use the
ready-to-use insecticidal soap and spray
the worms repeating the application as
needed
submerge the house plant pot in a bucket
or tub filled with cool water the
container must be wider and deeper than
the planter pull the pot out of the
water immediately after completely
saturating the soil like a beading rain
on the hard ground at dusk this practice
often drives earthworms out of the soil
so you can catch them and release them
outside additional action might be
needed if this doesn't get rid of the
worms repot the house plant and clean
sterile potting soil remove the plant
from its original potting shake excess
soil loose from the root ball so you can
access and pick off any worms in the
soil you can repot the plant in its
original container after thoroughly
washing the container in a 10% solution
of the eluded bleach if it appears
rootbound move it up to a slightly
larger pot tips warnings
David's leaf miners and fungus gnats are
just a few of the various plant pests
that resemble worms in the larval stage
even a cut worm is just the name for the
larval stage of several species of moth
millipedes and caterpillars are not
technically worms but are very worm like
while some of these pests might require
further treatment than the standard worm
removal treatments you can at least pick
them off the plant if they are visible
on a leaf or on the soil
you