Soak the whole pot in the sink for 10 mins.... nothing will survive that, but then there may still be eggs, so you should maybe just get a regular house plant insecticide and do a drench as per label info. BTW, your mix is a bit on the dry side for serissas, and you may be leaving it just a day late for watering (usually the opposite of what I suggest for a lot of trees, but this is more tropical than anything and does need to be watered regularly, plus that mix (even if you add a bit more organic stuff) will let the water run right through anyhow, so you don't need to worry about rot or fungus.

Hi lucy,

Thanks for your message. I've tried soaking the pot in the sink before. I've even soaked the pot in a mixture of diluted Neem oil and pyrethins. They were still there, so then I repotted, and I thought I got rid of them because I had washed the roots thoroughly and sprayed them with insecticide (no, the serissa wasn't happy with that and got very pissed off). After a while it went back to normal though, but the bugs did too....

I usually water my serissa every day because even though it's indoors, the area immediately below my lights usually stay around 85-95 degrees at 45 percent relative humidity.

Anyway...I'm just trying to figure out what they are now, so maybe I can find a more specific means to target this particular pest. Even if they're not harmful, I'd prefer that they do not infest the soil of my other bonsai once I get the automatic irrigation system up.

I don't blame you - have you tried googling images of .. aphids? Or asking a local garden ctre if they have any ideas? Try Safer's soap spray (insecticide for house plants) - nothing to lose - neem may not work for everything after all. I still think your serissa would be happier with more organics in the soil and a day off from watering, but if it's alive and well, you're already ahead of the game with it, so never mind.

Matt,

I think i have the same fast moving small white bugs in my soil. They do not fly and are very tiny. Have you had any success getting rid of them? I know they are not aphids. What did you eventually do with your tree?

Thanks

After further research i'm fairly certain these are spider mites. It can be hard to see the webs in some cases. Also, they seem not to care for some plants, and thus stay mostly in the soil. Other plants they prefer to eat the leaves and stem and so on those plants they can be found more on the leaves. If anyone else has other comments on this, or thinks i'm wrong please do share.

Those little bugs could be a variety of thrips that live in the soil.

Hey I am having same issue driving me crazy all the bonsai that have them are thriving were doing bad but now all doing great and I had a fungus gnat issue and haven't seen enough in a while and was spook happy to finally be done with them do to my own personal mix (way better and more potent then the store carp that's too expensive and a waste) of pure organic neem and torturing and I been so happy CAUSE my fungus gnat issue was done now I move a rock I have sitting in the soil of a chinese elm and see these things crawling sprayed the he'll it of employment and nothing happened then moved a rock in my soil of my fukien tea which never had any issues even when the fungus gnats were embarrassing but moved the rock seen some cotton looking white stuff figured it was powdery mildew but now I'm thinking maybe they are spider mites but if so why won't the neem mixed with soap and torturing work and why aren't they up under the leaves as they're normally described please help cause my plants are great but wtf I don't like nothing in my plants soil or near my plants I have some predatory nematodes will that help and plus fyi I am using sphagnum moss method with my bonsai and for those old school traditional method please don't give your negative input on sphagnum cause it won't work my bonsai and I mean all twenty two of employment are doing amazing compare to how they were doing outside and indoor since I've switched and thats why I am using sphagnum so please help if u can and excuse my long message

I have the same white bugs in my Easter Lily. I've repotted twice and tried soaking plant in a sink but no dice. They always come back.

Just mixed water with a dash of dish soap and apple cider vinegar. I sprayed it in the top layer of soil then mixed up the top layer with my fingers so the mix could thoroughly reach all the top layer. The bugs did not like the mix. They wriggled around like they were dying.

I checked back later and there was no movement in the soil.

I will post in a few days to update about status of my plant.

I just noticed these small bugs in my Easter lilies. Very tiny. I was omg. So I put the plant outside. Will these bugs affect my other plants? Also, to save my lilies should I just plant them outside? Otherwise they are so beautiful. Hate bug's.

Hi, I NEED HELP. My newly sprouted cuttings from my Christmas Cactus has little white things crawling ...slinking ...around in the soil and you can only see them when you move the soil... If I do not disturb the soil, they do not move as much. They are so small I think I am going blind searching for them. WHAT ARE THEY? They are things thread but tiny. Should I trash the plant? My Mom has cancer so I do not want to use pesticides. Thanks

I have exactly same problem in 2017! Could anyone please suggest what actually works for certain...

Thanks

Ok, please do not try this without checking it out first. Here is my story. I had this problem more then once. The first time I got these crawly threadlike things in my soil (ie. Last summer), I ended up throwing out my Thanksgiving Cactus. So last November, I purchased a few more Thanksgiving Cactus from the supermarket. I noticed those pesky tiny fruit flies/knats flying around my plants. ( they usually lay their eggs in the soil ) Well that was it! I mixed a combo of rubbing alcohol and water and sprayed the surface of the dirt on my newly purchased plants really well. I have knat/fruit fly traps all over...ie.. Near each plant. For the first time since the Fall, I recently saw the first little bugger and put out my traps. I may do my alcohol/ water spray again. But this is risky. It did not kill my plants, but it can kill them if you overdo this. Proceed at your own risk. Best to try to control this problem. I do not think you can completely avoid it if you have live plants in the home. They LOVE organic soil and there may be unhatched eggs in the organic soil you buy at the garden center to transplant your thanksgiving cactus into a new pot in the Spring. So far I have NOT transplanted anything. Nor have I fertilized anything. These tiny fruit flies/knats come in through screens or with your groceries/fruit that you buy at your local supermarket. They can even come up out of the drain in your sink! I have added photos of these traps. They work well so far for me. You can purchase them at Home Depot or True Value Hardware.

Can you still take cutting of a plant that has these wee tiny white beasties?? Since re-potting and flushing doesn't work!! Does anybody know? Thank u x

I would not take a cutting from this plant until the creatures are gone. this is the time of year you get the fruit flies / gnats that come in on fruit from the supermarket or from a drain in your sink...best thing to do is get the traps I posted.

I've seen most all the above in my houseplants and have had good luck using a dog flea/tick collar. Just cut in half or thirds and lay the curled piece on the soil at the base of your houseplant and whatever is in the plastic that kills or repels insects and arachnids on your dog will also do the job on your plants. I have also hung pieces higher up on larger plants. You can pick them up cheap at a dollar store.

Do they jump if you really move the soil? I just found an infestation in most of my lovely indoor hot pepper and herb plants :/. Mine seem to sort of jump when agitated and with my searching I've found they are called Spring Tails or Collembolans. When they're little they're white and tiny tiny. Looks like the only solution is to let the soil dry out, however I fear for my herbs and peppers to do that. I guess I overwatered them from the beginning. I also use compost that's non-sterile.

They're just soil mites. Not harmful. They should actually be beneficial.

https://plantcaretoday.com/soil-mites.html