Worms in my soil

6 years ago

I’ve found about 10 of these worm like creatures in the soil of my house plant. I can’t tell if it’s causing harm or not but I have no idea where they’re coming from. I just pick them out with a spoon when I see them because they are pretty small and slow. But my aloe Vera like plant is starting to get some brown decaying marks on the tips of the leaves and I’m wondering if it’s from these wormy bugs

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socks

6 years ago

Picture?

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Comments (12)

SoCal Stewart (San Diego, Ca Zone 10A/10B)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Nichollette,

At one time I had a houseplant (not a succulent, but more of a tropical type that required more water) that had little white worms in the soil. They were maybe a quarter of an inch long and nearly translucent and were in the larval stage and wound up turning into pesky gnats flying all around. It was at work and I could hear my coworkers talking about "all these little bugs flying around". LOL! (OOPS!) No one else had any plants so I'm sure it was my "pet gnats" that they were being annoyed by. I think it's one of the things that can happen with plants that require more moisture in the soil.

Besides spraying the soil surface with Safer insecticidal soap, I also let the soil dry out some. MUCH dryer than I normally would for a houseplant (which didn't seem to hurt it.) That combination of things put an end to the worms and the gnats after a week or so.

If somehow you managed to actually get some red worms (earth worms) in your house plant soil (I've seen that in the past with mine, too) then COOL! Whole different story. They are beneficial in that they aerate the soil and the castings "worm poop" they leave behind is fertilizer.

I live in San Diego so for me, all of my Aloes are outside and I personally wouldn't consider them house plants.

Not sure what kind of worms you're talking about, so don't know if this is of any help to you or not.

Tyler
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Hard to tell from the pictures whether they are millipedes or centipedes. Centipedes have somewhat flattened bodies. Millipedes are pretty round. Do I see in your pictures ONE pair of legs per segment? That's a centipede. Millipedes have two. You should look. Centipedes are carnivores. They eat insects. Millipedes are vegetarians. They might eat your plants, but they probably just eat decomposing vegetation. If millipedes aren't on your plants, they're not a problem. If the centipedes are on your plants, it's probably a good thing!
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tommyr_gw Zone 6
6 years ago
If they are larvae use BT in your watering can.
Alisa (Singapore)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Pictures would be very helpful :)

Good chance they are fungus gnat larvae, if you have noticed any black flying bugs. Either use BTI when watering (can be found in mosquito bits) or tip everything out, thoroughly clean the plant (including roots), disinfect everything and repot with fresh clean potting soil. Allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings, you can test by sticking a finger into the soil. Aloe is a succulent and does not like sitting in moist conditions, that can encourage rotting, which might be the black tips you speak of.
Nichollette Victoria thanked Alisa (Singapore)
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years ago
Dark marks on the leaves could be caused by overwatering - as would be also presence of fungus gnats.

You should reconsider soil you are using. Can you post photo of the plants in question?
Nichollette Victoria thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
SpanishFly - (Mediterranean)
6 years ago
The larvae of fungus gnats (sciarid fly) can cause massive damage. When I was a relative newbie I once picked up a Mammillaria and the top of the plant just rolled off and fell on the floor, revealing a squirming mass of these horrid bugs. I had seen small flies buzzing around them for some weeks. They are most commonly found in peat soils growing indoors. In my older books on cacti, fungus gnats do not get a mention in the ´pests´ section - they appear to be a relatively recent problem.
Nichollette Victoria
Original Author
6 years ago
Here are a few photos of more critters I found this morning! I’m worried it’s killing my plant because there are a bunch of brown spots on the plant
tommyr_gw Zone 6
6 years ago
I would re-pot with new potting mix making sure to remove all the old soil from the roots and maybe rinsing the roots off well as well.
Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I think those are little millipedes;). I'm no entomologist so hopefully somebody else can reassure that it is in fact a millipede.

Time to change your mix because they eat moist decaying organic matter. Your mix is likely too organic and wet. So if you switch out the mix with at least 50% rinsed perlite and 50% cactus soil they will be no longer. A pot with drainage holes is a must too:).
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Nichollette

I would suggest that you need to reconsider soil you are using. Is that last plant aloe? - it seems to be in very wet soil, and also potted too deep inside of pot. Some ppl argue that it doesn't matter, but I believe it creates even more humidity & lack of air circulation around base of plant. Together with wet soil, it is 'heaven' for bugs. Marks I see in the photo could be just mechanical damage - could you take a clear close-up photo of it?

Maybe you should try using mix that is mostly inorganic. And water only when it is almost dry deep inside of pot. Also, use only containers with good drainage holes.

I don't even remember last time I had any fungus gnats - and I have over 300 potted plants that are all indoors during winter. All succulents are in very gritty mix, without any soil, and other tropical plants have lots of coarse perlite and some grit in mix too - I would probably grow them in a mix with even more grit but big pots get too hevay! Succulents are in smaller containers. All my plants spend summers outside.
s g
6 years ago
Those are definitely millipedes and not desirable around plants.
Laura F (z9FL)
6 years ago
they eat organic matter they won't harm your plant but you might not want them in your house.