Hi all. I noticed a significant amount of these small translucent/white bugs crawling on top of the soil of my monstera pot. Unsure if they are bad and I need to be worried? Plant looks healthy to me otherwise.
Also would welcome any tips on making it grow more. It’s been a while stuck at this size, got a new leaf a while ago but since then it kind of stagnates.
by lizzy-cat
2 Comments
Look like springtails, they are no issue, they eat decaying plant matter iirc. You should change to soil tho. Make sure the pot has drainage, they dont like the roots wet all the time in compact potting soil. Add some perlite or orchid soilmix to the soil.
They also like a lot of light, dont just put it in the middle of the sun tho, might get sunburned. If new leaves are smaller then old leaves and with less fenestrstions, you might need to increase light level.
Most likely springtails.
General rule of thumb:
Fast =friend; slow = for
Glad bugs usually speedy and stinky bugs usually slow.
(Just to add on to what was already mentioned)
You can buy a premade aroid mix , which depending on what other plants you have might be easier. I made my own because of the other plants I have looking similar soil but slightly different. Changing soil was my biggest upgrade to my plants, tbh.
I would be cautious of tying the leaves like that, as the plant is usually turning them searching for light and you can damage them. It’s better to use a stake or similar to support them at the base to get them to go to the position you want! ☺️
I used a bamboo stake when mine was this small. Cheap and useful for other plants in the future haha
I learned a lot from Kill This Plant on YouTube, so if you like videos his monsters series might be helpful to you!