🌿 Bringing Plants Indoors in Fall🌿

Practical ways to ease the move indoors

Step 1. Prep Your Indoor Space

Clear a spot for plants with good airflow and light. 

Dust shelving and vacuum or dust the surrounding area.  

Clean windows and dust supplemental lighting.

Have a small fan ready to help plants dry after cleaning.

Set up a “quarantine corner” where plants with issues can be isolated for a few weeks.

Step 2. Clean & Inspect Plants Outdoors

Rinse: Gently hose down or shower your plants to remove dust, webs, and hitchhiking pests.

Dry: Allow excess water to drip off, then place plants in front of a fan for at least 2 hours.

Inspect: Look closely at leaves (tops and undersides), stems, and soil surface.

• • Low-risk pests (aphids, spider mites): clean and monitor

  • High-risk pests (mealybugs, scale): treat thoroughly, and isolate for up to 60 days

  • Severe armored scale infestations: often best to discard the plant rather than risk bringing them indoors

See below for optional step 2A*

Step 3. Introduce Beneficial Insects

Once plants are indoors, you can “seed” them with natural helpers that patrol for pests:

For Soil Pests (Fungus Gnats, Thrips Pupae):

• • Steinernema feltiae nematodes (“Sf nematodes”) → water into soil.  If infestation is present, apply 2 (standard) or 3 (heavy) times, at 7 to 10 day intervals.

  • Stratiolaelaps scimitus (tiny soil mites) → long-term protection against fungus gnats, root pests

For Foliage Pests (Thrips, Mites):

• • Neoseiulus cucumeris sachets (cucumeris mites) → great for thrips prevention; works in typical indoor temps

  • Neoseiulus californicus (californicus mites) → stronger against spider mites and broad mites, with some thrips control; can be re-applied monthly as adults for steady protection

  • Pair either mite with a companion plant like Sweet Alyssum indoors to provide pollen, which helps them survive longer.  Alyssum requires medium to bright light to bloom.

  • Maintenance application can be applied every 4-5 weeks for large or especially vulnerable collections.

For Broad Protection (Many Soft-bodied Pests):

• • Lacewing larvae → a “bio-sweep” for larger collections. They hunt thrips, aphids, mealybugs, and more.

  • Best suited for serious collectors with many plants. Occasional adults may appear indoors, but most won’t pupate.  Survival is enhanced with nectar plants (like Alyssum) for adults, and supplemental humidity when indoor humidity falls below 30% (typically when outdoor temps drop below 45°F (7°C).

Step 4. Monitor & Maintain

Inspect plants weekly or when watering.  A hand lens is helpful if leaf damage, honeydew (sticky substance) or frass (insect waste) is found.

Small yellow sticky traps near plant bases can be used to monitor fungus gnats and flying pests.  (Note that these are not pet (or long hair) friendly.)

If pests appear, treat promptly (spot-clean, repot, or add more beneficials as needed).

Keep airflow moving and avoid overwatering — healthy, dry soil discourages most indoor pests.

* Optional Step 2A. Preventive Spray 

For growers with larger collections or intensive grow spaces, a gentle biological spray (e.g. Beauveria bassiana) applied after cleaning and inspecting, can help reduce thrips, aphids, or scale crawlers before moving plants to their indoor home.  

Remember, applying any pesticide requires care to avoid overspray that could affect non-target species.  This time of year, this usually means spraying in the early morning (before bees are out), spraying in an indoor space like a shower, or creating an enclosed spray tent outside to avoid uninitentional drift and overspray.