What to Do When Pests Appear in the Roots of a Money Tree? Practical Solutions

  Everyone thinks the money tree (Pachira aquatica) is both beautiful and brings a touch of greenery to the home. It is an excellent potted plant, and it is also fairly easy to care for. So many plant enthusiasts get a bit casual with their care. Little do they know that it may be your own carelessness that often causes your beloved plant to develop pests and diseases.

  Recently, the editor heard a netizen say that pests had appeared in the roots of their potted money tree. What could be done about this? In fact, when the roots of a money tree stay wet for a long time, pests are easily bred, especially in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment. For example, it may suffer from root-knot nematode disease, root rot nematodes, scale insects, mites, and so on, usually accompanied by some white worms. So, once this phenomenon occurs, how should it be handled?

  1. You can dilute baijiu with water and pour it onto the potting soil, about once every half a month, and it will take effect after 4 consecutive treatments. This is very effective for killing scale insects.

  2. Dip a cotton swab in edible vinegar, then apply it evenly to the affected areas. After repeated operations several times, the pests and diseases can be removed. This method is also simple to operate and safe to use. It can not only achieve the effect of pest removal, but also quickly restore the plant's green vitality.

  3. Use alcohol to repeatedly wipe the affected pest areas. This can likewise play a role in killing insects and sterilizing, and this method is very thorough and clean.

  4. If the pest infestation is relatively extensive and severe, we can use pesticides such as omethoate or dichlorvos to spray and kill them, about once a week, and it will take effect after 3-4 consecutive treatments. However, this method is relatively dangerous to use at home, so use it with caution or use it less.

  5. You can mix lime with water and stir it into a paste. After it cools, apply it evenly to the areas where pests and diseases have developed. Of course, to provide a preventive effect, it is recommended to apply it to the lower half of the trunk as well.

  6. Use a spray mosquito killer on the affected areas. Although this method can kill pests to a certain extent, it is not thorough enough and needs to be used over the long term, so you can consider whether to use it.

  7. Mix laundry detergent with water, then add a little clear oil and stir well. Then spray the mixture on the pests.

  In short, there are quite a few methods for dealing with pests in the roots and even on the branches and leaves of a money tree. As for which method is more effective, you may as well summarize more through practice, and at the same time you can also discover more methods for eliminating pests and diseases.

  However, some plant enthusiasts think that since winter weather is so cold, it is very difficult for a money tree to develop pests. Actually, that is not the case. Everyone knows that dry cold weather occurs often in winter. If in such weather conditions the air in the space where the money tree is placed is also not circulating enough, pests are very easily bred, especially red spiders or mites.

  If a money tree develops pests in winter, we may as well analyze it according to the ideas above. If that is indeed the case, we should promptly take response and handling measures. The correct approach is to immediately improve the environmental ventilation conditions and at the same time increase air humidity. Improving ventilation conditions mainly means opening doors and windows, or directly moving it to a place that is ventilated but not too low in temperature, because the money tree has poor cold tolerance, so be careful of frost injury. The most direct and effective way to increase air humidity is to spray water. Of course, you can also use things like a humidifier.