5 Common ZZ Plant Pests: Identification and Treatment

Although ZZ plants are easy to care for, they’re still susceptible to a handful of pests. Join farmer Briana Yablonski to learn which pests to look out for and how to remove them from your houseplants.

A gray pot cradles a ZZ plant, adding greenery to a bright white corner. Nearby, a window adorned with billowy white and blue curtains invites gentle daylight into the room, creating a serene atmosphere.

Contents

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance houseplant to enliven your living room or bathroom, consider the ZZ plant. These hardy houseplants can withstand inconsistent watering and low light, making them perfect for beginners.

That said, ZZs will remain happiest when you keep them in an ideal environment and provide them with proper care and pest control.

I’ll cover how to identify some of the most common ZZ plant pests so you can recognize friends from foes. You’ll also learn how to prevent these pests from becoming problematic and treat them when they start causing issues.

Aphids

A close-up view of a dense cluster of tiny green aphids feeding on a plant stem, their small, pear-shaped bodies tightly packed along the rough surface of the stem.
Although they’re small, they can quickly reproduce and cover your ZZ.

Aphids are a subfamily of insects known for their soft bodies and sap-sucking mouthparts. Although they’re small, they can quickly reproduce and cover your ZZ. So keep an eye out for aphids and treat them ASAP.

Identification

Aphids are tiny insects that are around a quarter of an inch long. They have an oblong body, no wings, and long antennae that sweep backward along their bodies.

There are over 4,000 aphid species, but not all feed on ZZ plants. That’s because many aphid species only eat a few species of genera. However, you can find a few species that feed on many types.

Numerous aphid species feed on indoor ZZ houseplants, but pear aphids are one of the most common. These insects are light green, so they can blend into the foliage.

All aphids use their specialized mouths to pierce leaves and drink sap. This feeding leads to small dots known as stippling, which can discolor leaves if the pests are left untreated.

Prevention

Preventing aphids is often easier than treating the pests. If your ZZ grows indoors, aphids will likely enter your home on an infested plant.

Before you bring a new plant indoors, check it for any signs of pests. Aphids often hide in tender new growth, so be sure to investigate young leaves. If you spot aphids, treat them before bringing the new one indoors.

Control

If you notice a handful of aphids, you can easily crush them between your fingers or wipe them off with a soapy rag (use only diluted garden safe soak like castile soap). This physical control is often sufficient since this species lacks nooks and crannies where the pests can hide.

If you’re uncomfortable squishing aphids, spray them with an organic control. Insecticidal soap and neem oil will both kill aphids. Just follow the product instructions and thoroughly coat the pests with the liquid.

Spider Mites

A group of spider mites on a web formed on plant stems.
They often look like cobwebs covering the undersides of leaves.

People often mistake these creepy-crawly critters for spiders due to their silky webs. However, spider mites are a different class of arachnids. They often become a problem during hot and dry periods, so you may see these pests appear on your ZZ plant in the winter.

Identification

Spider mites are teeny tiny pests less than a twentieth of an inch long. Their small size means they’re difficult to spot with your naked eye, but you can often see large groups of the tiny mites on leaves’ undersides. You may also see their webs or damage before you spot the mites.

The spider mites’ webs are silky and more tightly woven than spider webs. They often look like cobwebs covering the undersides of leaves.

Like aphids, spider mites feed on leaf sap. If enough pests are present, their feeding can lead to yellowing leaves.

Prevention

The best way to control spider mites is to avoid bringing them into your home on infested specimen. Since these pests are so small, carefully inspect new houseplants before moving them indoors. Shaking the leaves over a piece of paper will allow you to more easily spot any mites that are present.

Keeping your ZZ well-watered can also help prevent spider mites. Although ZZs can tolerate moderate drought, they prefer their soil to remain slightly moist.

Control

Before controlling mites, ensure they’re still present. Since these pests are so small, you may not notice they’re there until you spot their webs or damage. However, the pests may be gone by the time you notice other signs of them.

If you know these ZZ plant pests are still present, organic sprays are the best control. Insecticidal soap and horticultural oils also effectively control mites when they make direct contact.

Whiteflies

Whiteflies appear as tiny, white, winged insects clustered on the underside of the chrysanthemum leaf, leaving behind a powdery residue.
They have two white-powdery wings that fold back along their body.

Little white insects flying around your ZZ plant likely indicate whiteflies. These pests aren’t flies but rather sap-sucking pests more closely related to aphids and mealybugs.

Identification

These tiny pests are about a tenth of an inch long. They have two white-powdery wings that fold back along their body. You’ll often spot them flying near your ZZ or crawling on the undersides of leaves.

The adults lay tiny eggs under leaves, and the eggs soon hatch into small crawling nymphs. The nymphs go through multiple instar stages before they become adults.

Both the adults and nymphs suck sap. Over time, this feeding leads to discolored leaves and even defoliation.

Prevention

Inspect every new houseplant you bring inside to make sure it’s not infested with whiteflies. If you notice these pests, treat the specimen in question before bringing it indoors.

Control

If you spot only a handful of these ZZ plant pests, you can wipe them off with a soapy rag. You can try this control method for larger outbreaks or spray the whiteflies with insecticidal soap or neem oil.

Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are stuck on a yellow sticky trap inserted into a clay pot with a houseplant in a close-up view.
You can use yellow sticky traps to catch and kill the flying adults.

If you notice tiny dark pests flying around your ZZ plant, you’re probably dealing with fungus gnats. Although the annoying adults don’t harm your plant, the larvae feed on the roots. Removing the ZZ plant pests from your home keeps them healthy and ensures your air is free from gnats.

Identification

When fungus gnats fly around your plants, they look like small, dark, slow-moving insects. If you look closely, you’ll see that they resemble small mosquitoes with long legs and notable antennae. Sometimes growers confuse fungus gnats with harmless shore flies, but the latter have shorter antennae.

Although adult fungus gnats are harmless, the larvae feed on plant roots. If left untreated, they can severely damage the root system and weaken the plant. Digging into the top few inches of infested soil reveals clear worm-like larvae about a quarter of an inch long.

Prevention

Fungus gnats like to lay their eggs on moist organic matter, so letting the soil dry out in between waterings will help prevent their spread. ZZ plants like their soil to dry slightly, so this works out perfectly.

You should also inspect plants before you bring them home. Avoid any plants that have fungus gnats flying around them, and stay clear of plants that have algae growing on the soil surface.

Control

Getting rid of fungus gnats once and for all involves killing adults as well as larvae. You can use yellow sticky traps to catch and kill the flying adults or just wait a week for the adults to die.

Real control involves killing the soil-dwelling larvae and stopping the emergence of new adults. First, let the top two inches of soil dry out before you water. This alone will limit the pest’s spread. You can also kill the larvae by treating the soil with beneficial nematodes or Bti.

Mealybugs

Small, white, waxy, and fuzzy insects that appear as cotton-like clumps on a stem, feeding in clusters.
These scale insects have a white waxy coating that looks a bit like sticky flour.

If you notice your ZZ seems covered in a white powdery substance, you may be dealing with mealybugs. These scale insects have a white waxy coating that looks a bit like sticky flour. Although they may look harmless, they suck sap and weaken the entire plant.

Identification

There are numerous mealybug species, but they all look similar. Look for a flattened, oblong body that narrows toward the back end. Most species have multiple tufts that look like legs as well as multiple tails.

All types of mealybugs are coated in a white, waxy substance. When the pests crowd together, they appear like a mass of cotton.

As mealybugs feed, they secrete a sugary substance called honeydew. You may spot this sticky liquid on the plant’s leaves.

Prevention

As with most pests on this list, prevention is often easier than control. Check new plants for mealybugs before you bring them indoors, then adjust if needed. If you don’t bring these pests into your home, they won’t affect otherwise healthy specimens.

Control

Mealybugs are often more difficult to control than other sap-sucking pests. However, eliminating them is possible if you take the right steps.

Spraying these ZZ plant pests with insecticidal soap or neem oil is the best way to kill them. Make sure to thoroughly coat the mealybugs for effective control. You may need to spray multiple times if the pests persist.

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