What Can I Do to Prevent Pests in My Grow Room?

One of the nice things about growing a hydroponic garden or other indoor garden is that you don’t have to worry too much about pests eating your plants. That being said, even indoor plants can succumb to pests occasionally, even if insects and arachnids aren’t as prevalent as they are outside.

When the weather gets warmer, this problem can become even more noticeable as bugs from outdoors make their way into the house and into your grow room.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prevent and treat pests in the grow room. Here’s what we suggest:

Know the most common pests

The most common pests that attack indoor gardens and hydroponic setups are:

• Aphids
• Spider mites
• Whiteflies

Because of this, you’ll want to be prepared specifically for these pests. Putting up preventive measures ahead of time can be the difference between your plants thriving and dying.

Change clothes after going outside

One big way to keep insects and arachnids out of the grow room is to not bring them in on your clothes. If you also garden outside, make it a point to change into clean clothes after you come inside from the garden.

If you’re only outside briefly, this step may not be necessary, but if you’re spending any significant amount of time outdoors, changing clothes can help prevent unwanted stowaways from hitching a ride to your indoor plants.

You can also use different tools and supplies for your indoor and outdoor gardens to keep the inside area clean and pest-free.

Quarantine transplants

If you’re transplanting a new specimen into your grow room, leave it in a separate room for a while to watch for signs of pests. This is a good idea for both plants you bring in from outdoors and those you bring in from a garden center.

Maintain appropriate humidity levels

Some pests, like spider mites, seek out environments with low humidity. If the air gets too dry in the grow room, you may find gnats and mites attracted to your hydroponic setup. You can prevent this by monitoring humidity levels and keeping moisture at optimal levels for the plants.

Fifty percent humidity is a good general level for preventing pests and keeping plants healthy.

Treat outbreaks immediately

Pest infestations happen sometimes, even with the best preventive measures in place. When that happens, the best thing to do is treat the pests you see immediately. If you wait, they can spread to other plants. If you catch them quickly, however, you may save some of your plants from being infected.

Here are some of the pest prevention and treatment methods available at The Tye-Dyed Iguana in Fairview Heights:

Sticky Aphid and Whitefly Trap (a non-chemical way to catch flying pests)

AzaMax (a broad spectrum insecticide that treats most indoor pests, including aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and mites)

Neem Oil (an organic insecticide that treats mites and all stages of insects)

Insect Dust/Diatomaceous Earth (treats insects and mites and is non-toxic to humans and pets)

Doktor Doom Spider Mite Knockout (a pyrethrin-based treatment for insects and mites)

Safer Brand Insect Killing Soap (a contact insecticide spray)