Hey guys, I’ve posted before but with very bad photos; I managed to get some better ones These tiny white bugs are everywhere… in the soil, all over my plant pots - NOT on the plants themselves however, they stick to the soil. Are these soil mites? This was my initial thought but then I also think they could maybe be springtails due to the long antennae, but they don’t jump so I’m heading more towards the mites? Any help identifying them please so I know how to deal with them?
I’d want to say mealybug with the white and the long antennae but when you said that it’s not on your plants I’m stumped lol, usually mealybugs are prolific plant pests
2 likes I thought this too but my plants are happy and healthy and I barely see them crawling on the plants - I’ve seen one on a leaf before but only the one - but there’s an abundance of them in the soil, literally everywhere on top of the soil, I’m so lost to what they are
0 likes My thought was soil mites as I’ve read that they tend to stay in the soil and only climb the plant if there’s dying leaves etc but they’re pretty quick and just scurry along the top of the soil, there’s no harm to the plants at all
0 likes Hmmm it could be soil mites then, especially with the plants being fine lol, got an unidentified bugaroo there
1 like I do hope it is just soil mites or something along those lines that are pretty harmless… don’t wanna wake up to dying plants one day🫣
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I think they look too big to be mites. My thought was mealy bugs as well 🤷🏻♀️ but if they aren’t bothering the foliage ….? Do you have any other plants at home? Have they been checked as well?
1 like They’re really not big at all, I struggle to see them unless I’m looking really really closely, it was a miracle I was able to take the photos😂
I have loads of plants on the same windowsill - my petunia and sweet William are infested with them, there’s a few in both my spider plants but literally only a tiny amount compared to the others - and absolutely none in all my strawberry seedling pots, but they’re all in the same place
0 likes It’s like they’ve only targetted a few plants and ignored my strawberries - attached a closer photo of the soil too
Mealybugs may also live on soil and eventually spread to the leaves, so I suspect that that is what they are
1 like I thought mealybugs had loads of legs tho? I believe this bug only has 6 or 8 and then long antenna and they move really fast - I managed to get a close up video of them but I don’t think there’s a way to post videos? All the pictures/videos I’ve seen of mealybug’s they are really fluffy looking and move quite slow, this bug is more spider looking than anything
0 likesI have the same issue 😭 but in my basil. They are not in the leaves only in the soil. Not sure if they are harmful or not
I’m still thinking they’re mites tbh even tho everyone’s saying mealy bugs… they look nothing like mealys in person and if I google the photos I took it comes up with mites soooo🫣
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