5 Pothos Pests: How to Identify & Get Rid of Them

What’s in this guide:

🐛 Why Does Pothos Get Pests?

Pothos pests are opportunistic. They spread indoors from recently purchased plants, open windows, contaminated soil, or shared tools. While pothos is a resilient plant, no houseplant is completely immune to infestation. Stressed plants, overwatered plants, or plants kept in low light are more susceptible because their immune defences are weaker. A healthy, well-maintained pothos can still attract pothos pests but will be less damaged by them and easier to treat.

Catching an infestation early makes treatment far simpler. A single weekly inspection of the undersides of leaves and along the stems takes less than a minute and allows you to act before pest numbers multiply. For a broader overview of other problems this plant can develop, see the pothos problems guide. This article covers every major pothos pest in detail.

🪴 Quick Check: Spotting Pothos Pests

Most pothos pests hide where they are hardest to see. Before you can treat, you need to identify which pest you are dealing with. Run through these quick checks to narrow it down.

1. 1Fine webbing on the underside of leaves or between stems? Spider mites are present.
2. 2White fluffy deposits in leaf axils or along stems? Mealybugs are the cause.
3. 3Brown or tan shell-like bumps on stems or leaf undersides that do not rub off easily? Scale insects.
4. 4Tiny flies around the soil surface and larvae in the top inch of soil? Fungus gnats.
5. 5Silvery streaks or stippling on leaf surfaces and tiny, fast-moving insects? Thrips are present.

Once you have identified the pest, go directly to that section. Treating the right pest with the right method is far more effective than applying a general pesticide and hoping for the best. Most pothos pests can be fully eliminated within two to four weeks of consistent, targeted treatment.

🕷️ Pest 1: Spider Mites

Identifying Spider Mites on Pothos

Spider mites are among the most common pothos pests. They are tiny, typically less than 1 mm, and almost invisible to the naked eye individually. The first signs are usually stippled or speckled yellowing on leaf surfaces as the mites puncture cells to feed. Fine webbing between leaves and on the undersides of leaf blades is the most reliable identifying feature. Mite populations grow extremely fast in hot, dry conditions and can damage a plant severely within a few weeks.

How to Treat Spider Mites

Start by taking the plant to a sink or shower and spraying it thoroughly with a strong stream of water to dislodge as many mites as possible. Follow up with an application of insecticidal soap or neem oil solution, covering all leaf surfaces including undersides. Repeat every five to seven days for at least three applications to break the reproductive cycle. Increasing humidity around the plant also discourages spider mites, as they prefer hot, dry environments.

Prevention: Inspect new plants before bringing them near your existing collection. Maintain humidity above 50 percent, as spider mites struggle to establish in humid conditions. Rinse the leaves of your pothos once a month to remove dust and dislodge any early mite colonisers before they can establish. Isolate any new plant for at least two weeks before placing it near other plants to prevent the spread of pothos pests from unknown sources.

If a spider mite infestation is severe and spread to multiple plants, consider treating all plants in the same room as a precaution, even if they do not yet show symptoms. Spider mite eggs are invisible to the naked eye and can already be present on neighbouring plants before any signs appear. A proactive treatment round across all nearby plants stops a localised infestation from becoming a collection-wide problem within a few weeks.

🪰 Pest 2: Mealybugs

Identifying Mealybugs on Pothos

Mealybugs are soft-bodied, white, cottony insects that cluster in leaf axils, along stems, and at the base of leaf petioles. They are one of the most persistent pothos pests. They feed on plant sap and excrete honeydew, a sticky substance that coats the leaves and can encourage sooty mould growth. Mealybug infestations are easy to miss in early stages because the insects hide in tight crevices and the white deposits may look like dust or debris at first glance.

How to Treat Mealybugs

Dab individual insects with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. This kills them on contact without harming the plant tissue. For larger infestations, spray the entire plant with a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol solution diluted 1:1 with water, or use an insecticidal soap spray. Apply thoroughly every seven days for three to four weeks. Check leaf axils closely at each application, as mealybugs retreat deep into crevices and require direct contact with the treatment to be killed.

Prevention: Inspect your pothos for white fluff during every watering session. Mealybugs spread by crawling from plant to plant, so isolate any affected plant immediately. They also spread through soil, so avoid using contaminated soil or tools between plants. Early detection is the most reliable defence against mealybugs becoming one of your more challenging pothos pests to eradicate.

Mealybug eggs are laid in waxy masses that look like small clumps of white thread. These masses are often tucked into leaf axils or root crowns where they are easy to miss. Checking these hidden areas specifically during your weekly inspection significantly improves early detection rates. A single mealybug colony, if caught early and treated consistently, can be eliminated within three weeks. If left unchecked for two to three months, an infestation can spread throughout an entire plant collection.

🐚 Pest 3: Scale Insects

Identifying Scale Insects on Pothos

Scale insects appear as small, flat or slightly domed bumps on stems and the undersides of leaves. They range in colour from tan to dark brown and do not move once they have attached to the plant. Unlike other pothos pests, scale insects are protected by a waxy outer shell that makes them resistant to many spray treatments. They feed by sucking sap from the plant, causing yellowing, distorted growth, and sticky honeydew deposits on leaves below the infested stems.

How to Treat Scale Insects

Remove scale insects manually by scrubbing them off with a soft toothbrush or damp cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol. This physical removal is essential because sprays alone cannot penetrate the protective shell of adult scale. After removal, apply horticultural oil or neem oil to the entire plant to target any juveniles that are still mobile. Repeat weekly for three to four weeks. Scale spreads slowly compared to other pothos pests, but its waxy coating makes it important to use physical removal as the primary method.

Prevention: Inspect the undersides of leaves and stems when you water. Scale insects are most vulnerable when they are in the juvenile crawler stage before they develop their protective shell. Catching them at this stage with an insecticidal soap spray is far easier than dealing with established adult colonies. Check new plants carefully for scale before adding them to your collection.

Scale insects move very slowly as adults, so infestations spread more gradually than spider mites or thrips. This means a plant can sometimes be infested for weeks before the problem becomes obvious. Run your finger along stems when you water and feel for any unusual rough bumps or raised spots. Catching scale at the juvenile stage, before the protective shell hardens, makes treatment significantly easier and faster than dealing with a well-established adult colony.

🦟 Pest 4: Fungus Gnats

Identifying Fungus Gnats on Pothos

Fungus gnats are small, dark flies that hover around the soil surface and are attracted to moist organic matter. The adults are mainly a nuisance, but the larvae live in the top inch of soil and feed on fine root hairs, which can stunt growth in younger plants. Fungus gnats are among the most common pothos pests indoors, particularly when plants are overwatered, as wet soil creates ideal breeding conditions for the larvae to develop rapidly.

How to Treat Fungus Gnats

Allow the top 2 to 3 inches of soil to dry out completely between waterings. This deprives the larvae of the moist environment they need and breaks the life cycle within one to two generations. Yellow sticky traps placed at soil level catch the adult flies. For persistent infestations, drench the soil with a dilute hydrogen peroxide solution (1 part 3% H2O2 to 4 parts water) to kill larvae in the root zone. Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) products are a highly effective biological treatment.

Prevention: The most effective prevention against fungus gnats is correct watering. Moist soil is their breeding ground. Allowing the top layer to dry reliably between waterings prevents the larvae from completing their life cycle. Adding a layer of coarse sand or grit to the soil surface also discourages egg-laying adults. Among all pothos pests, fungus gnats are the easiest to prevent with proper watering discipline.

Fungus gnat adults do not bite and cause no direct harm, but their larvae can damage the fine root hairs that young or recently repotted plants rely on for water absorption. In established adult pothos, the larvae rarely cause significant damage. However, in a newly propagated cutting or a plant that has recently been treated for root rot, gnat larvae can slow recovery by impeding the development of new fine roots just as they are establishing.

🔎 Pest 5: Thrips

Identifying Thrips on Pothos

Thrips are tiny, slender insects that rasp the surface of leaves to feed on cell contents. They are one of the harder-to-detect pothos pests because of their small size and fast movement. The clearest signs of thrips are silvery or bronze streaks on the leaf surface, black fecal dots on the undersides of leaves, and distorted or stunted new growth. Thrips can also spread plant viruses and are capable of moving between plants rapidly via flight.

How to Treat Thrips

Isolate the plant immediately to prevent thrips from spreading to other houseplants. Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil solution, covering leaf surfaces and undersides thoroughly. Thrips have multiple life stages, some of which are in the soil, so drench the soil with a neem oil solution as well. Repeat every five days for four to five applications. Blue sticky traps are effective for catching adult thrips. Consistent and repeated treatment is essential because thrips are notoriously persistent pothos pests.

After treating thrips, check the new growth that emerges over the following month. If new leaves come through without silver streaking or distortion, the treatment has been successful. If new damage continues to appear, the thrips population was not fully eliminated and treatment should resume immediately. Thrips pupate in the soil, so soaking the top inch of soil with a neem oil drench after the second spray helps target the pupal stage and prevents reinfestation from below the surface.

Prevention: Inspect new plants carefully before bringing them home, as thrips often hitch a ride on ornamental plants. Yellow or blue sticky traps placed near your collection act as early warning monitors. Keep pothos away from open windows in summer when outdoor thrips populations are highest. Healthy plants in good conditions are more resistant to the damage thrips cause, though no pothos is completely immune to this pest.

📅 Seasonal Patterns in Pothos Pests

Pothos pest pressure follows seasonal patterns. Spider mites and thrips are most active in summer when temperatures are high and the air is dry. Fungus gnats peak in autumn and winter when growers are more likely to overwater in response to the plant looking stressed in lower light. Mealybugs and scale can appear at any time of year but are often introduced via new plants purchased in spring or summer.

The best year-round defence is a quick weekly inspection of each plant. A plant that is checked regularly will never develop a severe infestation before it is noticed. In summer, pay extra attention to the undersides of leaves for mites and thrips. In winter, watch the soil surface for fungus gnat activity as watering frequency naturally increases among cautious growers trying to compensate for seasonal stress.

🌿 Pothos Pests Overview

📋 Frequently Asked Questions About Pothos Pests

📚 Explore Other Pothos Problems

Dealing with more than one issue? Each common pothos problem has its own in-depth guide, and the full care guide ties everything together:

🔗 Helpful Resources

• 🐾 ASPCA — Pothos — pet safety reference
• 🌿 RHS — Houseplants — expert horticultural guidance
• 🎓 University of Florida IFAS — Houseplant Care — research-backed growing guides

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Want the full care guide? Check out our Pothos Care Guide 👉