I need help identifying these little bugs in my soil. I have never see

last year

I need help identifying these little bugs in my soil. I have never seen any on the leaves only on the soil. The leaves were already affected by underwatering as I was away for 6 weeks so it's hard to see if there's damage but I have looked and never seen a bug on any leaf. Having done research I'm thinking either thrips (harmful) or springtails (beneficial) but I can't really tell at all. It could be something else also, I am not a specialist. They move fairly quickly around the soil. Any help is appreciated!

Comments (4)

PRO
Peter Reader Landscapes
last year
Hi Lauren

To be honest it is hard to see what you mean in the photo. Are you able to catch up and put it on a white background? Are they just in the pots, or in the wider garden too?
Lauren White
Original Author
last year
It is just in my pot of one of my houseplants as far as I can see. Ive got them on video but have struggled uploading here (if you know if I can then let m know). They're small, either white or translucent looking, they crawl with legs so I can see they are not fungus gnat larvae. They move fairly quickly when disturbed. As far as I can tell they've not spread throughout my houseplant collection (fingers crossed) so I'm thinking I caught them early on. I was hopeful they are just springtails but I've yet to see the jumping motion people speak about. I wondered if thrips etc move around the soil like this? Still can't see any bugs on the leaves but like I said they were already damaged so hard to distinguish any damage that could be caused by any pests.
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Peter Reader Landscapes
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As it is in one houseplant, my guess would be it is more likely to be thrips than spring-tails. Ideally you would see them flying as well. I would isolate the plant from others and check somewhere like the RHS website to get the best tips on control.
Lauren White
Original Author
last year
Plant is isolated. The only thing making me question thrips is that I don't spot any on the leaves or any flying about. The soil is also crawling with them, not just a few. I know thrips tend to try stay on the foliage. Is there any other pests I should consider treating the soil for just in case? Any other possibilities?

I need help identifying these little bugs in my soil. I have never see

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Peter Reader Landscapes

Lauren White
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I need help identifying these little bugs in my soil. I have never see

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Peter Reader Landscapes

Lauren WhiteOriginal Author

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Peter Reader Landscapes

Lauren WhiteOriginal Author

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Lauren White
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Original Author