A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Worms on new house plant

I just bought a new dracaena marginata. When I gave it a good bath with plain water, worms came out of the soil. They are about 1" long and thin. The worms came home from the nursery with the plant - it is isolated from my other plants. The plant otherwise looks healthy. Suggestions on how I get rid of these critters before they affect the plant or my household? Prefer to use organic methods.

Hi DW,

Without a better description of size and color of your worms, it would be difficult to say. If it were my plant, I would either return it or remove all the soil and dispose of it. Wash the roots well and repot with fresh potting soil. I would continue to isolate the plant until I knew there were no remaining problems.

Newt

I posted a similar question about small worms in my Calathea a week or two ago. My boyfriend bought it at Home Depot or Lowes. I had the plant a good 6 mos. or more and it just died this week.

I knew it had problems with fertalizer burning and whiteflies but I didn't realize the worm problem until last week. I tried washing the roots and washing the pot with antibacterial soap and repotting it in a different pot. I also sprayed the roots with Safer pesticide. It's organic and includes worms, many don't.

It appeared the worms ate the roots or something. My roots had lots of small clear gel substances on them. When I looked closely baby worms were inside. I had to carefully go over all the roots and remove them.

The worms may have come from the store or being set outside. The only responder to my inquiry said it could be butterflies that implanted the worm eggs that killed my plant. But taking care of the problem early should help. This appears to be a relativly new problem with houseplants because I searched high and low for a solution and not many answers were availble on the Web.

Anyway, that's my multiple cents. Good luck.

Could the worms actually be just harmless earthworms? I've had them appear many times in packaged potting soil (and in potted plants). From what you said in your earlier post, my guess is that your Calathea died from overwatering rather than the worms (who were probably just feeding on the decaying root system).
A photograph of the worms (and damaged plant parts) would be invaluable. If you have access to a digital camera send me a photo by e-mail and I'll post it.

The worms may be aesthetically displeasing, but they are not damaging the plant.

DO NOT REPLACE THE SOIL! That is a cure that is worse than the problem.

If you want to get rid of them, submerge the pot up to its rim in a tub or sink filled with plain water. Leave it for 20 - 30 minutes. The worms will surface in search of air and then you can remove them. Simple.