How do I diagnose spider mites, aphids, or tiny bugs on indoor flowers?

Practical answer

How do I diagnose spider mites, aphids, or tiny bugs on indoor flowers?

Tiny bugs need close inspection before treatment. Spider mites, aphids, thrips, fungus gnats, and mealybugs need different responses, so a random spray can stress the plant without solving the cause.

Use a white sheet of paper, a phone macro photo, and leaf-underside checks before choosing a treatment.

Fast ID clues

• Spider mites: fine webbing, pale speckled leaves, tiny moving dots on leaf undersides.
• Aphids: soft insects clustered on new growth and buds, often with sticky residue.
• Fungus gnats: small dark flies rising from damp potting mix.
• Mealybugs: white cottony clusters in leaf joints and stems.

Before treating

• Isolate the plant from the rest of the collection.
• Photograph the pest and the whole plant, not only one leaf.
• Check watering and light, because stressed indoor plants attract more problems.
• Avoid treating in direct sun or when the plant is already wilting.