Hi, I’m a plant consultant and based on my experiences the flying bugs around your Jade plants are most often aphids or Fungus gnats. These annoying pests can cause numerous problems for your lovely Jade and other plants in your house or nursery but I know how to deal with them.
If you can detect aphids and fungus gnats early you can get rid of them with my tips. Today, I want to give you a comprehensive free consultation, you can also ask me all your questions below this page. let’s get going.
Who Are the Flying Bugs on My Jade Plant?
I graduated in plant protection science, have PhD in plant pathology, and worked as a pest controller for years. So, I understood that to deal with any problem, the first step is detecting the culprits. I always have my magnifying glass to spot pests, but it may be impossible for you.
Hence, here I will give you golden tips based on my experience to identify and distinguish Fungus gnats and aphids with the naked eye on your Jade Plant. then, I will tell you how to control them.
Winging Aphids Can be “Flying Bugs” on your Jade Plant!
Aphids are tiny oval-shaped bugs in various colors like white, green, orange, black, etc. They suck your plant sap and make it weak and its leaves get yellow and deform. They also secrete honeydew on the leaves Providing a suitable environment for sooty mold (black mold) growth.
Most aphids on your leaves don’t have wings but in the specific stage of their life cycle, appear flying aphids to migrate to other plants. you can see them in the following image.
Get Rid of Aphids on the Jade Plant
If your houseplant is involved with aphids, in low population, you can kill aphids with a cleaning swab. To deal with a high aphid population, remove the infested foliage and spray your plant with Insecticidal soap.
➡ Never do it on a so warm day or under direct sunlight. The best time for controlling aphids on plants is the afternoon when are in their less activity time.
I discussed the aphids on the jade plant in my other post in detail, you can read it to gain more to control them. in addition, the winging aphids can be root aphids, I also discussed them before.
Fungus Gnats Can be “Flying bugs” on your Jade Plant!
Fungus Gnats are small, delicate flies with dark bodies and long legs. They fly around your plant aimlessly. Unlike aphids, they never feed on the foliage. Indeed, they lay their eggs in soil and their white or translucent larvae feed on your Jade plant root. Fungus Gnats can cause a vital problem for your plant if you don’t get rid of them quickly.
Anyway, if you are interested in knowing more about biological ways to control Fungus gnats or pesticides for fungus gnats in houseplants, I discussed them in my other posts.
Get Rid of Fungus gnat on the Jade Plant
You will find various remedies to control fungus gnats, however, according to my test, only a few remedies work well. I tried the following way and gained the best results, although it took a couple of months.
As a pest controller, I know to get rid of fungus gnats, I must remove their larvae in the soil and the flying adults on the foliage. So, I hung the sticky traps around my Jade plant to hunt flying adults. To remove their larvae in the soil, I crumbled one-quarter of a Mosquito Dunks in my watering can and let it sit in water overnight, then watered my plant.
I found out it is the best way to control fungus gnats. Please try it and tell me in the comments about your experiences.
Fungus Gnat vs. Winging Aphids
Aphids and Fungus Gnats are tiny bugs and it is difficult to watch their key appearance characteristics with naked eyes. I know it may be impossible for you to spot them under a binocular. So you need tips to distinguish winging aphids and Fungus Gnat easily.
The following tips are based on my experiences and are often true, however, they may vary in specific situations.
➡ If the Flying Bugs on your Jade Plant are a few flyers on leaves with an overall oval body shape, they are winging aphids. They often sit on leaves however have a higher level of awareness of their surroundings. Aphids are more likely to react when approached, perhaps to avoid predation.
If the Flying Bugs on your Jade Plant are a lot of small black flyers with long legs flying around your plant aimlessly, especially after watering, they are Fungus gnats. They often appear oblivious to their surroundings, especially when they are flying. So, you can catch them easier.
The end,
To control the flying bugs on your Jade Plant you must identify them. Based on my experiences, they may be winging aphids of Fungus gnats. However, both are tiny bugs on houseplants but you can distinguish them by their overall body shape and flying habits.
Removing the winging aphids is vital to new infestations, while the fungus gnat larvae are dangerous by eating the roots. Were the flying bugs on your Jade Plant aphids or fungus gnats? Could you detect them? if you have any problem with this issue, please tell me in the comments below this page.
Elahe Rabiei
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.