It happens again and again that insect eggs are laid in freshly bought potting soil. When the larvae hatch, damage to the plants occurs. Countermeasures must now be taken at the latest.

Snail eggs are usually white or pink

Which eggs can be contained in the potting soil?

In principle, all egg-laying insects can deposit their brood in the potting soil. Most often, however, it is fungus gnats or snails. As soon as an infestation is detected, appropriate action should be taken to avoid plant damage.
Fungus gnat larvae feed on the roots of cultivated plants. These can no longer feed themselves properly and wither away.
When snails hatch, which tends to be the case with garden and balcony plants, the plant nearby is usually lost, because snails are among the most voracious garden pests of all.

Successful measures against snail and fungus gnat eggs

Snail eggs look like whitish or yellowish love pearls that lie tightly together in small clusters. They can easily be confused with the fertilizer (white or yellow hard balls) added to the potting soil. Therefore, you have to look and feel carefully. Snail eggs are soft and sensitive to pressure. They should be collected with a glass and disposed of in the residual waste.

Snail eggs have no place in the compost as they can develop unhindered here.
If you are unsure whether all the eggs have been removed, you can repot your plant using potting soil that has been sterilized beforehand. By heating to 100 degrees, all pest eggs have been destroyed.

Fight fungus gnats

The eggs develop best in a hummus-rich, moist potting soil. Once the larvae hatch, they start eating the roots of the plants. After some time, the plant will look stunted and the infestation of pests will be noticed. Now only quick intervention with effective means helps:

  • Repot the plant immediately and remove all soil, preferably shower off the roots
  • Wash pots of infested plants hot with lye
  • with a small infestation, matches stuck upside down in the ground help, fungus gnats do not like sulphur
  • catch adult fungus gnats with carnivorous plants or
  • Put up yellow boards where the animals get stuck
  • Use of nematodes or predatory mites, the beneficial insects eat the larvae and disappear when there is no more food

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Care tips