Five common houseplant pests – and how to tackle them

Here are quick and easy solutions to dealing with everything from tiny flies to crawling critters 

It’s easy to keep fungus gnats away from houseplants by using yellow sticky tape. Pictures: Alamy/PA

Are you familiar with clouds of tiny flies appearing whenever you move your houseplant, or little critters nestling in leaf joints or creating webs at the base of leaves?

These may be among the most common houseplant pests, which so often become more evident in winter when it’s too cold for them outdoors.