How to Get Rid of Bugs and Mites From Plants With Bleach

Remove the infected houseplant from your home. Infected plants that remain near unaffected plants increase the likelihood of spreading pests and disease.

Dampen a cleaning cloth with warm water and wipe down each leaf on the affected houseplant to manually remove visible mites and insects.

Pour the miticide into a clean, empty spray bottle and tighten the bottle's cap to closed it up.

Shake the spray bottle to mix the miticide's ingredients then spray the top and bottom of the plant's leaves. Spray the plant's stem to coat the entire plant in the insecticidal spray.

Dig into the houseplant's soil with your fingers or a small trowel to loosen the soil. Grasp the houseplant by its root ball and gently lift it out of the pot.

Brush off as much soil as possible from the plant's roots. Empty the pot's contaminated soil into a garbage bag then fill a bucket with 1/4-cup of bleach and 1 quart of hot tap water.

Soak a cleaning rag in the bleach solution and wipe down the inside of the pot to sanitize it. Rinse the pot out with hot water and let it air-dry.

Fill the bottom of the pot with 1 inch of fresh potting soil then set the plant back into the pot.

Place the houseplant in your kitchen sink and run lukewarm water into the pot until water drains from the bottom holes of the plant.

Set the houseplant back among the other plants no sooner than four weeks after disinfecting and re-potting to ensure no insects remain in the soil.