Question
I have a 20 year old umbrella tree plant that I used to put outdoors during summer. After bringing the plant indoors in the fall I noticed tiny white-ish insects in the soil. They do not appear to affect the health of the plant but bother the owner. :-) They are not visible until I water the plant. Then I see them jumping around on the water until it soaks into the dirt. I do not have any flying insects, so I don't believe they are gnats. Do you know what these are and how do I eliminate them? Thanks for any help you can provide!

Answer
Hi Sue,                                                                     How r u? You have a case of soil mealy bugs,AKA blind mealy bugs and what they do is feed on roots.They love the feeder roots and will surface when soil is watered.They will start to do damage and will move to other plant soil so lets take care of it.Go to your garden center and get a insecticide of ACEPHATE/OR/MALATHION READ LABEL AND U WILL B FINE!!!!!!