Question
I have a palm that is currently planted in a 16" pot and the tree itself it about 3 1/2 feet tall. I currently noticed tan and white small worm things on the top of the soil and not sure where or why they are there. Also, there is these centipede looking things which are much smaller than a actually centipede in the soil as well. I have had the plant for almost 3 months now and never noticed this before. The top of the dirt has sections of a yellow and white color ... what is going on and what do I do? Please help!!

Answer
Jen,

You are keeping your palm too wet. The yellow and white patches are mold on top of the soil. The worms and centipedes are larval stages of 2 types of fungus gnats that are feeding on the rotting roots of the palm. Fungus gnats are like fruit flies that attack rotten bananas on your counter. They take advantage of the rotten bananas.

Because you are not allowing your palm to dry out between waterings the roots are rotting and the fungus gnats can smell that and they lay eggs in the soil because they know the rotting roots will be a good supply of food for their larva.

You need to immediately dry out the plant. Remove the drain tray and let it sit in the sink over night to drain as much as possible. Then do not water the palm until you think the soil has been dry for at least 3 days. To kill the mold on the soil you can spray it with a Lysol type spray. To kill the worms in the soil you can water the plant with rubbing alcohol and water mixed 50/50. That will kill the worms on contact. After that use less water when you water it, let it go longer between waterings and never leave water sitting in the drain tray more than an hour or it will cause additional root rot.

Follow these instructions and you will have a lot healthier plant. Good luck.

Darlene