Question
A few of my plants have short white scarry looking worms on the top soil.  There are a bunch of them and if you put them under a microscope they would look like monsters with fangs!  What are these worms and will they destroy my 2 large tropical plants.  I work hard at taking care of my plants and these worms are invading them.  What should I do?  Also, I have a lemon and lime tree that were doing fine but now look dead.  Are they really dead or asleep for the winter?  All these plants are inside plants and I live where there are 4 seasons.  Why did they die if they did?

Answer
Kizzysue,

I suspect that your worms are the larva form of fungus gnats that attacked the plants because they have been overwatered. Does the soil in the plants that have the worms seem to be more moist than the ones that don't? I also suspect that the dead citrus trees were illed by overwatering. During the winter with the shorter days all indoor plants need less water. Their roots are growing slower so they use less water and if the soil is too wet the roots will begin to rot which will attract fungus gnats who lay eggs that hatch into the ugly worms. Cut back on the amount of water you give all your plants during the winter so they have a chance to dry out before you are ready to be there and water them again. If you put a bamboo skewer that you can get at the grocery store into the soil and do not water the plant until you can pull the skewer out of the soil and it is dry. Then it is time to water. An hour after you water empty the drain tray under the plant. If you cannnot pick it up to empty it the empty it with a turkey baster, Just keep the plant dryer. If you water the plants that have the worms once with a bottle of rubbing alcohol the alcohol will kill the worms on contact. The roots must have breif dry spells between waterings in order to survive. Good luck.

Darlene