Preventing Pests with 4 Easy Practices

Pests are a natural part of growing plants, but you can help prevent them with simple practices built into your daily Gardyning routine.

To help bring you peace of mind, Kelby observes members’ Gardyns 24/7 and will alert you if anything suspicious is detected. Plus, our plant experts are always available to help members through any questions or challenges. If, in spite of your best prevention efforts, you do end up with pests, it’s okay! We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Learn more about membership’s unique perks, including full access to Kelby, here!

For the simplest care routine, we recommend coupling your tasks, such as checking roots when you refresh you tank, adding HydroBoost with your weekly top-offs, and scouting for pests when you harvest or prune.

Maintaining a routine of our regular, recommended care for your plants and Gardyn device works as pest prevention because healthy, low-stress plants have a strong immune system and naturally repel many would-be pests and diseases.

• Provide good water quality and consistent nutrients by keeping up with refreshing your tank monthly and topping it off weekly.

  • Weekly doses of HydroBoost can help to improve water quality and plant root health while also helping to maintain a clean device.

• Strive to maintain ideal temperature and humidity levels to help your plants flourish rather than endure big fluctuations.

  • Keep in mind whether your Gardyn is near windows and doors that frequently open, which could add to the fluctuations and increase stress.

• Check your plants' roots once a month when they're younger, and every 2 weeks once they're 2-3 months old.

  • Remove any unhealthy or overgrown roots to encourage new, healthy roots to grow. Healthy roots are the foundation - literally - to healthy plants!

• Remove would-be food sources for pests by:

  • Covering unused slots with Gardyn Caps; using yCovers on yCubes; pruning dead or dying leaves; sweeping the top of your Gardyn’s lid and the surrounding floor of any bits that naturally fall as a result of harvesting and care; and removing whole plants once they bolt or are done producing.

This is also called scouting, and it’s key. Detecting anything suspicious early helps you gain time to make the best decision about how to deal with it before the problem feels unmanageable. 

• Look at your plants at least once a week for pests or early signs of their damage - learn what to look for here!

• Look under leaves, on stems, near flowers, and on new growth.

• For the best chances of catching anything suspicious, scout every 3-4 days.

The easiest ways to increase and maintain airflow are:

• Thinning your sprouts to their recommended number

• Harvesting regularly

• Keeping slots around larger plants free and covered with Gardyn Caps

• Embracing succession planting, in which you germinate and add plants to your Gardyn over time, rather than doing all 30 at once, to enjoy continuous harvests, varied life stages, and more spread plant care tasks based on age

Certain factors increase your risk of pest problems, though they are not necessarily factors you can always control.

• Having indoor-outdoor pets heightens your risk as animals can bring unseen pest hitchhikers with them inside.

• Open windows and doors, even with screens in place, can also provide easy paths for pests to reach your Gardyn, so be mindful of where in your home you place your device.

• Wash your hands and roll up your sleeves (literally!) before handling your Gardyn or your plants. Pests from outdoors can also travel on your clothes, so be mindful of handling your Gardyn after working outside.

• Properly clean and disinfect tools between uses to reduce transmission of diseases and pests from an infected plant to a healthy one.

• Finally, understand that pests can live in the soil of potted houseplants, so it’s best to keep them away from your Gardyn to reduce the chance of cross-contamination.

While all Gardyn portfolio plants have been tested and chosen due to their rigor and health within the Gardyn’s system, some varieties are more pest-resistant than others. Likewise, there are some plants that are especially attractive to pests. To reduce your risk of getting pests, find our top recommendations for the best plants to choose, and avoid, here! 

We know, suggesting insects sounds ironic if you’re worried about pests. But, beneficial insects are intentionally placed, ecosystem-friendly insects that can be used as both a pest prevention and treatment method. All of the beneficial insects we recommend are a type of predatory mite. The bonus? They’re not visible to the naked eye, do not spread in your home, and come in small, easy-to-handle sachets. Learn more here!

Questions? Reach us at support@mygardyn.com, or chat with us! We're here to help.