General Treatment for Soil Pests
Most soil pests prefer damp conditions in the soil. Some pests prefer drier conditions, but these pests live near the surface of the soil. With these factors in mind, gently ease off the top 1¼cm (½in) of soil / compost and throw it away. Replace it with half the amount of new compost and cover that with grit to the previous level of the soil. That may well get rid of many of the soil pests and the grit on top will put them off further. Keep the plants slightly under-watered.

Move the plant to a new position because some airborne soil pests may well still be flying around just waiting for you to return the pot to its previous position. Also, keep affected plants away from healthy ones.

More drastic general treatment is to remove all soil from around the plant roots and stem then re-pot it brand new compost. This should get rid of most soil bugs but the shock may well kill a plant weakened by them. A more gentle way of removing some soil pests is to take the plant and compost out of the pot (when the compost is on the dry side) and inspect the outside of the compost. If you see any bugs, gently remove a small amount of the outer soil, with any visible bugs and dispose of it. Re-pot with a small amount of compost replacing any which has been been removed.

Soil Mealy Bugs (Rhizoecus of various types)
IDENTIFICATION
Adult soil mealy bugs are around 2mm (eigth of an inch) long, normally white and a long oval in shape. They look like a small grain of rice. They are covered in a powdery white wax. Their movements are very restricted.

TREATMENT
If the general treatment above does not work then you will need to resort to insecticides to get rid of soil mealy bugs. Two proven products are Bayer Provado Vine Weevil  Killer and Scotts Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer. Both are systemic and both will provide protection from other bugs and insects. They are widely available in the UK online and in most garden centres.

Springtails
IDENTIFICATION

The springtail is easily identified. It is white / grey, slightly smaller and thinner than the soil mealy bug and they jump around when the soil / compost is disturbed. Although a visible pest, the do little harm to houseplants.

TREATMENT
See general treatment above if you want to get rid of springtails.

Vine Weevils
IDENTIFICATION
The adult vine weevil is often apparent on the top of the soil but not underneath. They eat leaves and damage is easy to see as notches eaten into the leaves. Far more damaging are the small (10mm) white plump larvae which can be found in the soil / compost. These will eat the roots and eventually kill the plant. Both adult and larvae will be present at the same time.

TREATMENT
Nematodes are available online and in garden centres to kill vine weevils. Chemical controls are Bayer Provado Vine Weevil  Killer and Scotts Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer which are readily available in the UK.

Name: jim@GardenAction
E-mail: Private
Date posted: November 03, 2011 - 02:46 am
Message: Try a dusting with Derris

Name: susan
E-mail: Private
Date posted: November 02, 2011 - 06:10 pm
Message: Hi. I brought indoors several plants for the winter. I have been finding little green caterpillars in the house! Oooh. Don't now what to do. Plants are in heavy pots and hate to drag them back out...but don't want to share the house with worms! Help

Name: jim powell
E-mail: Private
Date posted: October 17, 2011 - 04:01 am
Message: If the soil is changed, there still may be a pest residue in soil left on the roots, ready to reinfest. Use a pesticide, neem oil is a good organic alternative to dimethoate.

Name: Antall
E-mail: Private
Date posted: October 15, 2011 - 10:41 am
Message: My Dracaena fragrans has a continuing infestation of a half-inch crawling centipedal-like crawler. Other than changing the soil, what is suggested in the creepy-crawler's extinction?

Name: Mr Milton
E-mail: born2raisehel@yahoo.co.uk
Date posted: July 22, 2011 - 08:16 pm
Message: I have potted indoor plants that have tiny white looking worms that mass under the pot in the damp area.When watering the tray they float on the water and move quite vigorously.My plants do not look healthy.Do you know what these might be and how to get rid of them.
thanks

Name: Melissa Jeffrey
E-mail: mel_jay_05@hotmail.co.uk
Date posted: November 02, 2010 - 04:23 pm
Message: Hi,
I recently bought two new house plants, sadly they seem to have brought in some kind of insect that has also spread to my older favourite house plants. They are very small and very thin, almost transparent worm looking insects they are so small it sometimes just looks like the soil is moving until you look closer. I cannot decide what they are and wondered if you could help me identify it ad how to get rid of it?
Thanks,
Melissa.

Name: Andrea Swinburne
E-mail: Andrea.Swinburne@Btinternet.com
Date posted: October 09, 2010 - 10:00 am
Message: I have had my veg patch for 2 yrs & the only difference is that I added treated farmyard manure last yr. I have a prob with this small white worm (most of time is curled round). I can't find it anywhere in the internet. They were also in my spuds, but have now contaminated the soil & area. WHat shall I do?