Hello,

I'm really hoping somebody can help me!
I have had my dragon tree for about 7 months. It was doing well until 2 weeks ago when lots of leaves started to drop. It hadn't been watered for 2 weeks so I gave it some water and moved it further away from the radiator as I thought it might be too hot. I started misting it more regularly as well. I hadn't seen any real improvement when I went to water it this morning, but when I did I saw a lot of caterpillar type bugs in the soil. Please can anyone give me any information at all on what they are and how to remove them!?
This is only my second house plant and I'm worried I am not caring for it properly 😞

Thank you in advance!!

Ps I live in a flat with no garden and I would just prefer not to have bugs inside, even if they turn out to be harmless.

Those are centipedes and they are harmless to the plant but aesthetically undesirable. Did you repot your Marginata? If so, the soil you used may be the source of the centipedes and you may not want to use it again.

There are pesticides that you can apply to the soil, but I don't recommend them. The next time your plant needs water, set the pot in a tub of water filled halfway to the top of the pot and leave it for a few hours. The completely saturated soil will cause the critters to move to the top for air and you can then manually remove them.

The picture is not entirely clear, but I suspect that those critters are not centipedes but rather garden symphylans, Scutigerella immaculata. They do feed on roots and can damage plants. They seem to be hard to get rid of, submerging the pot as WillC suggests might help. Here's a link to some more information:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r1085...
Do the pictures look right? They probably came in with soil or the plant itself, you didn't do anything to cause this infestation. I don't think they'd have any reason to leave the pot. Sounds like they can be a problem in greenhouses.

Garden symphylans is the scientific name for garden centipedes.

with Will

My understanding is that Garden Symphylans--Scutigerella immaculata (scientific name)-- are actually harmful to plants as they dine on root hairs and roots. They aren't centipedes but one common name for them is "garden centipede".
To me, the major difference seems to be that true centipedes do not eat plant roots so are harmless, possibly beneficial. Garden "Centipedes"--Symphylans--do eat plant roots hence are harmful and undesirable. Literature suggests Symphylans can do considerable damage in greenhouses, agricultural crops and houseplants.
Sounds like they're one of the few natural soil creatures that can seriously damage plants, and they are difficult to get rid of.

What are commonly referred to as centipedes and what seem to be visible in the posted photo really do not do serious damage to indoor plants. However, their presence does suggest the use of a potting mix that is non-sterile and may have other problems for the plant. Soil-based potting mixes are often too dense for indoor plants and may contain other contaminants that can adversely affect indoor plants. The centipedes may get the blame because they are visible, but any problems that develop are probably due to other less visible issues with the potting mix.