My ‘magic spice’ heals all house plants – it deters pests too, it’s cheap and you probably already have it
A GREEN-THUMBED TikToker has revealed his easy and cheap way to keep plants healthy and deter pests.
Sprinkling this spice on your houseplant’s soil could be the hack you need to get rid of insects that could harm your plant.
Gardening and DIY influencer Secateur Me Baby (@secateur.me.baby), who has more than 5,000 followers and over 25000 likes, shared the tip in a recent TikTok.
In the post, he shared his hack for “the magic spice that can heal plant wounds and deter pests!”
Text overlaid reads: “Plant health treating fungus gnats part 2.”
The video opens with the influencer holding a cinnamon stick up to the camera.
The gardener said: “It’s the magic spice which heals all houseplants,” before giving the cinnamon a sniff to demonstrate how good it smelled.
He continued: “Did you know that cinnamon holds antifungal and antibacterial qualities? It’s the perfect deterrent for fungus gnats.”
He then ground the stick into a fine powder in a pestle and mortar.
“Fresh is best – simply grind and sprinkle the powder on top of the soil. It will slowly release over time,” he said.
He demonstrated how finely ground the spice needs to be to work, letting it run through his fingers.
To deter gnats, the powder is simply sprinkled gently over the surface of the soil in the plant pot.
“The spice works as a fungicide, removing the fungus that the larvae feed on in the soil,” he added.
“This helps reduces the gnat population by cutting the food source.”
The video is part of a series in which the gardening influencer shared tips and tricks on treating fungus gnats.
Part one of the series suggested using sticky paper to physically trap the gnats living in the soil.
In the most recent video, the man used a combination of apple cider vinegar and sugar to attract the bugs to the plants so they can be caught or killed.
Commenters enjoyed the TikTok, with some jumping into the comments with their own solutions for solving pesky gnat problems.
One wrote: “Hydrogen peroxide in water – soak the soil. I did it twice over 2 months and never seen a fungus gnat inside again.”