Several species of beetles can feed on houseplants. Examples include the twelve-spotted cucumber beetle, green June beetle and several species of flea beetles. Beetles are more mobile than foliage feeding larvae and they can cause severe damage in a short time. Beetles may also be handpicked from infested plants when detected. Several species of thrips attack houseplants.
Thrips are minute insects that feed on pollen and tender plant tissue.
They range in color from yellow to tan to brownish-black. The adult forms have feather-like wings. Thrips are most frequently found in the blossoms of plants where heavy infestation can result in deformed, undersized or discolored flowers and brown edges on flower petals. Snails and Slugs. Snails and slugs have fleshy, soft, slimy, legless bodies that range in color from whitish yellow to mottled shades of gray.