Bugs so tiny, I can't believe I noticed them!

[SoCalBombshell]

I noticed some unfamiliar bugs on 2 of my plants. One plant is a "mystery plant" that my kids brought home from a school project, and the other is a cherry tomato plant. The mystery plant is about a month old, and at my kids' request, I'm slowly bringing it back to life (it broke on the way home, and is only just now starting to show the beginings of new buds forming - they brought it home on the 1st). The cherry tomato plant was planted (from seed) on the 1st, and is now about an inch tall. Just now, during my evening watering and inspection, I noticed those 2 plants have a bunch of super tiny white bugs on the soil. The only reason I know they're bugs is because if you look closely, they move. All my plants are indoors, 24/7. The other plants (I have lots) do not have these bugs ... yet.

What are these little things? Will they spread? Will they hurt my plants? How do I get rid of them (preferably without chemicals)?

I can try to get a picture in the morning, but they are honestly so tiny I'm not sure my camera will be able to get detailed enough to show them.

[opinionatedmom]

BUMP!

[duets]

Oh dear!!  I would certainly quarantine them if poss......away from the other plants til you can find out what they are.   They could have hatched from the soil in son's brought home plant, being they are so small. This happens sometimes.  Good luck on finding out what it could be!

*if you have any mint leaves around...try putting a few in the top of the plants affected, it won't hurt the growing plants, plus...bugs don't like the smell of the mint leaves.  Just an idea.    

[oredeb]

if its the white fly, do they look like this , try neem oil

or

try this

To make a batch, combine 1 garlic bulb, 1 small onion, and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a food processor or blender and process into a paste. Mix into 1 quart of water and steep for 1 hour. Strain through a cheesecloth and add 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Mix well. The mixture can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

[SoCalBombshell]

I honestly can't tell what they look like, they are so small! They are MUCH smaller than the bugs in the pictures, though. It seriously looks like someone sprinkled a tiny bit of sugar onto the soil, except it moves. Lol. They also haven't gotten on the plants themselves - only the soil, which confused me even more. I tried to get a picture of them, but even on my best camera settings they seem to be too small to show up. =/

I checked on them again this morning, and there are significantly fewer bugs. I'd say that last night, there was probably 150-200 of them between the 2 plants ... and now there's maybe 10?

I've dealt with aphids and whatnot before, but these little things have me seriously confused. Lol. I've never had a bug problem that solved itself overnight (which it seems to have).

And thank you for the suggestion! I will be writing this down for future use!! :)

Quoting oredeb:

if its the white fly, do they look like this , try neem oil

or

try this

To make a batch, combine 1 garlic bulb, 1 small onion, and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a food processor or blender and process into a paste. Mix into 1 quart of water and steep for 1 hour. Strain through a cheesecloth and add 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Mix well. The mixture can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

 

[oredeb]

 socal, something else i found, just in case  read the question and the answer(2nd paragraph of the answer) maybe its soil gnats!!hahah

http://en.allexperts.com/q/House-Plants-721/little-tiny-bugs.htm

[SoCalBombshell]

 Thank you! That would actually make a lot of sense, since the bags of soil I've found for purchase have perforated tops for easy opening!

Quoting oredeb:

 socal, something else i found, just in case  read the question and the answer(2nd paragraph of the answer) maybe its soil gnats!!hahah

http://en.allexperts.com/q/House-Plants-721/little-tiny-bugs.htm