by Abbie Carrier
Need to get free of some mealy bug and looking for help ? At first , minuscule tufts of white may not seem like a grown deal when they appear on houseplants , fruit industrial plant , succulents . or ornamentals , but chances are these cottony - looking place are mealybugs . These bug are sonant - bodied , section wingless insects that feed on plants by inserting their stylets , recollective mouth appendages , and take up the sap out of the infected plant .
While a small plague may not get much legal injury , if the plant life set off to yellow and curl , the plague has begun to soften the plant . Feeding internet site can also become sticky , leading to sooty molds . While a mealybug infestation will take a long time to obliterate the septic industrial plant , it is easy to get rid of the bugs when they are see in small amount of money . When the bugs are not prominent on the industrial plant , it can be more difficult to find a mealybug infestation . Plants that easily come down prey to these fuzzy little critters should be regularly chequer so that an plague does not become harder to deal with .
How to Identify a Mealybug
Infestation
Mealybugs touch plants found in warm growing clime . At first , the plague may seem like mould or fungus . The female person lay its egg in fluffy bloodless excreta . These eggs dream up after 10 days and then move to dissimilar part of the plant , where they drop the next four to eight weeks developing into the grownup form of these bugs .
Mealybugs are white bleary things you may see on the stems and leaf . They can also appear cream or brown - colored . These bugs do not fly , so if the bug fly off when the plant is stir up , those are most likelywhitefliesinstead . If the bugs look like little white piece of bagatelle and stay put when disturb , then they are mealybug .
How to Fight a Mealybug
Infestation
ensure the plants that lean to be targets of mealybug infestations are not overwatered or overfertilized is a primal step in making sure the plant life is unappealing to these hemipteron . Mealybugs like plants with eminent N degree and soft growth , so head off the mealybug - approved environment is important . Mealybugs can also taint the plants around the one currently suffering from a mealybug plague . If at all possible , the plant that is suffering from the infestation should be dissever from other plants that can also fall prey to these bugs .
If the flora that is infested is an outdoor , or greenhouse , plant , then introduce natural predators of the mealybug is an easygoing way to rid them of the plague . Some of these insects , such as theladybug , lacewing , and mealybug destroyer , are commercially uncommitted for home gardeners to purchase . Introducing them to the surround would be a way to get disembarrass of the mealybug without much human intervention . Before doing this , check that there are no plants in the expanse you plan to introduce the predatory glitch that would be harm by their mien . It does n’t make much sense to preface an louse to get free of a pest only to then have to deal with an infestation of the introduced insect or else when it begins to harm another plant .
If introducing predator of mealybugs is not potential , or is n’t effective , these fuzzy bugs should be hose down off the industrial plant with a eminent - exponent body of water flow . Any remaining mealybugs that are seeable should be wiped off the plant or dabbed with a Q - tip dipped in scratch alcohol . Neem oil color can also be applied to active plague . Treating with neem oil will kill mealybugs on contact at any level of the life cycle — without harming any beneficial bugs , such as Apis mellifera , that are also in the surface area .
A drop of the neem oil can be applied directly to the bugs ( unfortunately , this method can also have negatively charged impact on beneficial bugs in the area ) . As an alternative , you’re able to deliver neem oil via a diluted spray of one apothecaries' ounce oil to for every gal of piddle , which can be sprayed on the plant every seven to 14 days . Horticultural oil can be used in a similar elbow room to smother eggs and youthful or adult mealybugs . These oils can be applied to out-of-door garden and houseplant alike , progress to them a good option for dealing with these pests wherever they fall upon .
Another sprayable option when battling a mealybug infestation is using a soapy spray . Mealybugs are armored by a waxy covering , which can make it hard for discourse to be in effect . ( Note , however , that they do n’t have this waxy coating to protect them until they ’ve graduated from the nymph stage . ) The soap solvent will erode this protective coating and get down to dehydrate the mealybug population , but those harmful effect can interpret to your plants , too , so you may want to prove this treatment on a minor area of your flora before hold to your whole garden game . Use a dry quart of soft tap water — gruelling piss wo n’t be effective due to the mineral it contains — or you may expend distilled body of water desegregate with two teaspoon of limpid dish soap . Do n’t be tempted to interchange the liquid dish soap for wry dish soap or laundry detergent as the chemicals they contain will be prejudicial to your plants .
If the infestation is particularly stubborn , a Beauveria bassiana product may have to be applied . This fungus is used in natural - free-base insecticide , as the spore only have to match the intended target before infecting the hemipteran and tardily killing it . The Beauveria bassiana fungus target plague dirt ball , such as whiteflies , aphids , thripid , grasshopper , and sealed type of beetles , while leaving good bugs alone . If the infected plant is a houseplant , check that the fungus - based insecticide chosen is approve as safe for indoor manipulation . If it is not potential to regain one that can be used safely indoors , the other ways to consider with mealy bug we previously discussed may be a better option .
With their fuzzy white appearance , mealy bug do n’t look like much of a scourge , and when they appear in small number , a plant can come through the mealybug plague . If the hemipteran start to become more prominent , the chances of the plant dying due to these hemipteron increase . In an ideal earthly concern , the bugs would be cover with before the negatively charged impact of these bug is seen , but it is common for an plague to be pretermit and go unnoticed until the plant starts to work icteric , droop , and put up from foliage curl . Leaf curl is aberration of the plant ’s leaves as a result of insect feeding on the liquidness instead the works .
To treat afflicted greenhouse plants , the nurseryman can simply introduce good bugs or a Beauveria - bassiana - free-base insecticide to deal with the mealy bug , but an infestation on houseplants can also be deal with by following the tips and joke lay out here . Unfortunately , mealybugs can be particularly stubborn . If , after three week of discussion , the septic plant is still showing signs of infestation , it might be necessary to get rid of the industrial plant completely to stop the bugs from spreading to other plants in the area .
Want to learn more about mealy bugs?
Arbico Organics cover Pest Solver Guide : Mealybugs
SFGate Homeguides covers Soapy Spray to Get Rid of Mealybugs on Houseplants
National Pesticide Information Center covers Neem Oil
Planet Natural covers Mealybug Control
