Mealybug on indoor plants: methods of control

Mealybugs are a dangerous pest. It sucks out the juices and weakens the plant. If insects are not controlled, they will quickly multiply and eventually destroy indoor flowers.

Adult mealybugs move little and are easy to spot. Because of their color, they are clearly visible against the background of green leaves or trunk. Miniature light-colored larvae can also be seen. They are active in search of a place to feed, and then lose mobility.

Adult / YouTube channel Koppert Biological Systems

Masonry / YouTube channel Koppert Biological Systems

The affected plants seem to be covered with small lumps of cotton wool, and a sooty fungus develops over time on the sugary secretions of the pest.

Sooty fungus / heartspm.com
Mealybug parasitizes various indoor flowers - orchids, cacti, tradescantia, ficus and more. Willingly eats leaves, buds, and young shoots.

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Who are worms?

The scale insect is a pest that feeds on plant sap and is a relative of scale insects. Insects are covered with a protective waxy coating and villi (clearly visible in the photo), which makes it difficult to control them.

Body length ranges from 3 to 12 mm, depending on the species. Males are much smaller than females, have wings, and resemble small white midges. Due to the lack of oral apparatus, they do not need food, and their lifespan is not long.

Females usually live in colonies, on different parts of the plant; They are characterized by an asexual method of reproduction - parthenogenesis.

Description of the pest

The mealybug is a large insect with a characteristic appearance.

Females and males look different:

1. Females are insects with a flat oval body about 5 mm long. Females move with the help of numerous legs.
2. Males resemble small flies. Insects do not have mouthparts, so they are absolutely harmless to plants.
3. Mealybug larvae

Common varieties

There are several types of mealybug in nature. They differ in external characteristics and preference for certain plants:

• Bristle (Pseudococcus longispinus) . The female pest reaches a length of 3.5 mm. The body color is pinkish or orange with a waxy white coating. The species is viviparous, so it does not lay eggs. Moves freely from one plant to another. Settles on the inside of leaves, in the axils of shoots. In bulbous plants it penetrates into the scales.
• Grape (Pseudococcus citri) . The body of females is broadly oval, pinkish. The pest has developed limbs.
• Primorsky (Pseudococcus affinis) . The body length of the female is 4 mm, the color is grayish-pink with a powdery creamy coating. It reproduces by laying eggs in curled leaves and cracks in the bark.

How do worms harm plants?

Insects cause great harm, leading pets to death. They prefer plants with large leaves, such as palm trees, ficus, orchids, laurel, and ferns. They settle on the reverse side of the leaf, in the area of ​​large veins and stems.

• Mealybugs on indoor flowers suck out the juice, weakening them. Some species attack the roots.
• During their life, they secrete a sweet, sticky secretion that attracts ants and also contributes to sooty fungus and mold.
• Saliva contains phytotoxic enzymes that cause plant poisoning.

Proper plant treatment

Housewives need to be especially vigilant in the fall and spring, when infection intensifies. The appearance of the parasite largely depends on temperature. The most optimal for reproduction and life activity is +25°C. That is why on warm days you should take extra care of the health of your plants.

It must be remembered that most often pests appear on weakened, devoid of strength leaves that are unable to resist the disease. Treated and well-groomed representatives have a natural defense mechanism that repels parasites.

By maintaining nitrogen levels by treating your plants with insecticides, you reduce the likelihood of your greens becoming infected.

If you notice a damaged area of ​​a leaf or flower, you need to remove it. If the leaf or shoot cannot be removed, then try to remove as much plaque as possible with a toothbrush dipped in a soapy solution. You can use cotton swabs and any other devices that can gently remove insects. After the procedure, the plant should be washed. This will reduce the chance that the parasite will crawl onto a neighboring leaf. Immediately isolate infected greens from others.

If the algorithm of actions carried out could not help, you can proceed to more radical measures that require special caution. Namely, remove the top layer of the substrate inhabited by insects. This must be done so as not to catch or damage the root system.

Some varieties of mealybug attack the soil rather than the outside of the plant. The plantings begin to deteriorate before our eyes, wither and dry out. In this case, it is necessary to quickly transplant the flower to another soil. After removing the root system, you need to rinse it thoroughly, freeing it from any remaining parasites.

Areas that cannot be rid of insects should be carefully trimmed and only then replanted in new, fresh soil. The pot should be filled with clean substrate, and the root should be treated with an insecticide to further prevent the appearance of the parasite.

Developmental cycle of mealybugs

1. Egg. Females lay eggs in a felt cocoon. Some species are viviparous - producing live larvae.
2. The larvae move quickly, conquering new spaces; they are called “vagrants”. In some species, they are inactive. There is no gender distribution.
3. Imago. After molting, strays become adults, females and males.

Scale insect family

Mealybugs are a large family of insects. They also have other names: false cushion lice, felt lice, hairy lice. Several species of heat-loving bugs parasitize (suck the juices) on indoor plants - greenhouse bugs, bristle bugs, citrus bugs and many others. An amateur gardener does not need to know which particular felt moth has settled on flowers, since these species are similar to each other and require the same methods of control.

Interesting!

Males look like small grayish midges; they do not feed at all. Females and larvae are harmful. Males fly, but females do not.

Adult females can be seen with the naked eye, since their size is about half a centimeter, sometimes a little more or less. The body is oval, whitish (sometimes pinkish or reddish), sometimes with transverse stripes. Numerous thin bristle processes (false “legs”) are usually visible around the body, and a double thread-like “tail” is often observed at the back. Female hair lice move around or sit still. The smallest “vagrant” larvae are especially active: they quickly spread throughout the plant and onto neighboring specimens, and can be transported by a breeze. During the season, from two to five generations hatch.

The name “mealy” comes from the fact that insects and the plants they inhabit appear to be dusted with flour.

Signs of insect damage to indoor plants

At the initial stage of the disease, insects are difficult to detect, as they hide in the axils of the leaves.

Felt coating

A white coating appears on the stems and leaves of flowers, resembling cotton wool sprinkled with flour. These are cobwebs and wax dust secreted by females.

Sticky leaves

In the process of life, a sweet secret is released - honeydew, which is attractive to ants and moldy fungi. Leaves sticky marks on the pot, windowsill, window glass.

White lumps on roots

This sign can only be detected during transplantation. White lumps will be visible among the roots and soil. They can be confused with root aphids.

drooping look

A drooping appearance of the plant may be the only symptom of rootworm infestation.

Where do harmful insects on flowers come from?

It is difficult to say where these insects come from. There are several most likely reasons for their appearance. Typically, houseplants become infected with scale insects when:

• entering the house of an orchid, cactus, ficus or gloxinia that already has pests;
• using contaminated soil (purchased or brought from the street);
• low air humidity;
• abundant or, on the contrary, scanty watering;
• overfeeding the soil with fertilizers;
• the use of nitrogenous fertilizers;
• drafts and low room temperatures;
• poor lighting.

Pests reach crops through the air. Despite the fact that adult individuals lead a sedentary lifestyle, infection of plantings occurs extremely quickly. The larvae, easily blown away by the wind, migrate from one plant to another. They can also be spread by humans and animals, moving on clothing and fur.

How to deal with mealybugs

Treatment must be carried out comprehensively, using several methods. Good results are obtained with chemicals in combination with a mechanical method of removing insects.

Mechanical method

With this method, pests are removed by mechanical means:

1. Cutting out severely affected leaves and branches.
2. Wash off insects with soapy water, using a sponge or soft brush.
3. Nearby surfaces should be thoroughly washed: window sills, shelves, window frames, flowerpots - they can be a source of microscopic larvae.

Chemical

Insecticides that have an intestinal and systemic mode of action are used against mealybugs. Due to the fact that insects are covered with a protective waxy coating, contact exposure has no effect.

Due to toxicity, it is advisable to use chemicals in cases of extreme necessity, if home remedies are problematic to use or do not help.

• "Aktara" has an intestinal-contact, systemic spectrum of action. It affects the pest by direct contact with it, with simultaneous penetration inside through the oral apparatus. When applied to the soil, it is well absorbed by the roots, making plant juices toxic to parasites.
• "Aktelik" has a wide spectrum of action, systemic and contact. Treatment is carried out by spraying.
• “Bi-58 new”, systemic-contact mode of action. Affects any stage of insect development. The substance is quickly absorbed by the plant, the death of pests occurs within 24 hours. Highly effective against insects that parasitize roots.
• “Golden Spark” – works systemically, has a long-lasting effect, up to 2 months.

Important: treatment with pesticides is carried out using personal protective equipment.

Biological insecticides

Biological preparations such as Fitoverm do not have a systemic effect, therefore they are not effective against scale insects.

What to do: methods of struggle

The fight against mealybugs involves two stages: cleansing and chemical treatment.

Cleansing. What to do:

1. Clean the leaves of the plant from cotton wool.
2. They do this with a soap solution, wiping the green parts and shoots with a soft brush.
3. Plants that can be irrigated are washed in the shower.
4. It is important to replace at least the top portion of the soil.
5. Severely damaged branches and shoots are cut off.

Chemicals. Necessary for extensive infestations and complement “mechanical” destruction. The most effective insecticides in the fight against mealybugs are insecticides and acaricides.

1. Larvicides are drugs that only affect larvae.
2. Ovicides are agents that affect egg laying.
3. Repellents are deterrents.

Important! The most effective remedies are against both imago (adult insects) and larvae and eggs.

What to do, what means to use? Complex ones are best. And - depending on the degree of damage to plants. It is important to consider the appropriateness of use, comparing the toxicity of the drug and the damage caused by the insect.

1. Treatments are carried out in open space. It is advisable to leave the pots outside, on the balcony for a couple of days.
2. The event is repeated according to the instructions to get rid of all generations of the malware.

Let us remind you: all drugs can be divided into means of contact, intestinal, and complex effects. What does it mean?

• To reveal the effect of the former (contact action), the drug must come directly onto the insect or be in close proximity to it. This is a group of pyrethrins, pyrethroids, phosphorus, sulfur, and chlorine compounds.
• Intestinal agents - the active substance must be eaten by an insect, and blocks the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, etc., having a nerve-paralytic, toxic effect. Most often these are magnesium, barium, calcium arsenates (arsenic compounds), fluorides, metal fluorides, substances irgan, mitin, etc.
• Systemic - penetrate into plant tissues, then, when absorbed during feeding, along with tissue juice, poison insects. These are phosphamides, neonicotinoids, methylmercamptophos, etc.
• Complex - combines all qualities.

Chemicals: modern drugs

• Aktara from mealybug. Enteric contact agent, main d.v. Thiamethoxicam. Manufacturer Sengenta, Switzerland. Release form: suspension, concentrate, granules.
• Actellik. FOS compound (emulsion), enteric contact action, d.v. pirimiphos-methyl. Manufacturer Sengenta.
• Calypso. Bayer (Germany), enteric contact, systemic action, d.v. thiacloprid, concentrated suspension.
• Confidor. Bayer (Germany), d.v. imidacloprid, enteric and systemic drug for combating mealybugs, water-soluble concentrate in ampoules, canisters.
• Tanrek. Russia, CJSC "August". Systemic remedy against insects of contact action, d.v. imidaclopromide. Water-soluble concentrate in ampoules, canisters, bottles.
• Bankol. Enteric contact agent, d.v. bensultap. Tablets, yellowish powder. Manufacturer Sumitomo Chemical Co, Japan.
• Mospilan. Systemic remedy for scale insects and the widest group of insects with enteric contact action, d.v. acatamiprid. Manufacturer Nippon Soda, Japan.
• Phytofarm. Biological enteric-contact insectoacaricide, d.v. aversectin. Emulsion concentrate in ampoules, canisters. Produced by Pharmbiomed, Russia.
• Biotlin. Systemic drug, including imidaclopromide. Russia, CJSC "August". Release form: liquid in bottles, ampoules.
• Intra-vir. Enteric-contact insecticide against scale insects on flowers based on cypermethrin. Produced in Russia (Fasco) - tablets, water-soluble powder.

To get rid of mealybugs on indoor plants, Iskra Zolotaya or Double Effect, Vertimek, Bitoxibacillin, Dantop and others are also used.

For control of succulents and cacti, insecticides Decis, Karbofos, Actellik, Fufanon, Sherpa, etc., and any imadoclopramide-based products are good.

For example: how to get rid of mealybugs on plants and with what.

1. Confidor: 5 l of water + 2 ml of product - spraying, for watering 2.5 l of water + 2 ml of product;
2. Aktara for mealybug: 5 liters of water + 4 g of product (watering, spraying);
3. Tanrek: for watering 5 l of water + 3 g of product, for spraying 1.5 g of product + 5 l of water;
4. Apaches: 2.5 l of water + 0.5 g (package) – spraying, watering with 2.5 l of water + 2 ml of the drug.

Important! Cacti and succulents need not only to be sprayed, but also to lubricate relatively hard-to-reach places with a cotton swab.

But active wetting of these indoor plants is harmful - just like a shower!

Very important. To get rid of mealybugs for sure and quickly, treatment is carried out before oviposition - until the beginning of May.

Home Remedies

Effective in small distributions, when detecting single individuals. This is treatment with a soap solution followed by treatment with calendula infusion and tobacco infusion.

Infusion of onion peel. A brown infusion is prepared (onion skins are boiled and infused), the cooled liquid is sprayed on the plants repeatedly, and the light brown solution is poured onto the soil.

Horsetail Pharmaceutical tincture diluted 1:3, 1:5 repels the pest.

Alcohol + soap (for plants with leathery leaves). How to prepare: 1 liter of water + 20 g of soap + 20 ml of alcohol.

Garlic, onion. Essentially attractants: the infusion repels insects. How to prepare: chopped head of garlic (onion) + 1 liter of boiling water, boil for 2-5 minutes. Leave for 12-20 hours, filter, spray on plants and flowers.

Tincture of calendula. For 1 liter of water – 100 g of dried flowers, boil, then leave for a day. Wipe the leaves; if they are leathery or dense, lightly spray them.

How to get rid of mealybugs without using chemicals

Chemicals are far from safe, especially when used in an apartment. Immediately after detecting a pest, you can use folk remedies.

Green soap

Environmentally friendly product. Soap foam is applied to open, visible areas. After 2 – 3 hours, after treatment, it should be washed off.

Tobacco infusion

1. Shag, raw materials or tobacco dust, in the amount of 80 grams, pour 1 liter of warm water, leave for a day.
2. Then the resulting infusion is filtered and brought to its original volume.
3. Treatment is carried out by spraying or washing.

Reasons for appearance

The main reasons that lead to the appearance of parasitic scale insects include :

• improper care of a green pet;
• the average level of humidity in the room in which the flower is kept;
• violation of the irrigation regime - lack or excess of irrigation;
• lack of light.

All these factors create an environment favorable for mealybug reproduction. Low-quality soil can also become a source of damage, so when replanting green pets, it is best to use ready-made soil mixtures that have undergone the necessary disinfection. In addition, there are cases where mealybugs were found in a new, newly acquired plant.

To avoid infecting other flowers, it is very important that each new pet is quarantined for a couple of weeks.

Prevention measures

Mealybugs are quite difficult to exterminate, severely depleting plants. Therefore, it is much more effective to prevent their occurrence.

• Compliance with the rules of care is the most important preventive measure, since pests, as a rule, attack weakened plants.
• Regular examination of “pets” will help to recognize infection at an early stage.
• Before you bring a new plant into your home, you need to inspect it carefully.
• Quarantine for newly acquired pets is at least 30 days.
• Soil disinfection.
• Thorough disinfection of pots after diseased flowers.

In order to fight a pest, you should know its preferences and biological characteristics. Eliminating conditions favorable for parasites is the main task of preventing infection.

Preventive measures

Massive damage is observed on plants with weakened immunity and kept in unfavorable conditions. Therefore, the main measure to prevent pest infection is compliance with the rules of agricultural technology.

The following measures help to prevent the proliferation of the pest in a timely manner:

• compliance with watering standards;
• regular ventilation of greenhouses;

• removal of dried leaves and shoots;
• regular feeding.

What means do you use to combat mealybugs?

ChemicalFolk

Many garden owners mistake the initial stages of mealybug infestation for the growth of fungus or mold. The fight against the pest begins late and allows its excessive reproduction. As a result, plants weaken and sometimes die. To prevent crop loss, it is worth following agricultural standards, carefully inspecting plantings and applying protective agents at the first signs of insects appearing on plants.

What plants does he like?

Citrus plants are attractive to mealybugs. In addition, he will not pass by:

• bromeliads;
• cycads;
• cacti;
• adiantum;
• godsons;
• ferns;
• monster;
• ardisium;
• brunfelsia;
• Dieffenbachia;
• shefflers;
• poinsettias;
• violets;
• fatsia;
• rhododendron;
• Cyperus;
• cissus;
• hippeastrum;
• orchids;

Attach the blaster to the hose and turn on the water. This environmentally friendly method of pest control is very effective as it provides enough pressure to damage and kill soft insects such as flour patties without harming the plants. After use, disconnect the blaster from the hose, then begin removing mealybugs that have landed on your soil. Don't risk reappearing on your plants if some are resistant enough to survive.

Learn an easy way to get rid of them that is safe for succulents! If you grow succulents indoors, you'll likely encounter powdery mildew at some point. They spread quickly from plant to plant and can be difficult to get rid of.