How to deal with mealybug on indoor plants: causes, prevention and folk remedies

Chervets are insects with even wings. Such insects belong to the order coccid.

They are close relatives of the scale.

Have a negative effect on most plants. In the article we will look at the causes of these insects and how to get rid of them, as well as describe the main methods of prevention.

What you need to know?

Mealybugs are popularly known as shaggy lice.. They are represented by sucking insects. They can be easily recognized with the naked eye. These insects acquired their name due to the fact that they emit white elements that look like cotton. Both larvae and adult females differ in that they suck the plants.

Everyone gets under their influence:

  • young shoots;
  • buds;
  • leaves.

This process of sucking by these insects has a negative effect on the plant, and it slows down in growth. The body of the worm is covered with a wax coating of white color.. There are also such cases when wax plates are present along the edges. The size of this organism can reach no more than 6 millimeters, but it all depends on the type of insect.

Reference! A distinctive feature of the insect is sexual dimorphism. This means that two representatives of the same species are two completely different forms.

Males differ from females in that they have wings. The limbs of an organism are developed at a high level. The abdomen has two tails. The mouth of the insects is absent, since the adult organism does not feed..

There are also such species where individuals do not have legs or they are simply reduced. Mouth sucking look. There are females viviparous and laying eggs. Eggs are usually laid in a special bag, which is also cotton-like.

Reproduction is developed in these insects at a high level. In the year, some species can give up to 4 of their own kind.and some half as much.
Young larvae of the so-called first age are able to move through a particular plant, as well as be transported with the help of the wind. When the larvae stick to a particular plant, their mobility decreases or is completely absent.

When the molting process has passed, the larvae are looking for a new place to feed. If the larva has already become an adult organism, then it can actively move through the food plant.

Causes of

The causes of the bite are:

  1. inadequate care for a houseplant;
  2. average humidity in the house or apartment;
  3. air temperature in the room is not more than 25 degrees;
  4. lack or excess of moisture;
  5. lack of daylight for indoor plants.

Most often, these parasites affect:

  • cacti;
  • palm trees;
  • ivy;
  • orchids.

The first steps in detecting

When a pest is detected on a houseplant, the process of fighting the mealybug must be started as early as possible. In another case, it will multiply rapidly, and a large population of such an insect is difficult to remove from the plant.

Important! In that case, if you are absolutely sure that it is the same bug on the plant, then first of all the affected plant must be isolated from other growing flowers in the pots.

In this case, these insects do not climb on the other individuals of flowers. Further, it is necessary to proceed to the main opposition to the worm.

How to get rid of the pest?

Consider a few tools:

Chemical

During the period, when new individuals are just born chemicals have the desired effect the highest quality type. This period is the time when the cheeks only emerge from the womb of the mother or hatch from the egg. At that time, insects had not yet had time to acquire a special protective wax, and their body was quite vulnerable during this period.

The use of chemicals is expressed in the fact that in order to achieve the necessary result, it is necessary to exert influence regularly for two weeks. But the main difficulty in eliminating these insects on a plant is that with the help of chemicals only young individuals can be eliminated, and adults will continue to develop and create their own kind.

You need to understand that the longer you delay the process of dealing with the larvae, the harder and more unreal you will be to bring them out.

Attention! Best suited for the destruction of these insects sprayers. Getting on the leaves of a plant, this medicine is absorbed. Insects at the same time suck the plant sap with poison for them.

How to deal with mealybug and what is suitable for cultivating the land of indoor plants? Widely available effective anti-mealybug drugs are:

  • Decis.
  • Tsvetofos.
  • Vertimek.
  • Nurell D.
  • Bi-58.
  • Phosphamide.
  • Actellic.
  • Fitoverm.
  • Aplaud.

Fighting mealybug requires regularity. The effects of chemicals on insects should be orderly and constantto eliminate the manifestation of new individuals. It is also important to monitor the indoor plant during the treatment period. In more detail about the best preparations for mealybugs, we wrote in this article.

Folk

Traditional medicine bears a number of ways to eliminate the worm from the plant:

  1. Horsetail tincture With it, it is necessary to spray the leaves and add medicine to the root. This tool can be purchased at any pharmacy.
  2. Spraying with a certain oily substance. The recipe for this substance is the following: for one liter of water you need two tablespoons of olive oil. Further, this content is applied to the leaves of the plant.
  3. The solution with the presence of alcohol and soap. The composition of this solution includes soap in the amount of 15 grams and alcohol in the amount of 10 milliliters. All this must be added to warm water.
  4. Tincture based on garlic.

Preventive measures

It is very important to care for plants, especially for the off-season. The plant must be examined for such a pest as a worm.. In order for this pest and many others not to attack the plant, it is necessary:

  1. look after;
  2. water;
  3. rub;
  4. feed up

Conclusion

The bug is a fairly serious threat to the plant. He is able to stop the growth of the flower and completely destroy it. In such cases, it is extremely important to determine the insect attack on the plant as soon as possible and to begin its treatment.

Watch the video: 5 Ways to Get Rid of Mealybugs (April 2024).