Fitoverm for mealybug

Mealybugs, which attack indoor and greenhouse flowers, as well as berry plants and fruit trees, are the main problem for many flower growers and gardeners. This flower vampire literally sucks all the life force out of plants. They are stunted in growth, covered with a white cobwebby coating and quickly fade. Meanwhile, the colony of pests grows and moves from a dying flower or bush to a neighboring, completely healthy one.

How to stop the army of these voracious invaders? Folk remedies are used quite effectively to destroy scale insects. And insecticides are resorted to only in case of a large number of pests or the ineffectiveness of the previous method.

Houseplants are dying - the cause is mealybugs!

Mealybugs are very nasty pests.
They attack indoor flowers. As a result, they develop poorly and have an unsightly appearance. These insects are popularly called “hairy lice” because of the large number of bristles and hairs on their oval body. The presence of the parasite reveals a white coating on the leaves. And the scale insects themselves are visible to the naked eye. You need to get rid of them immediately, because very soon they will spread to all the surrounding plants. Therefore, consider the following question: “If there are mealybugs on indoor plants, how to deal with them?” What is a mealybug?

The appearance of this pest cannot be confused with anything. This is a fairly large relative of the scale insect. The mealybug reaches up to 8 mm in length. Female “hairy lice” have an undeveloped oval-shaped body, more typical of insect larvae. They lay numerous eggs in special sacs in the axils of the leaves. The shoots on which the pest lives are covered with a white, sticky waxy coating. Males are not at all similar to females - they have wings and normally developed limbs, the body is divided into sections and ends in a bunch of tail filaments. With the help of their oral apparatus, females and larvae easily pierce the surface of a leaf, bud or shoot and suck out the juices from it. Young scale insects are extremely mobile and easily move between plants. Sexually mature males do not feed because their mouthparts atrophy as they grow older.

Signs of Mealybug Infestation

To detect pests, it is enough to carefully examine the indoor plant.

Main features:

- drooping look

– lethargy of leaves and shoots;

– underdeveloped buds,

– deformed leaves;

– white powdery coating with lumps;

– small “mosquitoes” (male scale insects) on the windows near the pots;

– the presence of sticky mucus (honey dew) on all parts of the plant;

– the presence of white inclusions in the earthen coma during transplantation;

– presence of white oval insects.

Any of these symptoms may indicate the appearance of a scale insect. Not a single flower is immune from infection. Special control should be given to citrus, amaryllis, cycad and palm plants, as well as cacti, violets and orchids. Often suffers from the azalea pest. The pest attacks young shoots. The leaves stop growing and begin to turn yellow. An azalea affected by insects loses its former appearance. Harm to the plant Mealybug literally pulls all the nutrients from the flowers, disrupting their growth and normal development. Sweet honeydew secreted by females provokes the development of associated fungal infections. Due to the sticky, impenetrable coating, the green pet's breathing becomes worse. This can cause the leaves to wilt and even fall off. Mealy aphids (another name for mealybugs) do not prefer a specific part of the plant, attacking everything that comes in its way. Not only shoots, buds and leaves are under attack, but also roots. If treatment is not started as soon as possible, the bug will spread to surrounding indoor plants. In time he will destroy them all. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately declare war if you notice mealybugs on indoor plants.

Causes of mealybugs

Why do these harmful insects appear?

There are several main reasons:

Presence of eggs and larvae in the soil.

Even purchased soil can be contaminated, so it is very important to treat it with hot steam before use.

Transfer of larvae with newly acquired plants. New pets should be kept separately and carefully examined periodically. You can place them next to other flowers only after finally making sure that there are no pests.

Errors in care - low room temperature, stagnation of moisture in the soil, insufficient lighting, excessive application of fertilizer. Improper care significantly reduces the plant’s immunity, causing various diseases.

The presence of dust on the leaves, irregular removal of dry parts. Untimely replacement of soil in pots. Harmful insects can live inside a compacted earthen clod.

Poor quality water for irrigation.

Measures to combat the mealybug

If white lumps are found, you need to wipe or wash the plant in a soap-alcohol solution (dissolve one teaspoon of finely chopped laundry soap in 1 liter of hot water, add 2 tablespoons of vodka), you can use a solution of dishwashing liquid. Rubbing the leaves with alcohol or vodka also helps. All these available means weaken the waxy coating of scale insects, which makes them more vulnerable to pesticides. Before treatment, all visible pests must be removed with a cotton swab or toothbrush. The cotton swab must be changed, and the brush must be thoroughly washed and treated with alcohol or detergent, so as not to transfer the bug to other parts or neighboring plants.

After the “mechanical” treatment, it is imperative to proceed to the “chemical” treatment. To do this, you can use insecticides: golden spark, fitoverm, actellik, phosphamide, intavir, fufan, metafos, actaru, karbofos, mospilan.

actara for mealybugs: dissolve 4 g of the drug in 5 liters of water for watering and spraying;
tanrek for mealybug: 1.5 ml per 5 liters of water for spraying or 1.5 ml per 2.5 liters of water for irrigation;
Apache from mealybug: 1 sachet (0.5 g) per 2.5 liters of water for spraying or 1 g per 1 water for irrigation;
Confidor for mealybugs: dilute 2 ml of the drug in 5 liters of water for spraying or 2 ml in 2.5 liters for watering;

In addition to spraying with the same solution, you need to spill the soil in the pot. Such treatments will have to be repeated more than once; it is best to change the drug each time. It is assumed that the bug very quickly gets used to one drug and develops immunity. It should also be noted that it is difficult to fight the scale due to its waxy coating. If you simply, upon discovering a bug on a plant, immediately treat it with an insecticide, you will not always be able to achieve the desired result. The insects or their larvae (egg sacs) need to be disturbed - with a stick, brush, cotton wool, and their protection - the wax shell - is weakened, only then the insecticide can act on them. This complex treatment is carried out every 4-5 days. With less frequent processing, no measures help.

The fight against scale insects is not quick and lasts up to six months.

If damaged by root worms, the soil is completely changed. The pots are thoroughly washed in hot water with a disinfectant. The roots of the plants are carefully examined, washed in running water and completely placed in a solution of any insecticide for 15 minutes.

The plant needs to be transplanted into fresh, moist soil, carefully watered with water, and after a week - with an insecticide solution. But even after this, make it a rule to carefully examine the plant so that at the first discovery of white lumps, you can resume the fight against them.

As a pest prevention method, when replanting a plant, you need to carefully examine the roots. If pests are found, disinfect the pot (scald with boiling water), carefully clean the roots from the old soil, wash the plant roots in an insecticide solution and plant in fresh soil. If it is not possible to replant the flower, you need to water the soil with systemic insecticides that penetrate the vessels of the plant and cause the death of pests - these are actara and confidor.

Actara should be diluted as follows: 1 g of the drug per 10 liters of water. If you decide to replant, immerse the root part of the plant in the solution and soak for 5-7 minutes. If you have neither actara nor confidor, you can use any insecticide, for example, actellik, decis, karbofos. If the root system of the plant is fibrous, densely entwined with an earthen ball, then you need to prepare a solution and immerse the plant in it for 20 minutes (roots). Then dip into the solution several times along with the leaves. Leave to sit for 5-10 minutes, then rinse the plant under a warm shower.

Pest control

There are different ways to control pests on indoor plants.

It is important not to delay. At the initial stage of infection, you can get by by wiping the leaves with a soap solution (20 g of soap shavings per 1 liter of water)

This can be done conveniently using a cotton pad or small sponge. The soap film will make it difficult for the pest to pierce the leaves.

Immediately after this, the plant is sprayed with tobacco infusion. It is prepared from 40 g of crushed raw materials and 1 liter of water. The infusion must be prepared within 2 days; it must be filtered before use. Spraying serves to repel pests, as the composition is quite caustic.

Some people use alcohol tincture of calendula, diluted with water at the rate of 1 tsp, as a natural insecticide. per glass of water.

Which mealybug remedy should I choose?

If the moment is missed and the pests have managed to multiply, it is necessary to treat the infected plants with an insecticide as quickly as possible.

The following medications will help get rid of mealybugs:

"Fitoverm";
"Confidor";
"Commander";
"Inta-Vir";
"Aktara";
"Tanrek";
"Apollo"
"Zaman";
"He chops."

Processing different plants has its own characteristics. For example, flowering plants are more vulnerable to the pest. The parasite readily settles on violets and orchids. It is also not possible to wipe the leaves of all flowers. The leaves of the same Saintpaulias are covered with fluff, so cleaning them from hairy lice with a cotton pad will be problematic.

Orchid treatment

An orchid infected with a mealybug looks drooping, its leaves lose turgor and become covered with a white coating interspersed with sticky spots. To avoid it being too late, the flower should be treated at this stage, having previously been isolated from other indoor plants.

The dense, glossy leaves of orchids tolerate surface treatment well. To begin with, wipe them on both sides with a solution of green soap (4 g per glass of water). In addition to the leaves, it is necessary to treat all hard-to-reach parts of the trunk, lubricating them with a soap solution using a paint brush.

Orchid pests can remain on the roots or in loose soil, so the plant is then sprayed with an insecticide. Treatment must be carried out 3 times with a break of a week. The drugs “Inta-Vir” and “Fitoverm” help to cure an orchid. Repeated treatment is necessary to completely destroy the larvae emerging from the laid eggs.

Treatment of violets

Infestation of violets with hairy lice is a special case. Pests spend most of their time underground and breed their offspring there. Since wiping the leaves is not suitable for these flowers, you should immediately spray them with a systemic preparation, for example Actellik.

To save the flower you will need 2-3 treatments with a break of 7-10 days. Unlike insecticides with enteric contact action, systemic preparations penetrate into the plant tissue, and from there, along with the juice, enter the body of parasites and cause their death.

It is recommended to carry out the treatment by placing the flower on the balcony or outside. If after these manipulations the pests appear again, you will have to repeat the insecticide treatment, first freeing the roots. You will need to spray the entire root system and the lower part of the trunk. After this, the flower is planted in new soil.

Treatment of cacti

On a cactus, the mealybug also settles at the roots, preferring to feed on the juice from the young tops of the succulent. Symptoms of the pest in this case will be:

drying of growth points;
deformation of the upper part of the plant;
reddish or brown marks at the puncture sites.

The fight against mealybugs on succulents is carried out using insecticides:

"Commander"
"Tanrek"
"Decis"
"Apollo".

Spraying is carried out twice with an interval of 10–15 days. The soil in the pot also needs to be spilled with a solution of the drug.

It would be even better to remove the infected cactus from the substrate, rinse the roots with hot water, soak in an insecticide solution for 1-2 hours, air dry and replant in fresh soil.

Treatment of dracaena

When infected, sticky spots and a powdery coating appear on the dracaena, the leaves become limp, and the stem becomes bent.

Most often, the pest settles on a flower at temperatures above 25°C and high humidity.

Not only the plant needs to be treated, but also the soil in the pot.

Dracaena is sprayed 3-4 times with solutions of the following preparations:

"Confidor"
"Fitoverm"
"Aktara".

The latter insecticide is also used for spilling soil. If there is a large accumulation of insects, they are first removed from the leaves with a cotton swab or sponge soaked in a soap solution. You can simply give your dracaena a warm shower.

Mealybug: getting rid of it effectively!

Types of Mealybugs

Bristle Mealybug

Bristle mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus) - females and larvae harm plants. The body of an adult female is 3.5 mm long, oval in shape, orange or pinkish in color, covered with a white coating. The scale insects have well-developed legs, thanks to which they can easily move from plant to plant. Females are viviparous. They usually accumulate in the form of colonies on the underside of leaves, on branches, in leaf axils and on young shoot tips.

The bristlebug is a fairly large insect, easily noticeable on the plant due to the white powdery coating that covers its body and the white waxy formations in the form of cotton balls. Damaged leaves turn yellow and fall off. Shoots are stunted in growth. Scale insects crawl under the bark of citrus fruits and under the scales of bulbs of bulbous plants. Plants damaged by scale insects are severely depressed, stunted in growth, leaves turn yellow and fall off. Sooty fungi can settle on the secretions of scale insects.

Grape mealybug

Grape mealybug (Pseudococcus citri) - the body of the female is broadly oval in shape, pink or yellowish in color, covered with a white powdery coating. Legs are well developed. Males are very rare. The hatched larvae settle throughout the plant, on shoots, on leaves along the main veins. When severely damaged, scale insects form huge colonies that suck all the juices out of the plant. The leaves turn yellow, the shoots dry out. Sooty fungi settle on the secretions of scale insects.

Bristle mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus). Snehasis SinhaVine mealybug (Pseudococcus citri). Jeffrey W. Seaside mealybug (Pseudococcus affinis). energvmeno

Primorye mealybug

The seaside mealybug (Pseudococcus affinis) is one of the most common species of mealybug. The body of an adult female is elongated-oval, 3-4 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, grayish-pink in color, covered with a white powdery coating. Legs are well developed.

Males are much smaller, winged, and fly all summer. Females lay eggs in egg sacs, which are a white, fluffy, shapeless mass of waxy cobweb secretions. Typically, oviparous females hide in secluded places: cracks in the bark, in twisted leaves, in the forks of branches. The larvae are small, mobile, yellow, completely devoid of waxy coating.

They quickly spread throughout the plant and are spread by wind, humans and animals to other plants. The larvae turn into an adult insect in 1-1.5 months. By sucking out all the juices from the plant, they cause stunting and then death of the plant. Damaged plants grow poorly and do not bloom. Sooty fungi settle on the secretions of scale insects. The leaves turn yellow and fall off.

We hope that our tips for dealing with scale insects will help you! We are waiting for your comments!

Popular means of struggle

If there are a lot of pests, it is better to immediately resort to drastic measures - insect killers known on the market. Timely treatment with insecticides will save the flowers and save the nerves of the owners.

All work with chemicals is carried out only with rubber gloves and a respirator!

Aktara

"Aktara" is a complex drug used to control many pests.

The insecticide solution is applied to the diseased plant using a spray bottle or poured into the soil at the base of the stem. Spraying provides protection for up to four weeks. The active substance lingers in the soil a little longer, up to two months. When sprayed insecticide

acts in 20–30 minutes, reducing appetite and causing disruption of the digestive system.

To prepare a solution, take 1-2 g (for spraying) or 8 g of the drug (for watering) per 10 liters of water. This ratio is used when working with indoor plants.

When processing vegetable and garden crops, milk is first prepared (1 packet of product per 1.5 liters of water). To spray currants you need 250, and to treat flower beds 600 milliliters of milk.

effective in most cases;
compatibility with pesticides;
low toxicity to earthworms and birds.

addictive to pests;
toxic to bees.

Aktofit

"Aktofit" contains a natural toxin that is dangerous for many types of garden and garden pests, including scale insects.

The active substance affects the nervous system, causing paralysis. The death of sucking insects occurs eight hours after spraying.

Processing is carried out at temperatures above +18 degrees. Optimal temperature indicators are +28 degrees. To obtain a solution, 4–12 milliliters of the drug are dissolved in a liter of water.

does not pollute the soil;
is not addictive;
compatible with fertilizers and other insecticides;
One or two treatments are enough.

the drug is not effective at temperatures below +18 degrees;
dangerous for bees.

Akarin

"Akarin" belongs to the group of biological drugs.

After spraying, the active substance penetrates the digestive system of pests, causing acute poisoning. After just eight hours, the mealybugs lose activity and stop feeding. Pests die on the second day after treatment.

To prepare a solution, 2 or 5 milliliters of the product are diluted in a liter of water. Plant leaves are wetted on both sides. The insecticide can be used several times a season, with an interval of 2-3 weeks.

is not addictive;
non-toxic to earthworms and birds;
compatible with pesticides and other insecticides;
used at temperatures from +12 degrees and above.

Disadvantages: dangerous for bees.

Fitoverm

“Fitoverm” is a preparation created on the basis of waste products of soil microorganisms.

Sucking pests lose activity sixteen hours after treatment and die on the second day.

The active substance affects the digestive system of insects, reducing appetite and causing acute poisoning. The effect of the drug is from one to three weeks.

To obtain a solution, 4 milliliters of insecticide are mixed with two liters of water, and then the resulting mixture is diluted to the required volume. It takes 100–500 milliliters of solution to treat a medium-sized indoor plant. In greenhouses and outdoor flower beds, the consumption is 10 liters per 100 square meters of area. Treatment can be carried out at intervals of two weeks.

does not pollute the soil;
completely breaks down into safe elements in the soil;
Compatible with fertilizers and growth regulators.

not effective in rainy weather;
dangerous for bees.

Mospilan

"Mospilan" is a contact drug used to combat many types of insect pests.

Penetrates into plant sap, so it is effective even on untreated areas of stems and foliage. Affects all ages of pests: eggs, larvae and adults. The active substance, entering the digestive system of an insect, causes paralysis. An hour after treatment, insects lose activity and die on the second day. The protective effect lasts two to three weeks.

To obtain a solution, 2.5–5 grams of the drug are stirred in a liter of water. Then the resulting milk is diluted in a bucket of water (10 l). This amount of solution is enough to treat an area of 250 square meters.

non-toxic to plants;
compatible with fertilizers and other preparations.

not effective at low temperatures;
toxic to bees.

Fufanon

"Fufanon" is a complex action drug used against many insects.
Affects the nervous system of pests, causing death within two to three days. Emulsion concentrate in an amount of 10 milliliters is mixed in 10 liters of water. Two or three treatments per season are allowed. The interval between spraying is three weeks. If vegetables have been processed, they should not be eaten for 20 days.

non-toxic to plants;
effective at temperatures above +12 degrees.

toxic to bees and fish;
does not mix with other drugs.

Phytoseiulus is a predatory mite that feeds on pest eggs. Read more about this beneficial insect in the article.

“Sunmite” is a popular drug that is designed to combat ticks that feed on agricultural crops. You will find detailed information about this acaricide at https://stopvreditel.ru/rastenij/borba/akaricidy/sanmajt.html link.

Causes of the pest

The period when pests are active is in the winter. For natural reasons, the plant receives less light. This leads to metabolic disorders. A healthy, well-groomed flower rarely becomes a target for parasites. There are several reasons for the appearance of worms:

non-compliance with temperature conditions;
low air humidity;
abuse of nitrogen fertilizers;
high soil moisture;
untimely removal of dead leaves and flowers.

All of these problems lead to changes in the concentration of plant juices. Such changes contribute to a sharp increase in the parasite population.

Larvae and adults prefer to choose areas of lush greenery for suction - young shoots, leaves, buds. The white cottony coating on the surface of the plant, which is created by parasites, is visible to the naked eye. In addition, a characteristic sign of the appearance of a scale insect is a sugary discharge. If a citrus bug has settled on a plant, then the root system is also affected.

Folk remedies: soap-alcohol solution

A soap-alcohol solution is a frequently used folk remedy to combat mealybugs.

A teaspoon of crushed laundry soap is dissolved in water, then the amount of solution is increased to a liter. Add a tablespoon of alcohol or two tablespoons of vodka.

The plant is sprayed, while the soil underneath is protected with film or a piece of cellophane.

The next day, the soap must be washed off with clean water. Treatments are carried out at intervals of three days until the scale insects completely disappear.

How to save a flower from misfortune?

Having resorted to proven, folk methods of combating scale insects, we can say with confidence that almost every housewife will find remedies for such a terrible pest.

Method "Soap-alcohol spraying"

To prepare the solution you should:

Grind laundry soap to make 1.5 - 2 teaspoons. The soap must be dissolved in 1.5 liters of boiling water. Cool the resulting mixture to room temperature, then add 3 teaspoons of alcohol or 5 tablespoons of vodka and stir. Spray first those areas of the plant where parasites are visible, then all other areas. Important! Do not allow the substance to get into the ground.

Wipe the plant with a swab soaked in the solution.

Chemical control

When choosing a product, you should pay attention to drugs with combined action, which will immediately affect the adult and the larvae. This method is effective in that it is absorbed into the plant and enters the mealybug along with the juice, thereby poisoning it

At the same time, remember that chemistry does not leave its mark on the plant itself.

If the solution to the problem was the use of chemicals, then re-application should be done after 1 - 1.5 weeks, in order to rid the flower of new individuals that hatched during this time interval.

Where do mealybugs come from?

Mealybugs are small insects a few millimeters long. They have a soft, segmented body covered in a white or pinkish covering that resembles wool or cotton.

May enter through windows and ventilation networks. Get on plants that are placed on balconies and terraces in summer. You can bring them home when you buy exotic plants. Most of the time they remain inactive - skillfully hiding in the corners of leaves, in flower buds or in the soil. When external conditions become favorable for them - air humidity decreases and temperature rises - they begin to feed. This is why mealybugs usually appear on orchids in winter during the heating season.

Description of the insect

The male resembles a common mosquito. Its body is covered with a white waxy coating. At the end of the insect's abdomen are long antennae. The male insect has wings, and in most cases they are located almost near the head. It is surprising that the males of this genus do not feed; they have absolutely no apparatus for eating.

The female has an unusual oval-oblong shape, which is divided into three main parts - the abdomen, chest and head. The front of the female is more convex compared to her abdomen. Females have three pairs of small limbs, but there are also species where females remain without moving limbs throughout their lives. The female’s body itself is also covered with wax powder, which can be placed either evenly or chaotically. In addition, they have an oral apparatus, which is a sucking organ.

Mealybug on an orchid - photo

Before purchasing a plant, carefully inspect the selected specimen for the presence of pests or symptoms of their presence. On orchids, the scale insect usually sits on the outside of flowers and flower shoots, in places left over from fallen flowers and leaves. They form clusters that can look like the pattern of petals on flowers.

Mealybug on an orchid

During feeding, insects secrete honeydew, which is a breeding ground for fungi. Therefore, often a weakened plant also suffers from fungal diseases.

After purchasing a new orchid, make sure that it does not quarantine with other flowers. Place it away from other flowers, do not unwrap it, and keep an eye on it for bugs or other pests.

Preventative measures to protect orchids

Here are recommendations from experienced gardeners that will help prevent infection by this pest.

Safe purchase

If you are going to buy new orchids, carefully examine the potential “tenants” and refuse to buy if you see that someone is living on the plant.

If you received an orchid as a gift, do not rush to “register” it on the windowsill with other plants. First we inspect it and, if necessary, treat it to destroy pests.

If a small mealybug infestation is noticed on the plant, you can eliminate it with neem tree oil (it will not cope with a large colony).

Regular inspection

The best protection against attacks from flower pests is regular inspection of plants for damage. The sooner you catch the insects by surprise, the sooner you will get rid of it, preventing it from multiplying and spreading to neighboring orchids.

Carefully inspect flower stalks, young leaves, orchid flowers and new shoots: they are full of amino acids loved by mealybugs.

How to fight

If you observe individual orchids on the leaves and shoots of a flower, remove them as gently as possible so as not to damage the tissue with a cotton swab. The tampon is soaked in an aqueous solution of sulfur soap, denatured alcohol or 40% alcohol with water (1:10 ratio) with the addition of a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Washing the above-ground parts of the plant with vinegar is also effective.

Use a clean cotton swab each time to avoid transferring the pest. In order for the treatment to be successful, you need to wash the entire plant (all leaves and inflorescences). Flowers, unfortunately, must be removed.

Insecticides

Washing orchid leaves using cotton swabs is a tedious job and will only be effective if individual insects are present. In the event of a massive appearance of pests, you need to spray insecticides. Actellik and Confidor are suitable for this purpose . The plant should be sprayed with liquid and wrapped tightly in a plastic bag. Leave the orchid like this for several hours. Treatments should be repeated every 7-10 days. Sometimes mealybugs may also feed on plant roots. This can be checked by removing the root from the pot. In this case, the plants are watered with a diluted preparation.

Washing plants in the shower

If plants with large leaves are affected, washing with a cotton swab is a rather tedious and time-consuming task. In this case, rinsing the plants with a strong stream of hot water will help. The plant must be thoroughly washed on each side to wash away all pests.

The main problem is insects that feed on plant roots. If we notice their presence, we need to remove the plant from the pot and rinse its roots with running water. Then plant the plant in a new substrate and a clean pot.

A good way to get rid of mealybugs is to immerse the flower and roots in water at 55°C for about 30-45 minutes . To increase the effectiveness of treatment, you can add dishwashing liquid to the water (2-3 tablespoons of liquid for 10 liters of water). After washing in water and dish soap, the plant should be rinsed thoroughly.

Lubricating leaves with paraffin oil

Another control method is to lubricate the leaves and stems with paraffin oil.

Paraffin oil is available in pharmacies. To prepare an effective preparation based on paraffin oil, you need to mix it with water (1:1 ratio), adding a few drops of dishwashing liquid.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly until a homogeneous mixture is formed. Then, using a soft brush, apply the product to the affected areas and into all cavities in the stem and leaves of the plant. The oil prevents air from entering and the pests die. After a few days, rinse the plant thoroughly with warm water in the shower. We need to repeat the treatment every time we notice pests on the plants.

Fitoverm for mealybug

This is an insecticide of biological origin. It paralyzes pests, which leads to their death. Fitoverm is effective not only against mealybugs, but also against aphids and scale insects.

To treat an orchid, you need to dilute 1 ampoule of the drug in 200 ml. water. The treatment must be repeated after 2 days. For effective pest control, 4 treatments are necessary. The insecticide is harmless to the plant; after 24 hours it completely decomposes. But this is also its disadvantage. To get a good effect, it is necessary to carry out several treatments with an interval of 2 days.

Unfortunately, mealybugs often reappear on orchids. To prevent the appearance of pests, create unfavorable conditions for them. The most important thing is to maintain high humidity in the room.

Insecticides to help the gardener

In search of how to get rid of a parasitic insect, they resort to the help of “chemistry”. Before using this or that substance, you need to reliably make sure that the pest is really a mealybug. A photo of this particular insect will help identify the parasite.

Pest control, especially at an advanced stage of plant damage, will be most successful with the use of combined-action chemicals that kill not only adult insects, but also egg laying and larvae. These are so-called insecticides (systemic). The drugs are able to penetrate inside the plant. Moving along the canal system, they reach its top and roots. Therefore, wherever the mealybug is, it will begin to feed on the poisoned juice and then die.

Mealybugs in the roots can only be destroyed with chemicals

White, fluffy, shaggy, wet new growths on ficus benjamina are sprayed with Mosplan. You can use Actelik, characterized by enteric contact action. Each instant mixture must be prepared following the instructions included in the instructions. On dracaena, continue treatment at intervals of 4 days until the scale insect is completely destroyed.

To treat decorative floral greens, you can alternately use Fazalon and Fitoverm for mealybugs. The latest preparation of the biological series of IV generation insecticides. They can cure diseases of orchids caused not only by scale insects, but also by aphids, as well as other harmful organisms.

A number of chemical reagents are supplemented by Mospilan, Konfidor-maxi, Ponche. They are diluted simply: 1 g of substance per 1000 ml of water. The plants are not watered too much with these solutions. To prevent the pest from getting used to one poison, watering is repeated after 7 days, but with Spirotetramat or Aplaud (from a series of new drugs). The time of exposure of the mealybug to different chemicals differs. But, ultimately, the dried bodies of killed insects are always found on the ground in a flower pot.

How to deal with mealybugs on indoor plants: a review of effective remedies

Ornamental plants in neat pots can become the main decoration of any interior, while some of them bloom for a long time, which only enhances their aesthetic characteristics. However, sometimes troubles happen, for example, when flowers suddenly become covered with a whitish coating and begin to fade. This indicates an attack by a dangerous parasite - the mealybug. What affects the appearance of this pest, and how to deal with mealybugs on indoor plants?

Signs of infection

The presence of a mealybug will be indicated by the following signs:

the presence of a white coating on the leaf blades, buds and shoots, similar in appearance to powder;
the appearance of shine and stickiness on the leaves due to the secretion of sweet nectar by the larvae - honey dew;
deformation of flowers and buds (with prolonged parasitism);
curling of young shoots;
the formation of peculiar lumps on the plant, reminiscent of fluff or cotton wool.

An orchid affected by a mealybug is deprived of nutrients, which causes rapid depletion and death.

Characteristic

Mealybugs are pests of ornamental crops that feed on plant juices. They have an oval body covered with a whitish, waxy coating, which can form a dense, uniform layer or be located in separate teeth. Depending on the species, the body of the parasite will be pinkish or grayish. The size of an adult can also vary - from 3 to 7 mm.

The mealybug gets its name from a substance that the pest produces itself. Initially, it is a sticky mass, which after some time becomes covered with a whitish fungus. Outwardly, it looks like a small ball of cotton wool, under which the parasite or its clutch is usually found. If you do not figure out in time how to remove mealybugs and do not start treating the plants, then over time the plaque will spread throughout the stem and foliage, which will seriously interfere with gas exchange and may lead to the death of the flower.

Gentle means for killing parasites

If the plant has been infected with mealybugs, then it is initially advisable to try gentle folk remedies. When there are few pests, such homemade preparations often show excellent results.

Before using solutions, it is necessary to manually collect all the parasites that were found and cut off damaged shoots and leaves. Next, we wash the plants with running water, paying special attention to the lower surface of the leaf blades. Now you can proceed to processing. What is used for this?

Soap solution with added alcohol. This is a very effective remedy for mealybugs, which is also easy to prepare. We take ordinary laundry soap, rub it on a fine grater (we need one teaspoon) and dissolve it in a small amount of hot water. Fill the volume of the soap solution with water to 1 liter, pour in 15 ml of alcohol or 30 ml of vodka. Mix and spray the above-ground parts of the plants, after covering the soil with a plastic bag. The next day, wash the flower with warm water. Treatment with a soap-alcohol solution must be repeated several times at three-day intervals.
Garlic infusion. Pass a few cloves of garlic (50-70 g) through a press and add a liter of boiled water. Leave the mixture for 6-7 hours, or overnight, then filter and spray the affected flowers.
Pharmacy tincture of calendula. This is the easiest remedy for mealybugs since you don’t need to cook anything. Take a pharmacy tincture, soak a cotton pad in it and wipe the affected areas very thoroughly. The treatment must be repeated 2-3 times and is best done in the evening.

Important! During treatment with calendula tincture, the plants must be moved to a shaded place!

Use of insecticides

The use of insecticidal preparations for mealybugs is recommended in cases where there are a lot of parasites or folk remedies have proven ineffective. They will have to be applied twice with an interval of 10-15 days. This is necessary in order to destroy the larvae that emerge from the eggs.

"Confidor". A systemic insecticide that copes well with pests of indoor plants when other drugs have not brought a positive result. Moreover, its effectiveness is at the proper level even in cases where the parasite has settled in the rhizome. Has intestinal contact activity. The working solution, which is prepared from 1 g of the drug and 10 liters of water, is sprayed on the above-ground parts of the infected specimens and the soil is additionally shed. If the infection is serious, then the working solution is made more concentrated - 1 g of the drug per 5 liters of water.
"Aktara" is a complex drug that helps get rid of a wide range of pests, including mealybugs. Shows high efficiency both when sprayed and when added to the substrate. Half an hour after treatment, the parasites lose their ability to feed and die within 24 hours. This product is compatible with many insecticides, fungicides and growth regulators. How to dilute the drug "Aktara" against mealybugs: at a concentration of 250 g/kg - 1 g of product per 10 liters of water; at a concentration of 240 g/l - 1 ml of product per 10 liters of water. The prepared working solution is poured onto the soil under the infected plants.
"Aplaud." An insecticide that comes in the form of a wetting powder. Characterized by contact-intestinal activity. The main active ingredient is buprofezin, which interferes with the normal synthesis of the chitinous cover of the pest, which is why the larvae do not molt. As a result, they die. The working solution is prepared from 1 g of the drug and a liter of water. The components must be carefully moved and used to treat plants. Effectiveness does not appear immediately - the death of parasites is noted within a week. It can be used together with synthetic pyrethroids and organophosphates, and does not cause resistance in pests.
“Fitoferm” is a biological preparation that perfectly protects plants from mealybugs. It is based on the waste products of soil microorganisms and exhibits an intestinal contact effect. Penetrating into the pest’s body, the active components of the product affect its digestive system, as a result of which it gradually loses its ability to feed and dies. The drug exhibits activity within one to three weeks from the moment of treatment.
"Mospilan" is a systemic insecticide that exhibits contact-intestinal activity. Based on acetamiprid. Once on the leaves and stems of the plant, the active substances are immediately absorbed and evenly distributed throughout the plant’s body. Thanks to this ability, even those areas that have not been properly treated receive protection. Parasites die upon contact with the toxic substance and when sucking out the juices of the treated plant. The result of the drug can be observed within an hour after spraying: the parasites experience a lack of coordination of movements, as a result of which they lose the ability to stay on the underside of the leaves.

Important! When using the drug "Mospilan", the plants must be placed in the shade, since if they are exposed to sunlight, burns may occur!

It is advisable to re-treat mealybugs with a drug based on a different active ingredient, since the pest may develop resistance - resistance to the poison.

Important! The organophosphorus insectoacaricide "Actellik" can be used to treat indoor plants only if they are located outdoors. The use of this product in a residential area due to its high toxicity is strictly prohibited!

What to do for prevention?

An orchid can be considered completely healthy only if not a single white mealybug cocoon appears on the plant within 1 month.

To prevent this indoor plant from having such a problem, it is necessary to organize a warm shower once a month.

To do this, you need to remove the orchid from the pot and wash the roots, center of growth, leaves, peduncles and flowers under a moderate stream of shower with warm water.

When the water has drained well, the center of the orchid's growth should be wiped dry with a dry paper napkin. No moisture should remain in this area, as this can lead to rotting of the plant.

Experienced flower growers recommend organizing a month of quarantine for each new orchid. Of course, you want to immediately place the new plant among the others, but you don’t need to do this right away. A new flower from the store may be infected. The purchased orchid needs to be placed in a separate bright place for 1-1.5 months. During this time, the owner must make sure what condition his new orchid is in. If the plant does not weaken and continues to grow and flower, then it can be safely rearranged with other indoor plants.

You also need to be careful about mineral fertilizers. An orchid should be fed exclusively during the period of growth and flowering. Do not overdo it with the amount and concentration of fertilizer. The feeding process should be carried out no more than once every 2 weeks.

It should be remembered that there are special fertilizers for orchids.

To prevent the plant from getting sick and actively forming buds in winter, it is necessary to pay attention to the temperature of the air and water for irrigation. The water temperature should not be lower than +35+36°С, while the air temperature in the room should not fall below +20…+22°С

Important Tips

Remember that during the treatment of infected specimens, you must be careful about watering them. Excessive waterlogging of the substrate can lead to rotting of the rhizome, and since the plants are already weakened, this outcome is observed in most cases. If parasites have settled in the soil and damaged the roots, then with abundant watering, a secondary infection may well penetrate through these wounds.

To protect your green “pets” from mealybugs, you need to regularly inspect them, especially in the off-season, when the central heating starts working. During this period, it is important to observe how the plant develops and whether white lumps appear on its leaves and stems.

Among indoor plants, the most susceptible to mealybug infestation are:

Take care of indoor plants, keep them clean, from time to time wipe the shelf or window sill on which they are located with a soap solution and remove fallen leaves in a timely manner. These simple recommendations will help protect potted flowers from attacks by mealybugs and other pests.

Description and life cycle of the pest

In nature, there are almost 1,600 varieties of mealybugs of the lamellar family. All these parasitic insects are found not only on ornamental crops, but also on fruit, industrial, and greenhouse crops; they attack them to the last, until they are completely dried out.

In size and lifestyle, mealybugs are very similar to aphids, their only difference is their appearance. A plant affected by this pest looks as if it has been floured due to the multitude of tiny white parasites that are tightly clinging to the trunk.

Mealybugs produce honeydew as a result of their life activity. This sugary sticky coating is the source of a dangerous disease; a sooty fungus settles on it, causing the death of the indoor plant in the absence of timely treatment.

It is quite easy to detect mealybugs on indoor plants, even with the naked eye. This pest belongs to the category of sucking insects. The size of its oval body is only 3-6 mm in length, almost like a tick, it all depends on the type of parasite.

The scale insect has a large number of legs and antennae, which are covered with a white waxy powdery coating with bristles on the sides. There are specimens of pink and cream color. Even among plant growing enthusiasts, the mealybug is called a hairy louse.

The source of nutrition not only for adults, but also for larvae, is the juice of young shoots, leaf blades, and buds. As a result, white sticky mucus forms on these vegetative organs of the indoor plant - a coating similar to cotton wool, which negatively affects the general condition of the flower - disturbances in the process of gas exchange are observed.

In addition, toxic substances from the pest enter the puncture area, disrupting the development of the green pet. A diseased plant stops growing, withers and ultimately dies. Considering the increased activity of these small white insects, in a short time they can quickly spread to neighboring flowers, and then they will have to be dealt with only with the help of chemicals.

For the most part, female mealybugs are viviparous, but there are some representatives that lay their offspring in a white facial sac, resembling cotton wool in appearance.

Vagrants - the larvae of the first instar are especially distinguished by their ability to move quickly; they easily fall from one plant to another as a result of a draft, as well as with the help of an animal or person. As soon as the larvae attach themselves to the green pet, they lose their mobility. The next generation, when the molting is over, again begins to search for food.

The mealybug has strong sexual dimorphism, with clear differences between males and females. Males have a distinct head, abdomen, and chest, and have highly developed wings and limbs. But the females, because their bodies are too elongated, look like larvae; it is almost impossible to see their sections.

It is surprising that males, unlike females, have a shorter life expectancy; this feature is explained by the fact that in adult life they do not eat anything. Due to the waxy coating, females are endowed with good protection against most chemicals. In addition, they have an excellent degree of adaptability to many intestinal insecticidal preparations.

The danger of the presence of mealybugs on indoor plants is that they begin to cause harm unnoticed, but very strongly. One part of the flower is the first to be affected, and then the entire green mass becomes infected.

The death of a green pet occurs as a result of its exhaustion; sucking parasites completely suck out the juice, which contains all the vital elements. Considering the seriousness of the situation - the high fertility of females, measures should be taken to destroy parasitic individuals as early as possible, then the chances of a quick restoration of the flower will be much greater.

In the early stages of infection, you can get by with folk recipes, and in advanced cases - only through the use of chemicals that are diluted in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. If the green pet has suffered very badly, then both methods must be used.

Among the indoor plants that most often suffer from mealybug invasion, experienced gardeners identify:

gerbera;
amaryllis;
cactus;
oleander;
representatives of citrus fruits;
azalea;
fuchsia;
decorative palm tree;
asparagus;
camellias;
anthurium;
monstera;
Kalanchoe;
orchids;
hoya;
chlorophytum;
Dieffenbachia.