How to get a mealybug out of houseplants. How to get rid of mealybugs on houseplants

The appearance of this pest cannot be confused with anything. This is a fairly large relative of the scale insect. Mealybug reaches up to 8 mm in length.

Female individuals of "hairy lice" have an undeveloped oval-shaped body, more characteristic of insect larvae. Numerous eggs are laid in special sacs in the axils of the leaves. The shoots on which the pest lives are covered with a sticky, waxy coating of white.

Males are not at all like females - they have wings and normally developed limbs, the body is divided into sections and ends in a bundle 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 the juices out of it. Young mealybugs are extremely mobile and easily move between plants. Sexually mature males do not feed, because as they grow older, their mouthparts atrophy.

Signs of a mealybug infection

To detect pests, it is enough to carefully examine a houseplant.

Main features:

• drooping appearance, lethargy of leaves and shoots;
• underdeveloped buds, deformed leaves;
• white powdery coating with lumps;
• small "mosquitoes" (male mealybugs) on the windows near the pots;
• the presence of sticky mucus (honeydew) on all parts of the plant;
• the presence of white blotches in an earthy coma during transplantation;
• the presence of white oval insects.

Any of these symptoms may indicate the appearance of a worm. Not a single flower is immune from infection. Citrus, amaryllis, cycad and palm plants, as well as cacti, violets and orchids, should be taken under special control.

Often suffers from an azalea pest, the photo of which is given in the article. The pest attacks young shoots. Leaves stop growing and turn yellow. Azalea, whose photo demonstrates her beauty, struck by insects, is losing its former appearance.

Harm to the plant

The mealybug literally draws 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 impermeable coating, the green pet's breathing worsens. This can lead to wilting and even leaf fall.

Mealy aphids (another name for mealybugs) do not give preference to a certain part of the plant, hitting everything that comes in its path. Under attack are not only shoots, buds and leaves, but also roots. If treatment is not started as soon as possible, the mealybug will spread to surrounding indoor plantings. In time, he will destroy them all. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately declare war if you notice a mealybug on houseplants. How to deal with a pest will be described below.

Causes of the appearance of the mealybug

Why do these harmful insects appear?

There are several main reasons:

1. The 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.
2. Transfer of larvae with newly acquired plants. New pets should be kept separately and periodically carefully inspected. You can put them next to the rest of the flowers only after finally making sure that there are no pests.
3. Mistakes in care - low air temperature in the room, stagnation of moisture in the soil, insufficient lighting, excessive fertilization. Improper care significantly reduces the immunity of the plant, provoking various diseases.
4. The presence of dust on the leaves, irregular removal of dry parts.
5. Untimely replacement of earth in pots. Harmful insects can start inside a compacted earthen coma.
6. Poor quality water for irrigation.

Folk methods of dealing with mealybugs

Now you know how dangerous a pest is for plants. You can easily determine that a mealybug has settled on houseplants.

How to deal with such an insect? With a small focus of infection, you can try to get rid of it without special means.

Popular home remedies:

1. Infusion of medicinal herbs. To process the plant, you can use horsetail, calendula. Powder purchased at a pharmacy should be brewed with boiling water. After the agent has cooled, the plant is treated with it. To prepare the infusion, use the following ratios: 100 g of horsetail (calendula) per 1 liter of liquid.
2. Tincture of garlic. This is a fairly effective method of dealing with mealybugs. Peel and mince a medium-sized whole head of garlic. Pour a liter of hot water and let it brew for 4 hours. Tincture of garlic is applied to the leaves and trunk with cotton wool or a sponge.
3. Oil emulsion. In a liter of warm water, stir 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spray the affected leaves with a spray bottle.
4. Soap-alcohol solution. For its preparation, it is better to take natural soap, without perfume additives. For 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon of grated soap and 1 tablespoon of ethyl alcohol is enough. Spray the affected parts of the plant, avoiding getting the solution on the earthen ball. You can carry out the procedure 1 time in 3 days. It is necessary to wash off the applied agent a day after spraying.
5. Tincture of lemon and orange peel. A surprisingly simple recipe that allows you to effectively rid the plant of pests. Take the peels of lemon, orange and pour boiling water over them. The ratio is as follows: 30-50 g of zest per 1 liter of liquid. During the day, the remedy should be infused. Then treat your green pets with this infusion using a spray bottle.

Mealybug chemicals

With the ineffectiveness of folk methods or large foci of infection, one has to turn to chemical insecticides.

Widely available effective drugs against mealybugs:

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

Special difficulties with such substances should not arise. The main thing is to carefully read the instructions and follow all precautions.

Affected plants should be quarantined. Usually 3-4 insecticide treatments are sufficient. If the pests still remain, you need to change the drug.

Precautionary measures

Make sure that the drugs used do not cause harm:

1. Use chemicals only in a well ventilated area.
2. Keep children and pets out of the way.
3. Use personal protective equipment to avoid poisoning.

Preventive measures

1. Periodically inspect green spaces.
2. Replant grown flowers regularly.
3. Inspect the earthen ball during transplantation. Rinse the soil with hot water (about 55°C).
4. Properly care for flowers according to their preferences.
5. Timely remove dying parts of the plant. Dried leaves can serve as a convenient shelter for various pests.
6. Before planting, scald the pots with boiling water, and steam the soil.
7. Observe quarantine measures for new plants.

Insects are an integral part of any ecosystem, but they have no place on the landscaped window sills of apartments. Especially if a mealybug appeared on houseplants. How to deal with a pest, you know. Therefore, use any available methods. After all, healthy home plants without pests are actively developing and delighting the eye with bright greenery and abundant flowering.

Have you ever noticed on your houseplants white, as if sprinkled with flour, insects with many legs and long antennae? If so, it's time to sound the alarm - your green pet has been attacked mealybugs(or hairy louse, as they say), one of the most dangerous insect pests.

Signs of a mealybug infection

In order to accurately recognize the mealybug, carefully examine the flower. Here are the main symptoms:

• the plant is covered with a white bloom and, as it were, sprinkled with flour
• on leaves, shoots or buds - sticky mucus, the so-called honeydew or honeydew
• all parts of the plant are covered with insects with an oval white body
• the flower looks lethargic, drooping, the leaves lose turgor

What does a mealybug look like

Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) come from the family of hemipterans or arthropods, the superfamily of mealybugs.

Insects have quite a few subspecies, and there are both viviparous insects and mealybugs that lay eggs. All of them are united by common external features, and the appearance of pests varies depending on age and gender. So, for example, females and males differ significantly from each other. The female mealybug is an insect with an oval-shaped body covered with white bloom, many short legs and long, thread-like antennae. The size of the female varies from three to five millimeters, depending on the species. The larva (nymph) looks about the same as the female, but is smaller. Male mealybugs differ significantly from females: they are winged insects that look like mosquitoes or flies. Males do not harm the plant, since they do not feed on it, males do not have mouthparts.

[!] In home gardening and agriculture, the mealybug is also one of the most common and hard-to-remove insect pests. The main objects of insect attack are fruit bushes (currant, gooseberry, sea buckthorn) and rosaceae (hawthorn, wild rose, rose).

Causes of the appearance of the mealybug

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question: where do mealybugs come from? There are several reasons, and all of them are associated with improper care and maintenance of the plant:

1. Errors associated with watering: waterlogging or, conversely, excessive drying of the soil

2. Errors associated with the temperature regime, air humidity and illumination of the plant location: too low temperature, insufficient air humidity, a small amount of natural light.

3. Mistakes related to general maintenance and hygiene procedures: lack of periodic inspection of the plant, untimely removal of dead buds, leaves and shoots, lack of water procedures, for example, a shower, for the plant.

4. Ignoring the quarantine of newly acquired plants.

Mealybug attacks are especially susceptible to various palm trees, cacti, citrus fruits, ivy and ferns.

Mealybug species

There are about two thousand species of mealybugs in the world, living mainly in countries with a warm and humid climate. Fortunately, only a few species of mealybug have chosen the territory of Russia. Let's look at them in more detail.

seaside mealybug(Pseudococcus affinis) is the most common species of mealybug. Females and males are significantly different from each other. Males are small flying insects that move from plant to plant without harming it. The females are quite large (up to 4 mm long), the legs are well developed, and the body is covered with a white or white-pink bloom. Throughout their life, the females of the seaside mealybug lay their eggs in the so-called egg sacs and carefully hide them in hard-to-reach places: in the axils of the leaves, between the shoots, and even, in the presence of a sloughed trunk, in the cracks of the bark. The larvae hatched from the egg are small yellowish insects. Unlike females, there is no plaque on the body of the larva. Approximately one month after hatching, adult larvae begin to fully feed on the plant and, accordingly, gradually destroy it.

Bristly mealybug(Pseudococcus longispinus) looks about the same as the seaside one, but differs in slightly smaller sizes (the body length of the female is about 3 mm.). This species of mealybug is viviparous, females do not lay eggs. Bristly mealybugs prefer to stray into large groups and hide in inaccessible places on the plant. Pests can live and feed even on root bulbs, hiding behind bulb scales.

grape mealybug(Pseudococcus citri) is similar in appearance to both the seaside and bristly bugs. Like the seaside, the grape worm is oviparous - the larvae hatch from the eggs. The method of settling a colony on a plant is similar to the previous species.

citrus mealybug(Pseudococcus calceolariae). Adult females reach up to 4 mm. in length, the body is light pink in color, covered with a white coating.

root bug(Rhizoecus falcifer) - females are white, body length is about 2 mm. This species is distinguished by the fact that it prefers to live and feed on the roots of the plant, without neglecting, however, the aerial part, leaves, shoots, buds. An excellent environment for the development of the root bug is loose and dry soil, as a result of which, cacti grown in just such a substrate are especially susceptible to attacks by the root bug.

Comstock mealybug(Pseudococcus comstocki) - an insect reaching 5 mm. in length. It is practically not found on the territory of modern Russia, but it can still be seen in certain regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Preventive measures

In order to prevent your home plant from becoming infected with a mealybug, it is necessary to periodically carry out prophylaxis, which includes:

• Careful inspection of the plant. Remember that insect pests can skillfully hide, for example, on the back of a plant leaf, in young shoots, unopened buds and other hard-to-reach places.
• Timely removal of dried parts of the plant: dry branches, leaves and buds are very attractive to the mealybug. Remove them in time, do not leave insects a chance to find a comfortable shelter.
• Water activities such as timely and sufficient watering, occasional showers or leaf washing. The mealybug does not like a wet environment, preferring to settle in dry areas. That is why periodically rinsing the plant and moistening the soil is so important. It is important not to overdo it, because many other insect pests, such as podura, on the contrary, prefer a humid environment.
• quarantine measures. Each new plant that enters your home must be placed on quarantine: temporarily isolate it from other flowers and carry out preventive treatment with universal preparations. You can read more about quarantine in.

If, despite all the prevention, the mealybug still appeared on your green pet, start a merciless fight with it as soon as possible. If the worm colony is not yet large, try more gentle (folk) methods first. But, if the mealybug settled on the plant in large numbers, unfortunately, it is no longer possible to do without modern chemicals.

Mealybug - how to fight

Folk methods of dealing with mealybugs

There are a fairly large number of recipes for pest control, consisting of home ingredients. Let's look at some of them:

1. Soap solution. It is best to use green soap to prepare the solution, if this is not possible, the usual solid, liquid or household soap will do. To prepare the solution, stir 15 gr. solid or 15 ml. liquid soap in a liter of water. Spray the plant with the resulting preparation at least three times at weekly intervals, washing off the solution a day after each treatment. To enhance the effect, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of alcohol or vodka to the resulting mixture.

2. Tinctures of medicinal herbs. Crushed powder of calendula or horsetail (sold in pharmacies), brew with boiling water, cool and process the plant. Recommended proportions - 100 gr. calendula (horsetail) per 1 liter. water.

3. Olive oil with water. A way that is gentle enough for the plant is to mix 2 tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil and a liter of water and apply the solution from a spray bottle. After about one to two hours, wash off the emulsion.

4. Garlic infusion. Take 5-6 garlic cloves per liter of water. Crush the garlic, pour boiling water over it and let it brew for four hours. Filter the resulting mixture and, using a brush or a soft cloth, apply to the trunk, shoots and leaves.

5. Tincture of orange and lemon peel. Pour boiling water over orange and lemon peels in a ratio of 30-50 gr. zest per liter of water, let it brew for a day and process the plant from a spray bottle.

6. In the fight against the root bug, treating the roots of the plant with hot water helps a lot. Remove the flower from the pot, shake off the roots from the ground and place in a large pot of hot water (about 55 ° C) so that the water covers only the roots, without affecting the above-ground part. Keep the plant in the pot for at least 15 minutes, then dry the roots and transplant into a new container with fresh substrate.

Mealybug chemicals

Currently, a large number of preparations are being produced specifically for the control of insect pests, many of which are well known to gardeners and home plant lovers. In the destruction of mealybugs, the following insecticides have proven themselves well:

• Aktara
• Actellik
• Fitoverm
• Confidor Extra
• Bi-58
• Iskra Golden
• Upload

When using chemicals, carefully study the instructions, which prescribe the necessary dosages and method of application. It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations exactly.

[!] Some drugs, for example Actellik, are highly toxic and can threaten the health of people and animals. Therefore, it is very important to follow all the recommended precautions: carry out the treatment with rubber gloves and in the open air. Do not allow children and animals to come into contact with the treated plant!

Pay attention to the importance of repeating the treatment after 7-10 days. The fact is that almost all chemicals destroy only adults of the mealybug and hatched larvae; they do not affect egg-laying. If re-treatment is ignored, a new generation of insects that have emerged from eggs will attack the plant again after a while.

It is also important to change insecticides from time to time, as mealybugs can develop immunity to a particular poison.

There is another way to deal with mealybugs - biological. This method is unlikely to suit amateur flower growers, rather it is applicable to large greenhouses or household plots, but it should be noted.

The fact is that there are natural (natural) enemies of the mealybug that feed on it in the wild, the so-called entomophages. These are, for example, ladybugs, lacewings, anthocoris bugs, spiders, and various riders. All these insects regulate the number of mealybugs, and even completely exterminate pest colonies. That is why it is very important not to destroy the entomophages in your garden plot.

Everything in nature is in balance, and if mealybugs exist in the world, then this is necessary for the natural course of events. But in our homes there is no place for pests! Fight the worm mercilessly, save your plants and they will generously reward you with their magnificent greenery and flowering.

Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae), either felt bugs or false pods, are a family of hemipteran insects that includes more than 2,200 species. On the territory of Europe, you can meet only 330 species of mealybug. Such an insect is very widespread, and it can harm greenhouse, fodder and indoor crops, even succulents and cacti. In the people, such an insect is also called "hairy lice."

The mealybug is a rather large insect with a characteristic appearance. Despite the fact that this insect can be easily seen without special equipment, many novice flower growers notice it too late, which makes it very difficult to get rid of such a pest.

The length of the insect varies from 0.3 to 1 cm. The male and female can be easily distinguished externally. The body of the female is oval in shape, it is covered with white wax powder, she has a filiform long mustache and a large number of short legs. The larva of the pest is outwardly similar to the female, but it is much smaller. Males are a winged insect that looks like a mosquito or a fly. Males do not have mouthparts, so they cannot harm the plant.

Why are worms dangerous for plants? Such sucking insects use plant cell sap as food. The growth of the bush on which the pests settled, at first becomes slower, then the plant completely stops growing and developing. As a result of vital activity, such pests secrete honeydew, or honeydew, which is a sticky sweet liquid. The pad is a favorable environment for the development of various fungal diseases, and sooty fungus most often settles on it. Such an insect injures all organs of the plant (both the root system and above-ground parts) and can easily move to another bush located nearby. The most common species are such as: greenhouse lamellar, bamboo, citrus, seaside, grape, Australian grooved, root, bristly and Comstock.

Preventive treatment

In order to prevent worms from settling on plants, one must not forget about the following preventive measures:

1. Conduct regular inspection of the bushes, and pay special attention to the leaf sinuses, the underside of the leaves and buds.
2. Cut off or cut off dried stems, buds, leaf plates and branches in time, as they can attract harmful insects.
3. Water crops properly. Watering should be systematic and sufficient.
4. For indoor plants, it is very useful to arrange a warm shower.
5. Any new indoor flower is quarantined for at least 15 days. To do this, it is removed away from other domestic plants and, for the purpose of prevention, it is necessarily sprayed with a solution of an insecticidal preparation.

The most favorable environment for worms is warm (above 25 degrees) and high humidity. If your flower is grown in such conditions, then you need to inspect it regularly for insects.

Mealybug remedies (drugs)

In order to get rid of mealybugs that have settled on plants, as a rule, various insecticidal preparations are used. The following insecticides cope best with such a pest:

1. Admiral. This hormonal drug is characterized by intestinal-contact action. Its main active ingredient is pyriproxyfen.
2. Actara from mealybug. In this enteric-contact agent, the main active substance is thiamethoxam.
3. Actellik. Organophosphorus non-systemic insectoacaricidal agent of intestinal-contact action. Its main active ingredient is pirimiphos-methyl. The product has a very high toxicity, so you can not work with it indoors.
4. appleud. The active ingredient in this drug is buprofezin.
5. Bankol. The main active ingredient of such an enteric-contact agent is bensultap.
6. Biotlin. Systemic drug with intestinal-contact action. Its main active ingredient is imidacloprid.
7. Bitoxibacillin. Such a biological agent is distinguished by insectoacaricidal properties, it is used to protect crops from harmful insects.
8. Inta-vir. This drug has a wide spectrum of intestinal-contact action, the main active substance is cypermethrin.
9. Commander. Systemic preparation of intestinal-contact action. Its active substance is imidacloprid.
10. confidant. In such a systemic enteric-contact agent, the main active substance is imidacloprid.
11. Mospilan. This systemic remedy is distinguished by its intestinal-contact action, its active ingredient is acetamiprid.
12. tanrec. This broad-spectrum systemic enteric-contact preparation has the main active ingredient imidacloprid.
13. Fitoverm. This insectoacaricidal agent of biological origin is distinguished by its intestinal-contact action, its main active substance is aversectin.

In addition to these preparations, insecticides such as Dantop (Ponche, Apaches), Vertimek, Spark Double Effect or Calypso can be used to get rid of mealybugs.

Mealybug on houseplants

The mealybug can settle on dracaena, ficus, or even cactus, but most often it can be found on flowering plants, for example, on violets or orchids. To understand that a mealybug lives on your flowers, you need to pay attention to the following signs:

1. On the aerial parts of the bush there is a powdery coating.
2. There is a drooping of the bush, its foliage loses turgor.
3. Sticky spots of honeydew appear on the outer parts of the plant.
4. On the plant are white oval-shaped insects.

If you have found at least one of these symptoms, you should try to get rid of the pest as soon as possible. First of all, move the orchid away from other plants to prevent the spread of the worm. Add a couple of grams of green soap to half a glass of water and mix everything well. With the resulting solution, carefully wipe all the aerial parts of the flower, for this you can use a cotton pad or sponge. Do not forget about the gaps between the stem and leaf plates, as insects like to settle in them the most. To wash the cracks, use a brush, which is abundantly moistened in a solution. Also be sure to rinse the sheet plates on both sides. Then 3 times with a break of 1–1.5 weeks, treat the bush with one of the folk remedies, for example: cyclamen decoction, garlic or tobacco infusion. Be sure to process the orchid all 3 times, even if it seemed to you that the worms disappeared after the first procedure.

If there are a lot of pests, then the plant can be treated with pesticides. In this case, the following insecticides are most effective in pest control: Fitoverm, Inta-vir and Bitoxibacillin.

The mealybug is very dangerous for violets. It is very difficult to understand that a worm has settled on a bush, since its entire cycle takes place in the soil. However, if it is possible to detect a pest, then it will not be easy to get rid of it, because it is ideally protected by the structural features of the body. In this case, it will not work to get rid of the worm with folk remedies, so do not waste time and immediately use a systemic insecticidal preparation. The most effective will be the treatment of the flower with Aktellik: it is sprayed twice or thrice with an interval of 7 days, using a solution consisting of 1 liter of water and 2 milligrams of the product. Such a solution will be able to exterminate pests at all stages of development, but it cannot destroy eggs. Spray the bush necessarily on the street.

If it was not possible to get rid of the insect even with the help of Actellik, then you need to pull it out of the pot and remove the entire substrate from the roots. Thoroughly treat the sinuses of the lower leaf plates, stem and roots with a systemic insecticide. Then the violet is planted in a pot filled with a new substrate.

Cactus

If the growth of a cactus has slowed down significantly, and you cannot understand what is the reason, be sure to inspect its root system. As a rule, a mealybug can be found on fresh growths of the tops of a cactus or other succulent plant, but sometimes it also settles on the root system at the base of the stem, it can also be found in the soil mixture. It is possible to understand that worms have settled on the bush by such symptoms as: deformation of young leaf plates and growth points, and red or brown marks are formed in the places of bites.

In order to get rid of the pest, spray the aerial part of the bush three times with a break of 1.5–2 weeks with a solution of a systemic insecticidal preparation. Each time during the processing of the cactus, do not forget to spill the solution of the drug and the substrate in which it grows. Hot water is quite effective in the fight against the worm, for this the bush is pulled out of the pot and washed thoroughly under running hot water (from 45 to 50 degrees), while it is necessary to mechanically remove pests from it and thoroughly wash the root system from the soil mixture. The washed cactus is kept in a systemic insecticide solution for several hours (the plant is completely immersed in it), and when it dries, it is planted in a new disinfected earth mixture.

Of all pesticides, the most effective in the fight against worms on this succulent were such as: Decis, Apollo, Karbofos, Fufanon, Aktellik, Sherpa, as well as products based on imidacloprid. If there are very few insects on the bush, then you can try to get rid of them with garlic infusion. It is best to process with a cotton swab.

Dracaena

The fact that a mealybug lives on the dracaena can be understood by the appearance of a white coating and specks of honeydew on the surface of foliage and shoots. Also, the foliage of the affected bush loses turgor, brown spots appear, and the stems are bent. The appearance of a harmful insect is promoted by heat (above 25 degrees) and excessively high humidity. To get rid of the pest, you should also process the foliage of the bush and disinfect the substrate in which the flower grows. Of all the pesticides, the Fitoverma solution copes well with the pest on dracaena, four treatments are carried out with an interval of 7 days. You can also get rid of the worm with Confidor's solution, but Aktara's solution copes with the pest most effectively: for foliage treatment, a solution is used at a concentration of 8 grams per 10 liters of water, and the soil mixture in a container is poured with a solution of 7 grams of the drug onto a bucket of water. But before you start processing, you should try to wash off all the pests from the bush or remove them with a cotton swab, which is moistened in a soap solution.

Grapes that have become droopy and faded, as well as shreds of white plaque similar to pieces of cotton wool on the above-ground parts of the plant, are signs that mealybugs have settled on it. As soon as you understand that the grapes are inhabited by this pest, immediately begin to fight it. Remember that today not a single variety is known that would be resistant to such a pest, no matter how the sellers assured you otherwise.

For the purpose of prevention, the bushes are treated in the first days of May, it is at this time that the female worms begin to lay eggs. For the treatment of foliage, systemic insecticidal preparations are used, for example: Aktar, Aktellik, Golden Spark, Mospilan or Confidor. If the pest has occupied the grapes for a long time, then it will not be possible to cope with it with one spraying. However, if you regularly treat with systemic insecticides for prevention, then one spray is enough to kill the bug. If ants have settled on your site, it is recommended to destroy them, as they are able to spread both worms and aphids around the garden. In autumn, when preparing a plant affected by a mealybug for wintering, the old bark is removed from it and destroyed by fire.

The fight against this pest on other horticultural crops is carried out by the same methods and preventive measures as in the case of grapes.

If the berry crops are slightly affected by the mealybug, then it is recommended to use folk remedies that are less toxic than pesticides to get rid of the pest. For example:

1. Oil. A couple of liters of water are mixed with 2 tbsp. l. olive oil. The resulting product is applied with a spray gun to the bushes.
2. horsetail tincture. This drug can be purchased at a pharmacy, it is used to purify the blood and as a diuretic. To process the bush, a cotton swab is used, which is moistened in tincture.
3. Soap solution with alcohol. 10 milligrams of denatured alcohol and 1 gram of liquid soap are dissolved in one liter of water.
4. Garlic infusion. Half a liter of boiling water is combined with four or five garlic cloves, which are pre-crushed. The infusion will be ready after 4–5 hours, it is only filtered and immediately after that, processing begins.
5. Garlic tincture. Seventy percent alcohol is combined with chopped garlic in a 3: 1 ratio. Processing is carried out using a cotton swab.
6. Citrus infusion. 50 grams of citrus peels (mandarin, orange or lemon) are added to 1 liter of warm water. The infusion will be ready after 24 hours, immediately after it has been filtered, they start spraying the bushes.
7. Infusion of calendula. One liter of water is combined with 100 grams of dried calendula flowers. After 24 hours, the infusion is filtered, and then it is used to wipe the affected areas.
8. Hot water. First, the bush affected by the worms is pulled out of the container, then its root system should be cleaned of the substrate, which may contain pests. Then the entire bush is immersed in warm water for a quarter of an hour (from 45 to 55 degrees). Next, the plant is thoroughly dried and planted in a new disinfected soil mixture.

But remember that folk remedies will only be effective if there are very few pests, either at the initial stage of damage, or for preventive purposes. In the event that there are already a lot of pests on the plant, then the bush must be immediately treated with a systemic insecticidal preparation, since folk remedies will be ineffective and using them, you can lose precious time.

Damage to the plant is caused directly by larvae and adult females. In length, such a female can reach 3.5 millimeters, and her body, which has the shape of an elongated oval and is painted in a pale pink or orange color, has a waxy whitish coating. These insects have well-developed legs and therefore they can move freely and move from one plant to another. The females are viviparous. Most often, they accumulate on the wrong side of the leaves, in the leaf axils, on the branches, as well as on the tops of young stems in the form of colonies. This pest has a large size and therefore it can be easily seen with the naked eye. It has a characteristic powdery coating all over its body, and also has waxy, whitish, cotton-like growths. The leaves on which the worms settle turn yellow and die off. The growth and development of shoots slows down. These pests in bulbs can crawl under the scales of bulbs, and in citrus fruits - under the bark. On the secretions left by the worms, a sooty fungus often settles.

On the surface of the body of an adult female, painted in yellow or pink, there is a powdery whitish coating. The body shape is wide oval. Has developed legs. A small number of males. Young larvae are located throughout the plant. So, they can be seen on the leaves (located along the main veins), on the stems. If the lesion is very strong, then the colony of pests is simply huge, and they are able to drink all the juice of the plant, which destroys it. The leaves turn yellow and the stems dry up. A sooty fungus settles on the secretions left by pests.

This species is the most common. An adult female has an oval elongated body, it can reach 3 or 4 millimeters in length, and 2–2.5 millimeters in width. The color is pinkish-gray, and on the surface of the body there is a powdery whitish coating. Developed legs. Winged males are comparatively smaller and tend to fly throughout the summer. They reproduce by eggs. Their females lay in special egg sacs, which are a fluffy whitish mass that does not have a shape, which consists of cobweb wax secretions. Most often, before laying eggs, females look for secluded places, for example: twisted leaves, cracks in the bark, fork branches, and so on. Mobile small larvae, painted yellow, do not have a wax coating.

These pests colonize the entire plant in a short time, and they can also be easily transferred to others, and the wind, animals and even humans help them in this. The larvae become adult worms after 4-6 weeks. They feed on plant sap by sucking it out. As a result, the plant practically stops growing, and then dies. Infected plants grow extremely slowly and do not flower. Leaves turn yellow and die. Insects leave secretions on which soot fungus settles.

The bulk of flower growers know how dangerous this pest of indoor flowers is. Therefore, it is very important to know how to deal with the mealybug and what chemicals are used for this.

The plant is prevented from developing not only by adults, but also by larvae that move around the plant in search of food.

• High humidity.
• The temperature is about +25 degrees.

In the greenhouse, when dangerous pests are found, their natural enemies, such as lacewing and ladybug, are populated.

It is better to select chemicals to combat this pest together with a specialist. Almost all flower growers opt for proven preparations, such as:

• Biotlin.
• Calypso.
• Confidor.
• Fitoverm.
• Actellik.
• Aktara.
• Confidant.
• Phosphamide.
• Tanrek.
• Mospilan.

Before proceeding with the processing of indoor plants, it is necessary to carefully examine all plants and determine the degree of damage. The choice of drug depends on the degree of damage.

All leaves and branches that are completely affected by this pest are cut off, since they can no longer be saved.

After all the basic manipulations, they begin treatment with potent drugs.

When working with chemicals, be careful and use personal protective equipment. It is convenient to use thin medical gloves, and the mouth should be covered with a medical mask. The use of chemicals is possible when there are no children and people prone to allergies in the apartment.

Effective folk compositions:

The people also call it "hairy lice" because of its appearance. Belong to the order of sucking insects. They are very hard to miss even with the naked eye. These suckers reach a length of up to 8 millimeters. The body of female mealybugs is not fully developed, it has an oval shape. But males are already more similar to insects familiar to us: their body is not divided into sections, limbs are well expressed.

As adults, males do not feed because their mouthparts atrophy over time. But females and even larvae can easily make holes in leaves and buds, and then suck the juice out of them. This "function" of the mealybug is the main danger to a healthy plant.

After itself, the pest leaves a sticky layer on the surface of the plant.

One of the difficulties in dealing with hairy lice is that they move easily from one plant to another. Details about what a mealybug is and how to deal with it are described in.

Reasons for the appearance

The main reasons are:

• The presence of larvae or eggs in the soil. And it can even be a substrate from the store. Therefore, it is important to disinfect the soil before planting. To do this, put the soil in the microwave for a few minutes or put it in the freezer overnight.
• Moving a mealybug from a new plant. To prevent this from happening, always send a newly arrived plant to quarantine in a separate room and observe its condition for about a month.
• Wrong care:
  1. cold room;
  2. watering with untreated water or water at the wrong temperature (both too warm and too cold have a bad effect);
  3. poor ventilation of the room;
  4. too active introduction of nutrient complexes.

  IMPORTANT! Improper care significantly reduces the immunity of the plant, so it can provoke any disease.

• Non-compliance with hygiene standards: dried leaves are not removed in time, leaf plates are not wiped from dust.
• Infrequent loosening of the soil: stale soil is an ideal environment for various pests.

Popular preparations for indoor plants

"Akarin" (old name - "Agravertin")

It is considered a biological drug. This remedy enters the digestive organs of mealybugs and poisons them. Already after eight hours, hairy lice lose their ability to eat and die 24 hours after treatment.

How to apply? To prepare the solution, one liter of purified water is taken, two drops of "Akarin" are added to it (5 are possible, then the concentration will be higher). Sheet plates are wiped on both sides with a cloth moistened with the composition.

It is allowed to apply twice per season, but at the same time maintaining an interval of 15-20 days.

Advantages:

• not addictive;
• harmless to bird earthworms;
• can be combined with insecticides and pesticides.

Flaws: bees can be poisoned by such a solution.

Price: 13-20 rubles.

"Aktara"

It works in much the same way as the previous drug: enters the digestive system of pests and atrophies all organs. But it works faster - in half an hour.

How to apply? You can spray the affected plants (in this case, the protective barrier will last up to four weeks). For spraying, 1-2 grams of "Aktara" is poured into ten liters of water. For irrigation (in this case, protection will last up to 60 days), 8 grams of the drug is taken for the same amount of water.

Advantages:

• has high performance indicators;
• can be used in conjunction with pesticides;
• non-toxic to earthworms and birds.

Flaws:

• is addictive in worms;
• poses a danger to bees.

Price: 25-30 rubles.

"Aktellik"

This drug is chosen already in extreme measures, when hairy lice take nothing.

How to apply? An ampoule (its volume is two milliliters) is diluted in one liter of water. Spray the plant with the resulting solution. The result is expected three days after the procedure.. You can repeat the treatment no more than two or three times. After that, the plant should rest for two to three weeks.

Advantages: strong drug.

Flaws:"Aktellik" is a chemical agent, so it can only be processed outdoors. But even under this condition, it is forbidden to use the remedy for pregnant women and people suffering from asthma.

Price: 6-10 rubles.

"Bancol"

This drug paralyzes not only the digestive system, which is why the worms cannot eat, but also the central nervous system, after which the pests stop moving. After a couple of days, the "lice" die.

How to apply? Place 1 gram of the product in two liters of water and spray the plant with the resulting composition. It will be necessary to carry out two such treatments, maintaining an interval between them of 10-15 days.

Advantages:

• high performance indicators;
• no pungent odor and negative effect on the mucous membrane of the eye;
• not washed off by precipitation if they began two hours after treatment;
• dissolves well in water.

Flaws: drug toxicity is present, albeit at a low level.

Price: 10-12 rubles.

"Vertimek"

How to apply? Dilute the product according to the instructions on the package. Spray the affected plant with it, and then cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in this state for 24 hours.

Advantages:

Flaws: high toxicity to humans (in the scientific community - 2nd class).

Price: for a bottle of 250 ml you will have to pay about 2000 rubles.

"Inta-vir"

The remedy acts on insects by paralyzing them, causing spasms and convulsions throughout the body. After these actions, "hairy lice" die.

How to apply? One tablet is dissolved in 5-10 liters of pure water (the volume of liquid depends on the desired concentration). You can spray the affected plants to save them and healthy ones to prevent pest attacks. It is important to use the prepared solution immediately. After the mixture has stood, it will no longer be suitable for use. The procedure can be repeated no more than three times and with an interval of two weeks.

Advantages: drug of high concentration and rapid action.

Flaws: toxic to humans.

Price: a bag with 8 grams of the drug costs 10 rubles.

Karbofos

How to apply? The drug is sold in various forms: concentrated emulsion, powder, concentrates in ampoules, ready-made diluted drug. The diluted agent must be used immediately. Plants are sprayed with the resulting emulsion.

Advantages: the active chemical breaks down within ten days.

Flaws:

• pungent chemical smell;
• high concentration of chemicals.

Price: the cost of the product depends on its volume:

• 30 grams of powder - about 40 rubles;
• 60 grams of powder - 60 rubles;
• 1000 ml of emulsion - about 150 rubles;
• packaging of ampoules - about 30 rubles.

"Confidor Extra"

1. Destroys them, getting on the skin of mealybugs.
2. The rest are destroyed when they eat poisoned leaves and flowers.

How to apply? One package, the weight of which is one gram, is diluted in 10 liters of water. (This solution is enough to spray a huge number of plants, so try to proportionally reduce the amount of the drug and the amount of liquid). You will see the full result in 48 hours.

Advantages:

• not only actively fights pests, but also restores damaged plants;
• the first results will be noticeable in a couple of hours;
• destroys even the smallest insects, which are difficult to see with the naked eye.

Flaws: the chemical composition of the drug.

Price: 35-40 rubles.

"Tanrek"

This drug is aimed at combating aphids and whiteflies. But for the destruction of the mealybug, the concentration of the drug is rather weak, therefore to completely defeat the pest, you will have to apply "Tanrek" several times.

How to apply? It is necessary to dilute 0.3-1 ml of the drug in one liter of water and spray the affected plants with the solution.

Advantages:

• Suitable for many pest control
• without smell;
• can be used at any temperature.

Flaws: weakly fights with a mealybug.

Price: from 55-60 rubles.

"Fitoverm"

One of the few drugs of a biological nature.

How to apply? Dissolve two milliliters of the drug in 500 ml of water. It is undesirable to spray during daylight hours, as the active substances decompose in the light. For the complete destruction of mealybugs it is necessary to carry out 3-4 treatments.

Advantages:

• not addictive;
• in a day it completely decomposes in the soil;
• non-toxic.

Flaws:

• the need for several procedures to obtain a full result;
• it is undesirable to combine with other insecticides.

Price: from 10 rubles.

ATTENTION! Almost all of the listed insecticides do not destroy pupae and larvae, since these creatures do not feed.

For more information on how to deal with mealybugs on houseplants, as well as the causes and prevention of their appearance, you can find in.

Prevention of insect development

In order not to poison yourself and plants with chemicals in the future, it is better to prevent the development of harmful insects. For this you should:

We all want to have a lot of greenery in our house, and that this greenery be healthy and blooming. But for this you need to make an effort. How to deal with one of the types of pests, we told in detail today (what other types are there and how to deal with them?). This information should help you in the proper care of the plant. And for the conscientious care of the plants, they will surely thank us with clean air in the house.

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