Species of mealybugs
Mealybugs are quite common pests on houseplants - home conditions for them just perfectly contribute to rapid reproduction - warm and dry. Worms do not like high air humidity - this is not an obstacle to their reproduction, but humid air restrains the development of a colony of pests.
Almost all species of mealy worms look the same at first glance: white lumps, similar to cotton wool on the surface of the leaves, in internodes, in cacti they entangle the stems with a dense cocoon. Single specimens, fattened and insolent, crawl right in the light:
- Bristly mealybug Pseudococcus longispinus - females and larvae harm. The body of an adult female is 3.5 mm elongated oval, orange or pinkish, covered with a white coating. The worm has well-developed legs, so they can easily move from plant to plant. Females are viviparous. They usually cluster as colonies on the underside of the leaf, on branches, in leaf axils and on young shoot tops. The bristly worm is a rather large insect, easily visible on the plant due to the white powdery coating that covers its body, and white waxy formations in the form of cotton lumps. Bristly mealybug most often damages lemon, laurel, oleander, cycad, fern, begonias, palm trees, dracens, cacti, ficuses, asparagus, clivia, fuchsia, coleus, primroses, pandanus, etc.
- Grape mealybug Pseudococcus citri - the body of a female is broadly oval, pink or yellowish, covered with a white powdery coating. The legs are well developed. Males are very rare. Spawned larvae settle throughout the plant, on shoots, on leaves along the main veins. With severe damage, the worms form huge colonies that suck all the juices out of the plant. Grape mealybug most often affects aralia, figs, oleander, cacti, ivy, coffee tree, gardenia, coleus, ferns, palm trees, amaryllis, jasmine, etc.
- The seaside mealybug Pseudococcus affinis is one of the most common species of worms. 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. The legs are well developed. Males are much smaller, winged, flying all summer. Females lay their eggs in egg sacs, which are a white fluffy shapeless mass of waxy spider secretions. Usually oviparous females hide in secluded places: cracks in the bark, in twisted leaves, in a fork in the branches. Larvae are small, mobile, yellow, completely devoid of wax coating. They quickly disperse throughout the plant, spread by the wind, man and animals to other plants. Larvae turn into an adult insect in 1-1.5 months. Seaside mealybug most often damages: rhododendron, coleus, fuchsia, aralia, pelargonia, camellia, laurel, palm trees, cordilina, asparagus, ficus, cycad, citrus fruits, begonia, cacti, oleander, crinum, etc.
- Palm worm - the body of an adult female is wide, up to 2.5 mm long, covered with a wax shield in the form of cone-shaped spikes of cream color. The worm parasitizes the underside of the leaf and sucks out the cell sap. Yellow spots appear on the leaves. During the mass breeding season, this worm can pose a serious threat to the plant. Palm worm damages many greenhouse plants: palm trees, bananas, aroids, orchids, avocados and other subtropical plants.
Plants damaged by worms suffer very strongly and often irreversibly: the leaves turn yellow and fall. Shoots are stunted. Worms climb under the bark of citrus and under the scales of bulbs in bulbous. Sometimes the damage is so rapid that the leaves do not even have time to turn yellow - they dry out, become mummified gray. Sometimes sooty fungus settles on the secretions of worms - black terry spots form, as if covered with coal dust.
At the beginning of infection, worms settle in the basal zone, under the lower leaves, among the upper drainage in the pot, even in the upper layer of the earth. Gradually, they spread higher and higher throughout the plant. Sunlight does not bother them in any way.
Mealy worm: how to fight on houseplants
The first step is to wipe the plant with a sponge or cotton swab soaked in soap solution, kerosene, alcohol or vodka. To extract worms from the axils of the leaves (and they sit very tightly, deep into the stipules), you can use a cotton bud soaked in alcohol, or soften the tip of the toothpick. It is very important to select all pests before spraying with pesticides mechanically, that is, by hand. If the plant allows, then wash off the worm colonies with a powerful pressure of hot water (45-50 degrees). And only then proceed to treatment with drugs.
Double exposure is most effective against worms, for example, watering with actara and spraying with actellicle, carbofos, this is especially important for plants with leathery dense leaves. If you have children at home, then it is better not to use strong-smelling products, but to spray and water with a solution of any systemic drug: these are actara, tanrek, confidor or apaches (see drugs for almost no smell). Do not look that some insecticides say: "from the Colorado beetle" - they successfully destroy worms.
- actar from mealybug: dissolve 4 g of the drug in 5 l of water for irrigation and spraying;
- tanrek from mealybug: 1.5 ml per 5 liters of water for spraying or 1.5 ml per 2.5 liters of water for watering;
- apaches from mealybug: 1 bag (0.5 g) per 2.5 liters of water for spraying or 1 g per 1 water for watering;
- Confidor from mealybug : dilute 2 mL of the drug in 5 L of water for spraying or 2 mL in 2.5 L for watering;
After 5-7 days in hot weather or after 7-10 days, if it is warm, but not hot, the processing must be repeated. A maximum of 3-4 treatments are applied. Worms are very resistant pests, so the success of the cure depends on how carefully you clean them from the plant and evenly shed and spray the soil.
Root worm
Most root worms belong to the genus "Rhizoecus." This species of worms can be overlooked on the plant before transplantation, or found near the roots, in the area of the root neck of the plant. Most often they harm cacti and succulents, but this is not necessary, they simply more often come from abroad from greenhouses with cacti, but may well be found in other plants from the store .
Adult insects are about 2-5 mm long with an oblong or drop-shaped body. Clearly visible segments and small bristles covered with a white waxy coating, the young colony consists of pests of different ages, as a rule, looks like a very thick web or pieces of cotton wool. Some mistake nesting sites for salt plaque or mold. Just take a magnifying glass and take a closer look.
The affected plants lose almost the entire root system, so they immediately stop growing, the leaves turn yellow, dry and die. Cacti affected by root worms slowly turn into a mummy - a dried dirty gray trunk, translucent spines. The plant will die if action is not taken.
Control measures
How to prevent pests - when transplanting a plant, you need to carefully examine the roots. If pests are found, disinfect the pot (scalding with boiling water), carefully clean the roots of the old earth, rinse the roots of the plant in an insecticide solution and plant in fresh soil. If it is not possible to transplant a flower, you need to water the earth with systemic insecticides that penetrate the vessels of the plant, and the pests that cause death are actara and confidor.
You need to dilute the actara like this: 1 g of the drug per 10 liters of water. If you decide to transplant, immerse the root of the plant in the solution and hold for 5-7 minutes. If you have neither actara nor confidor, you can use any insecticide, for example, actellic, decis, carbofos. If the root system of the plant is fibrous, densely braided with an earthen lump, then you need to prepare a solution and immerse the plant in it for 20 minutes (roots). Then dip several times in the solution along with the leaves. Leave to lie down for 5-10 minutes, then rinse the plant under a warm shower.
Always sterilize the earth before planting any plants. Either in the microwave (for about 5 minutes 1 liter of soil) or oven on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees.