Beneficial and Pest Insects by Rosefiend Cordell

Author:Rosefiend Cordell [Cordell, Rosefiend]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: garden bugs, beneficial insects, beneficial bugs, pest control, entomology, insects, bugs
ISBN: 9781953196538
Publisher: Rosefiend
Published: 2022-01-20T06:00:00+00:00

A ROUGE'S GALLERY OF GARDEN PESTS

Mealybugs

Mealybug adult. Image by Sandeep Handa from Pixabay

Hemiptera – True bugs

Mealybugs look like white bits of cotton tucked into plant crevices. The cotton on their bodies is actually wax. If the mealybug infestation is small, dip a Q-tip in alcohol and touch it to each bug. I’ve had the most success with smushing these with my fingers, even though it’s really gross. But if you keep smushing them, pretty soon the plant gets back to normal.

Actually, I have a mealybug story that helps to illustrate why it’s best to use a hands-on approach to pest control.

I had a mandevilla in the greenhouse that had a huge mealybug problem. I sprayed the plant with insecticide until the leaves were dripping. The mealybugs were still there. I put a systemic insecticide around the roots of the plant and watered it in. The mealybugs didn’t care.

So I just started squishing the mealybugs with my fingers, a gross job because they squirt orange goo. At that point, I didn’t care. I searched them out and squashed them where they were cuddled up around buds, in the cracks of the plant, and under the leaves. I even found some on the roots just under the soil. I squished those and added a little extra potting soil. I checked the plant every other day and squished every mealybug I could find. After a while, I stopped finding them altogether. Then I fertilized the plant, and the mandevilla put out leaves like crazy and started blooming. Success!

Chemicals aren’t a cure-all by any means. They’re convenient, but sometimes you just have to get in and do a little hands-on work with the plant to help it along. It’s a good feeling when a plant you’ve been working with rights itself and perks up again.

Ants will defend mealybugs on plants as they do with aphids, since mealybugs also produce a lot of honeydew. I talk about dealing with this double-trouble threat in the aphid chapter.

You can also use insecticidal soap in a root drench for root mealybugs and springtails – some bugs that you don't see often, since they're hiding in the soil. (Springtails are tiny insects that spring into the air when you try to squish them. They kind of act like fleas, except you find them on the soil). Put 1 to 2 tablespoons of concentrated insecticidal soap to 1 quart of water, and pour this solution on the plant. One drench each month should clear them up. however, it wouldn’t hurt to take some of the soil off the tops of your plant’s roots to check on the infestation – and squish any mealybugs you see, just because you can.

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