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Have you ever looked at your plants and detect white , almost powdery , 1/10 to ¼ ” column inch long oval spots on the undersides of leaves or along the stems ? Those little white spots are mealybugs – one of the most common family plant pest .
Of of course , mealybugs also exist outdoors , and there seems to be very little talk on how to treat outside infestations . With that in mind , let ’s look at how to get rid of mealybugs out of doors and make your outer space mealybug - gratuitous .
Photo Credit: Instagram @justletitgrow
What You Need to Know About Mealybugs
Mealybugs are a eccentric of unarmoured scale hailing from thePseudococcidaefamily , and roughly 275 coinage are known to exist in the US alone .
They pierce your plants and pledge the sap , producing honeydew that often attracts ants .
While only one or two wo n’t do much damage to your plant in their lifetime , a colony can become crushing .
Depending on the mealybug species , a female ladybug can lie 50 to 100 eggs in her lifespan or give alive birth . This can lead to a universe in only a short period .
Unlike some scale specie , mealybugs can move around , and their waxy coating is more powdery .
The wax still protect them against some pesticide , which take to many of the stories you ’ve heard that mealybug are hard to kill .
However , many options exist to get them out of your garden for good and employing more than one can increase efficiency overall .
How To Get Rid Of Mealybugs Outside?
Despite how difficult it might seem , mealybug are n’t too difficult to get free of , although you may need to employ more than one technique .
In fact , what makes mealybugs seem so tough to destroy comes down to their biology .
By Hand
You ’ll want to do this early in an infestation ( so you are n’t spend all of your sentence on the effort ) .
Simply push them from the plant with your digit or a pair of tweezers and plump them into a bucket of soapy piddle .
If the waxy coating defecate it a bit hard to get them off of more frail foliage , you’re able to dip a cotton swob in isopropyl alcohol and swab the mealybugs with it .
This will break up the wax coating , making it easier to slay them .
Insecticidal Soap
Many chemical substance pesticides can not get across themealybugs ’ waxy coating , but some products , such as insecticidal soap , remain efficacious .
Insecticidal soap can be mixed with body of water and spray onto the plant , killing any mealy bug it amount into contact with .
However , you ’ll need to employ multiple applications as this product works best on nymphs .
Also , you may occasionally exchange products to prevent the mealybugs from developing resistance to any one product .
Natural Predators
There are several rude predator out there that love feast on mealy bug .
By far , themost effective is the mealybug destroyer(Cryptolaemus montrouzieri ) , which can be purchase easily and will consume full colony over time .
Other democratic mealybug predators include :
However , if you design to lease help , you must tackle another potential trouble : ants .
Many ant species have “ domesticated ” aphids , mealybugs , and other honeydew - producing pesterer , protect them like cows while harvesting the honeydew as a solid food source . This means your coarse-grained predators could be in for a fight .
An easy result is to sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the basis of the infested works . know as DE , this substance is actually the crushed dodo shells of microscopical diatom .
Food form DE is dead harmless for you and your pet ( although you do n’t want to breathe it in ) , but dust becomes a toothed minefield for insect .
The DE will lacerate any ant that endeavor to crawl over it , causing them to desiccate and snuff it .
This simple barrier will require to be replaced every few days and when it rains , but it will allow natural vulture to focus on eliminating the mealybug without being at risk of an ant approach .
Neem Oil
We talk about this remediation because it ’s highly effective and non - toxic ( except for some aquatic creatures ) .
To battle mealy bug , you may either use the clarified chassis with emulsify water ( fundamentally just irrigate with a tiny bit of Dawn or Castilla liquid ecstasy ) as a foliar spray or the pure form with emulsified water as a soil soakage .
The foliar nebulizer works on link and dissipates in about an hour without leaving any residue . However , it must be use at crepuscle or Dawn to avoid harming beneficial insect .
utilize every other day for 14 day or until the infestation is expire and may be used every two weeks as a preventative .
Meanwhile , neem soil soak are occupy into the plant , disrupting the internal secretion of any insect that tries to thrust or jaw the plant .
This systemic insect powder stay effective for up to 22 day and should be apply every 3 weeks until the infestation is go ( or as a preventative ) .
While few plants are known to be tender to neem , always test a tiny portion of the flora 24 hours before beginning treatment to be safe .
Soapy Water
Like insecticidal soap , Dawn stunner liquid or sodding castile Georgia home boy can be added to water to make a bug - killing atomizer .
When the soapy piss hit a mealybug , it clogs its flight path , causing them to choke .
After a few hour , you may spray the plant with water or wipe the leaves to move out the dead hemipteron .
Keep in mind , however , that some plant are tender to soap , so always test a modest portion of the plant life before using this method ( or any other one involving soap ) to ensure it wo n’t harm your industrial plant .
Coming Up With A Battle Plan
Now that we ’ve talk about several methods , you’re able to think about ways to mix and meet for the best results .
Neem soil soaks employment implausibly wellif you ’re using raw predator , as the neem wo n’t harm your friends while causing the mealybugs to become infertile – an first-class one - two poke .
in force of all , these two methods can be used throughout the growing time of year .
If you want a more hands - on approach , consider tack between a neem foliar nebulizer and wiping your plants down with a gentle cloth damp with isopropyl alcohol .
Alternatively , you could use the oleaginous water approaching at dusk and some other spray at dawn to tackle a horrible infestation .
Do n’t be afraid to experiment with combinations to discover out what work best for your garden ’s circumstances .
