7 Ways to get rid of Mealybugs

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7 Ways to get rid of Mealybugs

What are Mealybugs?

Mealybugs are a group of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera. Mealybugs are characterized by oval-shaped and are covered with white cottony wax.

Mealybugs suck sap from leaves and young stems and exudates honeydew which promotes the growth of sooty mold. Mealybugs directly damage the plants by sucking the sap and indirectly by promoting sooty mold growth which hinders the rate of photosynthesis.

Mealybugs owing to their protective covering composed of waxy secretions make them difficult to control with pesticides that work on contact.

Following are 7 ways to get rid of mealybugs from your garden:

1. Monitoring

The ability to detect the infestation in the early stage is the easiest and safest method to control the bugs. In the early stage of infestation, the infested plant parts can be pruned out and destroy.

2. Manual removal

Manual removal of the bugs can be quite messy. So, here is the trick. Wrap a wide strip of tape around your hand, with the sticky side out, and pat the leaves and stems of the plants infested with the bugs. Concentrate on the undersides of leaves because it is where they like to hide.

3. Wash away the bugs

You can try dislodging them with jets of water. Here you should repeat the process for few days until they are washed off completely. You can use this method only when water is available abundantly.

4. Neem oil

1 teaspoon neem oil can be mixed with 2-3 drops of dish wash soap or shampoo in 1-liter water in a spray bottle. Spray the solution on the infested parts of the plant. Neem oil has the insecticidal property that serves as a systemic insecticide by being absorbed into plants and killing the bugs when they suck the sap from the plants.

5. Shampoo solution

1 teaspoon of shampoo can be mixed with 1 liter of water in a spray bottle and it can be sprayed on the infested parts of the plants. The foam formed will cover the bugs and suffocate them to death. Such spraying should be carried out during the evening time when plants are physiologically inactive.

6. Biological control

Commercially available beneficial insects such as ladybird beetles (Coccinella septempunctata), lacewings (Chrysoperla carnea), parasitic wasp (Leptomastix dactylopii), and mealybug destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) can be released which are natural predators for mealy bugs.

7. Avoid overfeeding

Overfertilized plants are soft and succulent and mealybugs are attracted to such plants.

 

http://www.farminggeek.xyz/2021/05/botanical-pesticides.html

Comments

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