The great trick to eliminate the mealybug that plagues your plants
Mealybugs are pests that can attack your indoor green plants, but also the garden plants, shrubs and fruit trees in your garden, thus harming their proper growth.
Under what conditions do mealybugs develop?
Scale insects love humidity and heat. So, if you overspray your plant’s foliage or if your interior suffers from humidity or lack of ventilation, you run the risk of finding mealybugs on your plant.
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Mealybugs are also common in spring or summer, even on garden plants, when temperatures are high and outdoor air humidity is higher.
What are the consequences for the plant?
Mealybugs are found on the inside of leaves or on young shoots. It is the female scale insects that attack the plants. In fact, if male scale insects have wings, female scale insects are immobile. Therefore, they live attached to the plant where they lay their eggs.
These insects are biting and sucking insects that feed on plant sap. By pumping their sap, mealybugs weaken the plant and hinder its growth. Added to this is the risk that the plant will develop a black deposit that looks like soot, called sooty mold. In fact, mealybugs secrete honeydew, a sweet despondency, which attracts fungi, but also different species of ants. This fungal disease is also dangerous for plants, because the black deposit that covers the foliage blocks the photosynthesis of its vegetation.
Scale insects are also harmful to fruit trees. In addition to destroying the harvest, they risk condemning their vegetation.
How to eradicate mealybugs?
- White vinegar and black soap
Put water in a spray bottle and add a teaspoon of liquid black soap and a teaspoon of white vinegar. Then spray on the infected parts of your plant, morning and evening. Avoid using this natural insecticide on your plant in the middle of the day, so as not to burn it in the sun. Repeat this operation daily until the mealybugs are completely eradicated. Note that white vinegar is also effective against aphids and bindweed.
- Marseille soap
Dilute in half a liter of non-calcareous rainwater, a tablespoon of liquid Marseille soap and a tablespoon of liquid black soap. After the soap has completely dissolved, add 2 tablespoons of 70° alcohol to your solution. With the help of a brush, apply this mixture on the shell of the scale insects so as not to attack your plant, especially if it is orchids. In fact, this insecticide could stain the flowers and burn some roots. After a few days, you will notice that the mealybugs have dried and crumble into dust when you touch them. Therefore, you will get rid of these pests without harming your plant. Note that you can very well replace both soaps with the dishwashing liquid. The main thing is to have soapy water.
Another trick is to dissolve 50 g of Marseille soap flakes in 350 ml of hot water. Mix until the soap is completely dissolved. Then, put on gloves, soak a sponge in this soapy water, and wipe it over the infected leaves of your plant. This way, you will be able to eliminate the scale insects, but also the honeydew that they deposit on the foliage.
To make a natural cochineal spray
Mix in 1 liter of water, a teaspoon of 90° alcohol, a teaspoon of liquid black soap and a teaspoon of vegetable oil, such as olive oil. Spray this solution on the parts of your plant infested by mealybugs, once for 3 to 4 days. Black soap is also a natural repellent against red spiders, scale insects and aphids.
What plants are most affected by mealybugs?
Most green indoor plants are affected, such as succulents, orchids, lilacs, hibiscus, indoor roses, etc.
As for fruit trees, citrus trees are the most sensitive and vulnerable to mealybugs.
Read also: The magic trick to eliminate the scale insect that attacks your plants
Preventing a mealybug attack
These scale insects that attack your indoor plants also have their predators. To avoid a mealybug attack, take your plant out in May and place it in a bright location in partial shade. If mealybugs come to parasitize your plant, they will quickly be gobbled up by ladybugs, hoverflies and wasps.
These solutions will allow you to fight very effectively against mealybugs, to protect your indoor and outdoor plants, but also your orchard or ornamental garden, from an invasion of these pest insects.