Common pests and how to get rid of them: mealybugs

If you notice that your plant is decaying, growing in a strange way and you see that it has small white or yellowish dots, I have bad news for you: you are the victim of a mealybug infestation. Mealybugs are one of the most common insect pests on houseplants and can be difficult to get rid of, especially if you wait too long to let it spread.

But don't worry, today we're going to show you how to get rid of those intruders that have besieged your plants once and for all.

What are mealybugs?

If you look very closely and with a magnifying glass those little dots that are on the underside of the leaves of your plants, you will discover that they are tiny insects, with a lot of legs. It is oval in shape, it is covered with a cottony layer that protects its eggs. There are several types, the cottony is white and as the name implies, it looks like it has cotton fibers on top. Soft mealybugs are oval, yellowish in color, and do not look hairy. There are others such as the ribbed mealybug, which usually attacks citrus fruits, and brown mealybugs, which grow as brown scales.

The mealybugs you see attached to your plant are female. In this species of insects there is sexual dimorphism, so the males have wings and fertilize the females, who stay to live in the plants, laying eggs and feeding on them.

In fact, these insects use a stinger that they stick to the plants and suck the sap and juices of the plant to feed, thus weakening them and altering their growth.

By feeding on plants, mealybugs produce a honeydew that brings other insects and causes a fungus called negrilla to proliferate. This fungus, which looks like a black powder on the leaves, is not harmful, but it does affect aesthetics because it looks as if it were very dirty. Another big problem with mealybugs is that it is difficult to notice them when the pest is just beginning, as they are very small and hide well on the underside of leaves, the joints of the stems and in other areas that are difficult to access. You'll notice them when they're already a problem.

Prevention

is your

best ally when it comes to the pests that attack your plants, and in the case of mealybugs, it is vital to know the environmental conditions that favor their reproduction. If you create a hostile environment for them, they will be less likely to affect your plants.

Indoor plants are the most likely to be affected by these insects and this is because they are exposed to the humid conditions preferred by mealybugs, which require a dry environment to be able to reproduce.

If your houseplants are in a place where the heating is very high, you are promoting this pest. You can avoid this by placing water containers near the radiators, so that they generate water vapor and contribute to increasing the humidity of the space.

Weak and stressed plants are the perfect targets for mealybugs, so remember to fertilize your plant, prune it, and keep it in perfect health. Another important factor is to be very careful when buying new plants, especially in nurseries and large stores, as they handle a large volume of plants and pests go unnoticed. To avoid this, you can check every crevice of the plant before taking it home or, better yet, buy it online at Be Green, which guarantees that all the plants that arrive at your doorstep are healthy and perfect.

How to eradicate mealybugs

If you've detected that your favorite plant has fallen victim to these annoying bugs, there's no time to waste. You must muster up your courage, patience, and gather your chemical arsenal, because you can start fighting them with things you already have at home. And

So yes: you have to know that this is a continuous war to the death, because if you leave a single mealybug, it can lay up to 2000 eggs and re-infect your plant.

The first step is to isolate your plant, to avoid contagion, then you will proceed to eliminate mealybugs. To do this, we are going to make the environment where they are unpleasant by changing their PH. This is achieved with substances such as rubbing alcohol, vinegar, or soap. I've personally tried rubbing alcohol or drugstore alcohol: for small plants I use cotton swabs soaked in alcohol and for large plants, cotton cloths. Then I rub the mealybugs, which will immediately come off the plant. Then I clean with a cloth soaked in water or irrigation very well. I usually do this in the late afternoon, so that the leaves have time to dry and the sun doesn't affect them.

There are those who use a mixture of castile soap or liquid dishwasher with rubbing alcohol and water. They spray the plant and wipe it with a cloth to remove mealybugs. This should be repeated once a week for a month. Another home remedy for mealybugs is to put the tobacco of about 6 cigarettes in a bowl of water, without the paper or filter. Let it sit for a couple of hours and then water with that mixture.

After doing the first cleaning and watering, it is essential to check the plant daily. Yes, on a daily basis. It is essential to check the cracks, joints and corners of each stem because if there is a single mealybug alive, it will reproduce and the infection will begin again. At this point you should have checked your other plants, as they may have been infected. It doesn't hurt to spray them with a little insecticide.

If you've been consistent and careful, it's easy to

get rid of mealybugs with these home remedies, but if you've had a tough group, don't worry, it's easy to get your hands on the big guns: chemical insecticides that will eradicate this pesky pest.

It's a matter of patience and dedication, in a jiffy you will be able to recover the health of your plant.