At first glance you will see white, fluffy spots on the stems or leaves. These spots make the plant look a lot less attractive. But more importantly, he's in a life-threatening situation! Your plant is suffering from mealybugs and here you can read what you can do about it.
Mealybugs like to suck plant sap from the plant, as long as they get the chance. This causes the plant to become weakened or grow less well. Leaves may turn yellow and fall off. Flowers or fruits can also fall off. Like aphids, mealybugs leave behind a sweet substance called honeydew. Honeydew provides the perfect conditions for fungi to grow. Those villains just keep lurking!
And to put a stop to that, here are three tips for combating mealybugs:
- Cut away the most affected areas, as far as possible. Female mealybugs (fortunately) cannot fly. And we must use that to our advantage. Branches or leaves that come into contact with other plants are best kept short. This keeps the pest central and makes it easier to combat.
- Isolate the plant immediately as soon as you see mealybugs. By isolating the plant you do not give the mealybugs a chance to infect other plants. Add Crypto to the isolation cell and watch the beetles eat their fill!
- Start a water fight! Spray away as many mealybugs as possible with a powerful plant sprayer. This causes the mealybugs and eggs to slide off the plant. Repeat this daily until the mealybugs are gone. Please note: you have to repeat this every day and eggs can sometimes remain unseen.
You really have to do the pruning and any spraying of water yourself, but Crypto is happy to help you clear up your mealybug infestation. Crypto bags contain 30 larvae of a beetle belonging to the ladybug family. The white, fluffy larvae can eat up to 30 mealybugs per day. Now that's a plant-based superpower!
Getting started with Crypto? Learn more about our esteemed Hero here!
Combating mealybugs | Insect Heroes
