Are mealy bug infest your precious succulents , kill them from the interior and eating them to demise ? You should do something forthwith or else these tiny white insects will flush all that time and money you ’ve invested into produce your beloved succulents and cacti down the drainpipe !
The small white bugs can swarm and jiggle unto your succulents like maggot on rotting meat if you do n’t now determine ways to get rid of them . Also , as much as potential , you should avoid systemic pesticide to remove these bugs in visible light of how it affects the environment .
In this article
What are mealybugs?
Mealybugs ( Pseudococcidae ) are bantam , white insect that tip on succulents and other plants by fellate their juice wry . They ’re like sponge that feed upon their legion works until it dies , which would then make them move to a new horde plant to reprize the cycle . They ’re more commonly find oneself on indoor succulent but they can still infect outdoor succulents as well .
mealybug are problematic because they approach succulent consumption like locusts would wheat . They ’re a plague for many a garden out there and can be quite difficult to get rid of . Keep on reading if you want the safe , all - rude methods of keeping your plants secure without drop them out or using pesticide .
Where do mealy bugs come from?
If you have a succulent with new growth , it ’s possible that mealy bug are n’t far behind since they screw flow on them specifically . These foul insects will also attack compromised succulents , like the ace you ’ve over - water and are on the verge of root rot . When you over - fertilize a plant , they ’re certain to follow .
Doing anything in extreme to your plant will have these bugs in a eating fury like piranhas or shark that have smelt blood . They ’re mostly indoor pests because they prefer the temperate temperature of a warm dwelling house , but they ’re above snack on your outdoor succulents as well .
How to identify mealybugs on succulents?
First and first , do a visual check on your houseplant . Do you see tiny livid web - like office all over the succulent ? It might be the bug themselves . They love enshroud in the nook and crannies of your industrial plant . Specifically , the skin on the blank space where stem turn and leaf encounter , like the works ’s underarm .
Mealybugs are hard to discover visually but their gist on your succulent are quite evident . A magnifying glass should reveal trilobite - like or pill - germ - similar dirt ball reminiscent of fleas “ frosting ” your plant with their webbing .
Preventing mealybugs on succulents
For potted succulent , ensure your grime is well - draining . Otherwise , transfer the soil to ensure that succeeding infestation from these hemipterous insect are forbid . Also , move your infected works away from other plants to prevent spreading the plague .
You should also take good concern of your succulent by stave off over - watering them or feeding them too much fertilizer , since these microbe are attracted to high nitrogen level and gentle plant development . A buy the farm succulent with curling off , yellowing leaves could be a foretoken of a toilsome mealybug infestation .
5 natural ways to get rid of mealybugs on succulents
Use these all - natural method of getting rid of mealybug feasting upon your aggregation of succulents .
#1. Sprinkle Food-Grade DE on Your Succulent
Diatomaceous ground ( DE ) is an all - natural pulverisation that can puncture the body of mealybugs on a cellular storey . This is because they ’re made up of small , snowflake - similar crystals that slue small insects up like meth shards or blades . utilise the intellectual nourishment - grade rendering instead of the consortium - tier one .
Sprinkle a trivial on your succulent and a lot on your soil your succulent is implant on , whether it is find on its pot or planter ’s box as well as your lawn . It ’s like put up barbed conducting wire or a upset glass shield over your succulents since this dust can really rive apart these bugs on a cellular level .
#2. Spray The Succulents with Alcohol
Get a nursing bottle of 70 % isopropyl rub alcohol and put it in a sprayer . Spray it directly unto your succulents to shoot down the mealy bug that are go down on it dry . you could spray it purely or dilute it in half with one part urine .
You also have the option to employ a cotton swab Q - crown and softly dab the alcohol on your succulent , especially the trouble areas where you ’d typically find these mealybugs . They ’re ripe than pesticides because they attack the microbe directly without harm other innocuous insects or the plant life itself .
#3. Spray with Neem Oil Solution
Make a neem crude oil solution by mixing a spurt of dish soap with a tablespoonful of neem oil . Typically , neem oil and dish soap are disjoined entries in leaning like this . However , they ’re so much more good when used in bicycle-built-for-two . What ’s more , they ’re probably the respectable mix among the other solutions here .
Once you ’ve aggregate them , spray them unto the expanse that are susceptible to mealybug infestations or on live web to eliminate those bug post - hastiness . This tandem should effectively drown the hemipterous insect in a throng of ways .
#4. Introduce Ladybugs or Other Predators to Your Garden
you could help from many a garden supply shop ladybeetle that banquet on mealybugs , among other natural predators of the pesterer . They ’re best used on outdoor succulents though , since they ’re mostly outdoorsy insects you would n’t require infest your home .
Other insects or organisms you’re able to use to lower your mealybug populations include lacewing , predatory mites , and even nematodes or roundworms that are also effective at ridding you of various grease - wear pests like fleas , garden grubs , and so forth . Use them when mite populations are still abject .
#5. Insecticidal Soap
Instead of using a laboured chemical pesticide systemically to get rid of mealy bug but also the residue of the hemipteran in your garden , no matter how beneficial or impeccant they are , you could utilise insecticidal soap as an choice . This goop is also an even more good mealybug grampus than dishwashing soap solutions .
It ’s comfortably used on succulents that are heavy with mealy bug . This soap is a short - experience , all - natural pesticide that damages the outer layer of the mealybug ’s body . This dehydrates and kills them in bare hour . Apply for 7 - 10 days with about 2.5 gallons ’ worth of insecticidal goop water .
Other pests
Succulentsare typically harry by many other plague away from mealy bug — it ’s just that these microbe are among the most prominent . succulent also have to administer with dissimilar fungus gnat , yield tent-fly , fleas , vine weevils , garden grub , and spider jot . Many of these same insects are also susceptible to the same anti - mealybug maneuver outlined above .
