House Plants and Mealy Bugs
Mealy bugs are a house plant's worst enemy. When these sap-sucking pests infest a house plant, the result can be dropped leaves, stunted growth and in the worst cases, destruction of the root system. Does this Spark an idea?
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Identification
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Small, soft-bodied insects, mealy bugs are usually spotted on plants when females begin to produce the copious, white, web-like material in which they lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch a few days later, crawlers begin to move about the plant, even infesting other nearby plants.
Some mealy bug varieties feed on plant roots, making them difficult to see unless they begin to emerge to feed on foliage.
Affected Plants
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Mealy bugs most often infest cactus, coleus, hoya, jade, lantana and poinsettia plants. The root-infesting varieties prefer African violets and gardenias.
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Control
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Individual mealy bugs found on plant stems and foliage can be swabbed with alcohol or insecticidal soap. Treating individual mealy bugs will not affect crawlers; the Colorado State University Extension service recommends sprays of pyrethroid insecticides or soil-applied systemic insecticides for destruction of mealy bugs in all life cycles, and for root-infesting varieties.
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