Mealybugs are usually very common in outdoor crops, and unfortunately, it is a difficult pest to combat and eliminate completely. Also called Cócidos, Casillas, Conchuelas, Pigitos, etc, the mealybugs establish in colonies and are usually deposited between each projection of the stems or under the leaves, there are even some varieties that are installed in the roots. There are more than 6000 different types of mealybugs known to suck the sap from the plant. In addition, these suckers also leave molasses or sugary waxes depending on the species, which will be a source of infection for other insect pests and even for fungi such as bold. Get a medical marijuana card to purchase marijuana legally from any marijuana dispensary from a verified doctor.
How to identify a mealybug infestation?
It is not easy to identify the mealybugs as they hide on the underside of the leaves. When they are somewhat larger, they usually go to the upper parts of the stems, branches, and even the buds. We will have to check our plants and be attentive to signs of stress, yellowing, and shine on the leaves due to molasses.
What damage do mealybugs cause?
As we have already mentioned, the mealybugs absorb the sap of the plant like a tick, this causes the plant to grow more slowly, making it difficult for the correct development of the plant or buds, depending on the phase in which we are. In addition, when they establish themselves in colonies, the amount of sap that they extract together is important. They can also cause infections and malformations in stems and leaves.
In addition, with their molasses secretions, they will attract other insects, so that surely another pest of insects will end up installing in your plants.
Why do mealybugs appear?
These insects are a very common pest on outdoor plants, especially for plants/trees through which a lot of sap runs and they love the smell of our plants. They are favored by the dryness of the environment, heat, and little humidity that makes them proliferate at high speed. Each female is capable of laying up to 100 eggs and all the mealybugs that you see on the plant are female, the males fly and are dedicated to going in search of females to fertilize them.
How to combat mealybugs?
Fighting and eliminating mealybugs is not easy, these insects have a hard shell that protects them even with our insecticides. That is why prevention becomes, once again, vital to achieving a crop without insects that can spoil or reduce the harvest.
To prevent it, it will be enough to spray or water with Neem oil such as Azadirachtin from Probelte every 15 days.
The mealybug like the aphid and the whitefly are sap-sucking insects that adhere to the stems and leaves to suck the sap of the plant. These also generate sugary molasses and waxes that are a delicacy for other types of pests and fungi such as Negrilla, which develops and spreads quickly on these molasses.
How to eliminate mealybugs?
- To remove mealybugs from your plants manually you can use a cotton bud or tweezers to remove them. Then clean the affected area with alcohol or soap. After an hour, clean the area that you have treated with alcohol or soap again with water so that it does not burn the plant.
- Use Neem oil in irrigation, a natural insecticide suitable for organic farming that will sour the taste of the sap and cause failures in their digestive system, which will cause them to die. You can also spray neem oil, the most effective is to do both treatments, foliar and root, with a couple of days between treatments.
- You can also use paraffin oil based mealy bug killers like Probelte’s Belproil-A and even combine it with neem oil or another insecticide. Potash soaps also work very well, weakening your shell and cleaning the affected area.
- Another insecticide for mealy bugs that works very well is Sipcam’s Epik based on Acetamiprid, an odorless organic compound of the nicotine family that acts on contact and ingestion. It is also systemic, it will circulate through the plant for approximately 15 days. After those 15 days repeat the application.
- You can also use ladybugs or parasitic wasps for biological control of mealybugs, both are their most voracious and persistent predators.
All these products can found in various marijuana dispensaries.
If you have tried any other effective and ecological method to eliminate mealybugs, you can write a comment and we will look to add it to the article.
