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Busy Lizzie Accent Mixed F1
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Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
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Mealy Bugs
Signs - small fluffy white lumps about 5mm (1/4") appear on
plants, often in the axil - where the leaf meets the stem. Leaves turn
yellow and may wilt and die. There are a large number of different
types which are frequently specific to the host. Usually affect house and
greenhouse plants, but also Pyracantha and fruit trees. Stick honeydew and
black sooty moulds may accompany. Despite being insects, they don't look
like insects, just a shapeless piece of cotton wool.
Damage - plants are rarely killed unless very heavily infested
over a long period. Commonly weakened, a heavy infestation is very
unsightly from the pests themselves and from the sticky honeydew that they
secrete and possibly even black moulds that grow on the sticky honeydew.
Root mealy bugs damage the roots.
Treatment - difficult to attack from the outside, any of those
organic soapy sprays just fall off from the hydrophobic (water repellent)
hairs that cover the insects. Powder form insecticides sit on the hairs
and again don't get the insect inside. In small numbers they can be picked
off manually before they build up a larger population, otherwise it's biological
control (the predators are hungry critters so you need a heavy
infestation) or a systemic insecticide that is taken up by the plant and
passed along in the sap right to the mealy bug.
Biological
control glasshouses
or conservatories only
There are different species which can
be distinguished by the length
of their tail filaments but they are all oval shaped. The most
common species are the citrus mealy bug, glasshouse mealy bug and
long tailed mealy bug. Nymphs and female adults cause damage. Most
feed on higher parts of plants but some extract food from roots.
Biological control of mealy bug is with the predatory beetle, Cryptolaemus.
The adults and larvae of these beetles eat the mealy bug completely.
The larvae are similar in appearance to the mealy bug so be careful
not to remove! The
beetle should be introduced once the mealy bug are observed and a
second treatment applied later to ensure the number of predators is
high enough to compete with the mealy bug population.
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Insect deterrents
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Plants
Citron scents are particularly effective at deterring 'midges'; hence
the recent rise in popularity of citronella - fragranced garden candles.
Try growing plants with citrus-scented foliage,
such as
Geranium macrorrhizum
and
lemon balm. Another option is lemon verbena, which has wonderfully
aromatic foliage - not fully hardy though, so best to grow
it in a pot so that it can be brought into the greenhouse or conservatory
to over winter.
Other aromatic herbs have insect-repellent properties -
lavender
(or
here) has been used for this purpose for centuries, either in dried or
fresh form.
Mints can also help to repel aphids - spearmint or peppermint
can be grown near roses to deter these pests. |
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Chemical
insecticides
  If
your
plants get a heavy infestation, then I think it's acceptable to use
a chemical insecticide as a "smart missile" just on that particular
plant. I resort to this when
the aphids build up under cover on my favourite plum tree, or other plant/s.
Don't overdo
it and spray too often and don't spray the whole garden "just-in-case".
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