Mealybugs on indoor plants: easy ways to get rid of the pests

If you notice a white cotton wool-like coating or snow on your indoor flowers, you should immediately start treating the plants because they have been attacked by  a mealybug. This is a very insidious pest of indoor plants.

The mealybug is a sap-sucking pest. It usually hides under the foliage or between the leaves and the trunk of the plant.

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Speaking of violets, the mealybug affects the root system or the youngest leaves. The larvae of the pest are also very damaging to the flowers. Therefore, if your vase plants are affected by this pest, it is worth treating not only the leaves, but also the soil in which they grow. You should also treat the flowers growing near the infected plant as a preventative measure, as the worm may have infected them as well.

In the early stages of infestation, the pests are firstly removed with a cotton swab, pre-moistened with vodka or diluted vinegar. Another option is to use  a laundry soap. It should be rubbed and diluted in hot water (a teaspoon of soap per liter of water). When the soap dissolves and the water cools, dip a cotton disk in it and wipe the leaves and stems of plants, and pour the rest of the water into the ground where the infected plant was growing. This method is only suitable for plants with smooth leaves.

Vases finished with vodka or soap should be taken into the bathroom and placed on a tray in the shower stall. Take a shower sprinkler of water and water the vases.

The soap treatment should be repeated after a week.

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If the plant is too affected by  a mealybug, you need to use insecticides. These drugs are able to spread through the vessels of the plant and penetrate into the tissues, the parasite will feed on the poisoned juice and die.

 Plants are recommended to transplant into new soil a week after the end of "etching"

It is also important to treat the place where the infected vases stood - window sills, glass, window frames should be treated with a vinegar solution.

Recall that indoor plants green your space and bring benefits, but can be a source of inconvenience and problems. Some of them have the ability to attract pests such as cockroaches.

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