Annoying Garden Pests: No Hugs for Mealybugs

Imagine this picture for a moment - it’s Saturday morning and you woke up after having a perfect night sleep. The sun shines in your living room and you decide to check on your garden plants. You feel relaxed and happy. And then, completely out of the blue, you realize that mealybugs are all over your favourite veggies.

Naturally, you freak out and start screaming. I might have a solution for both your plants and your nerves. Try to calm down and take a look at these useful tricks on how to get in a situation where you’ll be able to say - no hugs for mealybugs.

Annoying Garden Pests: No Hugs for Mealybugs

Meet Mealybug - Your Plant’s Bad Neighbour

First things first – meet your enemy. Found in warmer growing climates, mealybugs are tiny, soft-bodied insects that can infect both indoor and outdoor plants.

Mealybugs can move and sometimes they appear in such huge numbers that your plants look like it’s snowing. These plant-sucking pests produce honeydew, which is sweet and attracts ants.

Various fruits such as citrus, avocado, mango and vegetables including asparagus, beans, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, pepper, pumpkin and tomato can all be found on the menu of mealybugs.

Use a Spray to Knock Mealybugs Down

There are several strategies for saying good bye to mealybugs. First of all, don’t over water or over fertilize your plants since mealybugs are attracted to plants with high nitrogen levels and soft growth.

If that doesn’t help, then simply spray them. I usually use homemade soap and oil spray or soap and alcohol spray. They are both easy to make.

Soap and oil spray is made of liquid soap and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil per 3-4 liters of soap. Thanks to oil this mixture becomes sticky and doesn’t drip off your plants so quickly.

As for soap and alcohol spray, I specially recommend this one because it’s great for stripping away any waxy coating on the mealybugs. Keep in mind that after spraying your plants with soap and alcohol spray you should rinse them with water.

Try out these tricks and send reinforcement to your plants! Say no hugs for mealybugs!