Dr. Frank Hale, an insect specialist with the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, shares tips on battling insects that plague houseplants. Mealybugs, common indoor pests, thrive in high temperatures and low humidity. They appear as a cottony substance at a plant's leaf joints and on the underside of leaves. Mealybugs, aphids and whiteflies have piercing, sucking mouth parts and if uncontrolled can suck the life from the host plant. Mealybugs are easy to control by applying soapy water with a sponge or a spray bottle. To treat recurring problems, apply isopropyl alcohol with cotton swabs to infested areas of the plant. Whitefly can also be a problem for indoor plants. Insecticidal soap is an effective remedy against juvenile insects--and it's important to spray the underside of leaves. Yellow sticky traps are effective controls when the insects begin to fly. When treating plants for insect pests, you don't usually have to spray the soil-- unless the pests are fungus gnats, which feed on plants' roots. Tiny black insects, fungus gnats hop around the surface of the soil. They're easily controlled with a soil drench of the bacterium Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis. The larvae of fungus gnats are clear, threadlike worms with a black head. For better control, treat when the gnats are in their larval stage. Scale insects resemble tiny turtle shells. They're sucking insects as well and can be difficult to eliminate because their hard shells protect them well. Juvenile scale are much more vulnerable. Try applications of horticultural oil added to insecticidal soap to smother scale insects, or attempt to wipe them off plants manually with soapy water and a sponge. When spraying any type of insecticide, wear neoprene gloves and eye protection. Don't mix more spray than you can use at one time.
GUESTS :
Dr. Frank Hale
5201 Marchant Dr.
Nashville, TN 37211-5201
Phone: 615-832-6802
Fax: 615-832-0043
Email: fhale@cru.gw.utk.edu
Website: www.utextension.utk.edu
UT Agricultural Extension
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