Green Gardener.co.uk
The natural way to keep your garden looking good
| "The treatment for Mealy bug worked fantastically on my citrus plant. I shall be ordering again!" Mrs B. from Kent. "Your wonderful little "beetles" (Cryptolaemus) has done a fab job on the mealy bug in my conservatory - I've been trying to fight it for eighteen months with no success so I'm really delighted." Thank you again Elizabeth Worsley |
Mealy Bug Control - Mealy Bugs feed by sucking the sap from the plant, so they will normally be found on the stems or leaf joints although they will attack leaves causing them to yellow. Mealy Bug lays it eggs in cotton like pouches resulting in "white wool" developing. Pictured left, a heavy infesation of mealy bug discovered on the underside of leaves.
Mealy Bug causes "sticky leaves" - The insect extracts large amounts of sap and any excess sap is excreted as honeydew which forms a sticky deposit on the lower leaves. In time sooty mould grows on the honeydew resulting in an unpleasant mess which inhibits the plants ability to manufacture food. N.B. Mealy Bug can be hard to spot, so these sticky, sooty leaves are often the first sogn of an attack.
"Cryptolaemus got rid of mealy bug on all my plants - I had tried and failed with everything else." Mrs B. from Birmingham
Products SB InvigoratorControl pests during the winter and spring when it is too cold to use beneficial insects (i.e. in unheated greenhouses / conservatories). There are no harmful chemical residues left behind, so beneficial insects can be introduced AS SOON as the temperatures are warm enough. Read more...  Coir Pellets, pots and TraysAt last, an alternative to plastic pots. Our range of Coir based pellets, pots, trays and compost offer benefits to the plant, the environment and to you, the gardener. Forget plastic pots, trays and peat and go green with coir. Read more... |
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Mealy Bug Control - Female Mealy Bugs are soft bodied, pink / grey in colour and about 5mm long. They are covered with white waxy threads and a waxy covering. Mealy Bugs feed by sucking the sap from the plant and can be found on the stems, leaf joints and leaves - causing them to yellow. The insect extracts large amounts of sap with the excess sap being excreted as honeydew causing a sticky deposit on the lower leaves. In time, sooty mould grows on the honeydew resulting in an unpleasant mess.
Mealy Bug Control - Another sure sign of a mealy bug infestation is "white wool" developing on the plant leaves and stems. This is where the eggs are laid. The female is flightless, only the young nymphs are active and search out new feeding sites by crawling from plant to plant. As the nymphs mature they become less active and settle down to feed. The life cycle can take up to 13 weeks at 18°C/66°F. As the adults are flightless the pest must initially be brought in on infected plants and once it established it is very difficult to eradicate.
Cryptolaemus larvae are placed directly onto the infected plants near the mealy bugs - these larvae are easy to handle. Cryptolaemus requires both heat and light. The optimum temperature is 16°C/61°F and as the Cryptolaemus require long day lengths either introduce between May and September or use artificial light. If mealybug is present and the temperature is below 16c, control the mealy bug with SB Invigorator until the temperatures are high enough. 
Cryptolaemus larvae - The larvae (which look very similar in appearance to the Mealy Bug) feed on the mealy bug before turning into the adult Cryptolaemus ladybirds (pictured right). The female cryptolaemus then lay her eggs next to the Mealy bug eggs in the "white wool" egg pouches, from this the larval stage of the Cryptolaemus emerges and the whole process is repeated. All stages of the Cryptolaemus eat Mealy Bugs and their eggs. Unlike the Mealy Bug the Cryptolaemus can fly and in very efficient in searching out the Mealy bugs.
SB Invigorator controls pests and used regularly will reduce fungal diseases such as mildew. Plus it contains a foliar feed to help plants recover from pest attack. SB Invigorator is not only highly effective, but it is also Biodegradable and non toxic which means it can be used in the garden, conservatory or in the greenhouse and on edible plants too - pick and eat straightway. It is suitable for use throughout the year 
SB Invigorator is brilliant at clearing heavy infestations BEFORE introducing a natural control. Here the spray has been applied twice at 2 day intervals to kill a heavy infestation of mealy bug before introducing cryptolaemus. The first spray removes the protective wax from the pest, which normally makes it so difficult to control and then the subsequent spray 2 days later kills the pest. As no harmful chemical residues are left behind, the cryptolameus were immediately introduced to give on-going pest control.
Emergency Mealy Bug Pest Pack - "Help, the mealy bug is out of control! What should I do?"