Insect Identification

Mealybugs

Closely related to scales, mealybugs are tiny, white insects covered in waxy threads. Yellow when they're young and white when they're older, mealybugs measure up to 3 millimeters long. These oval-shaped, wingless insects have long or short tails and are found at the base of stems and in leaf axils. They slip into crop crevices - often overlooked - and suck their sap. This sap drainage results in stunted plant growth. Mealybugs also excrete honeydew, a sticky substance that provides a substrate for dark-sooty mold and attracts ants.

Male mealybugs are tiny, mouthless flies. They serve as sperm-banks, while wingless females lay from 300 to 600 eggs in sacks the size of themselves. These egg sacks are found on plant stems and leaves. Mealybugs primarily infest bedding and garden plants and foliage.

To prevent mealybug populations from reaching damaging levels, one 5-ounce bottle of Enstar® II per 100 gallons of water should be applied every two weeks. To control existing populations, two 5-ounce bottles of Enstar® II per 100 gallons of water should be applied every seven days.

Enstar® II also controls root mealybugs in pots. The product should be applied at a rate of 10 ounces per 100 gallons (1/2 ounces/ 5 gallons) of water as often as necessary. The entire pot containing the infested plant should be drenched by submersion in the solution until no air bubbles are seen escaping from the fluid surface. This ensures that the root system surface is saturated.

For broad spectrum control of adult mealybugs with Mavrik Aquaflow®, use eight ounces per 100 gallons of water to treat 20,000 square feet every seven days until insects are controlled.

Use Enstar® II and Mavrik Aquaflow® together for complete control of mealybugs.