I have a small lemon tree covered in these, hidden inside every inaccessible place Spraying with neem oil, they go, then come back about a week later They dont seem to do much, apart from make the lemons fall off, they dont move quickly at all, very very slowly. Is it a mealybug?, Whats the best to spray them with? i have all sorts of pesticides, just not sure which to use!, it has no fruit on it anymore. Its about 3/16" long
yes. use cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol and touch the little buggers with it...they'll die almost instantly. then get fresh swabs & dip and rub down the stems/stalks and get the crevises where the leaves attach really well to get the eggs. retreat in about 10 days to get any that hatch from missed eggs. treat again in a couple of weeks if it's needed.
Mealy bugs, which are related to scale, are a more or less common insect on citrus trees. If a mealy bug infestation is not controlled, the population can rapidly increase, and spread to adjacent plants. Large infestations, can first kill the smaller branches and eventually the entire tree. There are various methods of control. As Joclyn writes, rubbing alcohol will instantly dissolve the bug, and can be used if the infestation is minimal. I either wash them from the tree with a forceful water spray from the hose, or spray the tree with a 1 percent horticultural oil. Horticultural oil will control most all of the common insects that attack citrus: aphids, mealybug, scale, white fly, spider mites. In the UK I believer horticultural oil is called White Oil. - Millet
I actually gave up in my battle with mealy bugs. I had a different kind that was on my passion flowers and grape vines (for some reason it did not go on other plants like my citrus). I cut pretty much the entire plants just leaving enough for the plants to recover, I also washed them and sprayed with different products but the insects also live on the roots. Finally, I left the plants out during the summer to see if other insects would pray on them but they again retreat to the roots. when I brought the plants back to the house, I did not know they were again on the roots. In a week the plants were full of them again. I pulled the plant out of the pot and I saw all the insects attached to the roots (no good for the eye to see). Therefore, I cut the vines and left the pot out for the winter. I want to see if they can take -30. LOL My ultimate revenge I guess. Anyway, the grapes were saved because I planted outside but the passion flowers did not make it. I fougth them for a year with no success. These insects, even though they only live on certain plants, they lay eggs on anything. The males have wings and fly. Keep infected plants on quarantine and Good luck.
Longtailed mealy bugs do not lay eggs, but rather give birth to live young, called crawlers. Each female produces about 200 crawlers. Actually, they are rather easy to control when sprayed with a Horticultural Oil such a Ultra Fine. - Millet
Im looking for the oil in the UK, ive kept using the neem and mixed a bit of canola oil in. it sems to work better than pure neem
In the UK I believe Horticultural Oil is called White Oil (but check to be sure). I've been to the UK many times, nice place, I alway enjoy my self. I like to attend the RHS Chelsea flower show. - Millet
