Weekend Gardener: Protecting your plants from mealybugs
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – This week we learn about ways to protect your plants from mealybugs.
“This little guy likes to get on ornamentals, on vegetables, on house plants. So they’re not very picky about what they want to be on, which isn’t great for our plants,” said Jayla Fry with Texas A&M AgriLife.
Fry says there are several ways to keep them off your plants.
“The first things are insecticides. If you choose to use an insecticide, make sure you read that label. You want to make sure that the pest itself, the mealybug in this case, is on the label,” said Fry. “You also want to make sure that the plant that you’re going to use it on is also on the label. And then make sure that you’re reading everything and using the protective equipment for yourself to make sure that you are safe.”
She says you can also wash them off and pick them off. You’ll just need to continue to monitor and repeat the process regularly.
“You can also used a product called insecticidal soap which will just give you a little bit of protection. It’s fairly safe and so always again read the label any time you use a product,” said Fry.
