Biological Mealy Bug Control

Description:

Mealybugs look like white woodlice, they are oval in shape, about 1cm long and they take the sap from plants leaving behind a sticky honeydew. They also wrap themselves in a sticky white substance that repels water and when mealybugs congregate on roots little patches of white wool can be seen.

The predatory ladybird beetle originally from Australia, attacks the common species of mealybug and both adults and larvae eat all stages of the pests. The pests need to be present before introducing the beetles and they need a minimum temperature of 20C (68F) to be active, preferably higher, limiting them to summer use. They need to be released immediately and prefer to land on bushy growth. 10 Cryptolaemus.