Friday 26 April 2013

My Plant is saved:)

After informing you all about the Mealy bugs I noticed on my plants, I had done some research on them. I found out that they are really terrible little bugs and should be taken off the infected plant immediately. Their main function is to suck the water from your plant and there were many of them on my plant and them sucking the water from my plant, impacted the water loss in my jar. There were many methods to get rid of these pests. If you are experiencing some Mealy bugs on your plants, here are some ways to do away with them. You can move your plant into a cooler area, Mealy bugs do not like cold climates this environmental change will kill them. You can also mix sunlight liquid and some water in a spray bottle and spray them gentle on the plant. You can also buy a pesticide but that costs money and I don't think the cost of pesticides fit into our student budget :) There was one more method that I thought I'd try. I mixed bleach and water together and used a ear-bud to gentle wiped the mealy bugs away. Its been a week since I have removed the Mealy bugs and my plant looks better than before. Not one Mealy bug has appeared since. Its a Miracle!! There have been more new leaves and one or two flowers. The water in my jar has not decreased which is proof that the Mealy bugs was the cause of the water loss. There is a major discolouring of the leaves,  but I think this gives my plant an unique appearance. I have attached some pictures of my plant and the method I used to clear the Mealy bugs. Until next time!    

                                                                   
The discoloured Leaves 
Removing the mealy bugs 

5 comments:

  1. how do these mealy bugs look?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Andrea. Mealy bugs are soft-bodied creatures, they secrete a powdery wax layer over themselves. This protective layer gives them their name, as it makes them look as though they've been coated in meal or flour. They are white and are normally close to the new shoots.

      I hope you don't have these on your plant because they are a mission to take off.

      Delete
  2. I also thought I had Mealy bugs, but it seems to be a powdery white substance. After some investigation I found that it was a fungus that grows on the plant becaue it is receiving too much moisture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This fungus sounds like it goes hand in hand with these mealy bug pests. good luck with getting rid of the fungus!

      Delete