Good afternoon, my reader. The scale insect is known to all flower growers. Due to the protective shell, it is resistant to many means of struggle, and if given a chance, it will destroy all the flowers at home. But the shield can and should be fought.
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What is a shield
In short, the scale insect is an insect that harms plants, and at the same time has a wax shell on its body. If the shell was removed, it is a real scale insect from the Pseudococcid family, if not, it is a false scale, in which the protective layer is part of the body.
In any case, this is a pest about 5 mm in size, living from 2-3 days (males) to 3-4 months (females), feeding on plant sap and causing yellowing and death of leaves and stems.
How to destroy a shield
To get rid of pests, you need:
- Inspect the plants regularly, using a magnifying glass if necessary (young larvae are extremely small).
- Remove the affected flowers for quarantine, and treat the place where they stood with bleach or soapy water to kill possible clutches.
- The scale insects themselves are killed with a stick dipped in an insecticide solution. In an extreme case, the grandfather's method will also work, when insects were killed with a mixture of equal shares of alcohol and kerosene.
- Killed and still living individuals are removed mechanically, scraping off leaves and stems.
- After the plant is placed in a bag, sprayed with an aerosol fungicide, after which the bag is tied and left for half an hour. After that, the bag is untied and monitored for 2-3 days.
- If no new live scale insects are found, the remnants of the insecticide are washed off with clean warm water.
Insecticides for scale insects
In the event that the plants were affected by the scabbard, treatment for fidelity should be carried out every week. The best results are given by drugs:
- Actellik;
- Fitoverm;
- "Metaphos".
Folk remedies
In addition to drugs, you can use:
- vinegar solution;
- green potash soap;
- tincture of garlic, onion peel and pepper.
However, all these funds are ineffective. Better to use synthetic insecticides and mechanical removal of pests.
Conclusion
To avoid problems, the grower needs to regularly inspect his plants. If individuals of the scale insect or the sticky liquid they release are found, processing must begin. It should be remembered that the protective layer of these insects saves them from most contact insecticides and allows them to survive a single treatment. To get rid of pests completely, it is necessary to etch the plant more than once and carefully ensure that not a single living scale remains on its stems and leaves.
At the same time, modern synthetic insecticides have the best effect. Folk remedies also work, but they are more suitable for the role of auxiliary means, without destroying completely scale insects, but making it difficult for it to reproduce and reducing the harm that it does to flowering plants.
Do you know how to remove the shield completely?
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