Root Mealybugs Control and Treatment
Root mealybug can become a serious pest and can be found on the roots of host plants. As they only reside in the root area they often go undiagnosed, generally they hang out between the root ball and the pot. Often for positive identification you will have to lift out the plants and inspect the root area.
The nature of the mealybug causes them to secrete a white waxy exudate that covers their body and in heavy infestations can cause a blueish hue to your potting mix. Females can lay eggs or give birth to live young. The young are known as crawlers and will disperse within the root area find a suitable site and commence feeding upon the roots. Plants will display a yellowing appearance, look water stressed and cease growing left untreated plant death will occur. Hypoaspis will feed on the eggs and crawlers however larger adult root mealy bugs will not be consumed by hypoaspis, over time with the predation on eggs and crawlers the population of mealybugs will crash.
Hypoaspis, is a soil-dwelling predatory mite that feeds on fungus gnat larvae, thrips pupae, reptile mites and other small soil inhabiting insects. They are great for dealing with fungas gnats in your indoor plants and treating mites on reptilian friends.
Adult Hypoaspis are between 0.5 mm and 1 mm long, with females larger and much more common than males. Adult females are light brown in colour.
The life cycle of Hypoaspis consists of egg, larva (6 legs), nymph (8 legs) and adult. The whole life cycle takes about 10 days at 25°C but can vary from 7 to 30 days depending on temperature. At temperatures below 8°C Hypoaspis is inactive.
Eggs are laid in the soil and hatch into larvae in 1–3 days. Hypoaspis lives in the top 1–2 cm of soil and can be seen moving quickly on top of the soil when the surface is disturbed or pots are tapped. It can survive for up to 7 weeks without insect prey, by feeding on organic matter, plant debris and nematodes.
Each litre of Hypoaspis contains 30,000 predators. Prices INCLUDE GST and freight.
Buy Now: $61 – $271
BanItch is the use of soil dwelling predatory mites that are used to treat the eggs and larval stages of biting midges or sandflies. It is a property management tool that helps in significantly reducing the number of these nuisance biting pests in your gardens and lawns. If biting midges or sandflies are a problem for you head over to our dedicated BanItch section.
