What to Do When Mint Leaves Have Insects? A Detailed Guide to Prevention and Control Methods
When mint is mentioned, many people surely know it. It is not only fragrant but also tastes good. It can be eaten directly as a cold salad, cooked in soup, steeped in water, or placed at home to decorate the environment, so many people like to keep a pot at home. However, during cultivation, various pests and diseases appear, so what should be done when mint leaves have insects?
1. Black cutworm
Damage symptoms: In spring, black cutworm larvae bite through the mint plant near the ground, causing missing seedlings and broken seedlings, uneven holes in the lower leaves, and notches eaten into the aboveground stems.
Control method: Spray the roots with 40% fenpropathrin-malathion emulsifiable concentrate and fenvalerate-killing emulsifiable concentrate at 2000-3000 times dilution, or use 40% methyl parathion at 1000 times dilution for root irrigation.
2. Silver-marked noctuid
Damage symptoms: In spring, black cutworm larvae bite through the mint plant near the ground, causing missing seedlings and broken seedlings, uneven holes in the lower leaves, and notches eaten into the aboveground stems.
Control method: Dilute with water and spray 50% chlorfluazuron emulsifiable concentrate (30-60 ml per mu) or 50% fenitrothion at 1000 times dilution. Also, do not spray pesticide again after 20 days before harvest.
3. Tobacco cutworm
Damage symptoms: Larvae feed on mint leaves from August to October.
Control method: Spray with 90% crystalline trichlorfon at 1000 times dilution or 50% fenitrothion at 1000 times dilution to kill them. Note: Spraying pesticide should stop 20 days before harvest to prevent pesticide residues from affecting its quality.
4. Flea beetle
Damage symptoms: The flea beetle is an insect of the order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelidae. It mostly occurs in summer and autumn. Adults bite and feed on the underside of leaves, leaving a honeycomb-like appearance after feeding.
Control method: Spray with 90% crystalline trichlorfon at 1000 times dilution to kill them.
5. Inchworm
Damage symptoms: Also called “bridge-building worm.” The damage period is around mid-June and late August.
Control method: Use 15-20 ml of decis per mu mixed with water and spray 1-2 times, or spray with 80% dichlorvos at 1000 times dilution.