Don't Use Pesticides Recklessly When Succulents Get Mealybugs: Treatment Methods and Taboos for Beginners

Mealybugs on succulents are a nightmare for gardening enthusiasts.

Especially for beginner gardening enthusiasts.

This article compiles mealybug removal methods for succulents shared by gardening enthusiasts,

along with answers to a few simple questions,

and is quite practical for beginners.

Where do the bugs come from?

The bugs definitely come from hatched eggs. Most bugs at home are brought in with the succulents you bought. It is very rare for eggs to be carried in pre-packaged soil.

Can "potassium permanganate" kill bugs or eggs?

"Potassium permanganate" is a disinfectant; it cannot kill bugs or eggs.

Can "carbendazim" kill bugs and eggs?

Carbendazim is a fungicide; it cannot kill bugs and eggs.

They mainly attach to the underside of leaves and stems to suck plant sap. They are very easy to spot and highly contagious. Adults will crawl from one pot to another, so once discovered, they must be dealt with promptly. Since they are visible bugs, cleaning them up is much easier. A manual toothpick or needle will do the job. When they cluster in large numbers, you can use pesticide spray. The "Hua Hua Shen" I personally find very handy is cheap and effective. Just dilute with water at a 1:200 ratio as stated in the instructions and spray. Spray again once more after a week, and basically you won't see those disgusting bugs again.

Note that after spraying, you must not expose the plant to sunlight. Keep it in a shaded place for 4-5 days before moving it to a spot with sunlight. This is because placing it in the sun right after spraying will accelerate water evaporation, which increases the pesticide concentration and can easily burn the plant. If you have children or a pregnant woman at home, or if you don't want to use pesticides, you can take the plant and rinse it under running water, or use a magnifying glass plus a needle to poke and pop them one by one! Just repeat the cycle of checking, finding, and removing.

Because there are eggs, and eggs cannot be killed by pesticides, you can only wait for them to hatch into larvae and then find and remove them.

This one is more troublesome, because under normal circumstances these bugs are invisible. They almost all live in the soil, surviving by sucking nutrients from the root system, then laying eggs and hatching. They are extremely hard to find. Generally, you can only see them when repotting and changing soil. So this requires us to do various checks and cleaning when we first buy succulents. Their contagiousness is also terrifying. Adults will crawl out from the bottom of a pot and get into another pot.

But the most terrifying thing is their eggs. When watering, the eggs will flow out of the pot. If they stick to soil and then get mixed into other pots, there will soon be a massive outbreak. These bugs can never be completely eradicated; you can only fight a long-term battle against them. Everyone, be mentally prepared!

If you don't use pesticides and find root mealybugs when repotting, you need to immediately discard the original soil (or throw it outdoors in the sun for a few months before using it in the yard again). Wash the plant's root system completely clean, then do a simple trim, then soak in clean water for half an hour, rinse again, then air-dry for 1-2 days, and repot after it dries completely. The original pot also needs to be rewashed, preferably scrubbed 360 degrees with a brush. If you find that too troublesome and want to use pesticides, the most effective ones currently are "Jie Bi Zhi," "Su Pu Sha," "Bayer Little Green Pills," and "Furadan." These can all kill the bugs, but they cannot kill the eggs. This means you need to use them continuously. Personally, I am quite opposed to using pesticides. Not only can they easily harm the plant, but they also cause secondary pollution to the soil. You can weigh this for yourself~

For any kind of bug, everyone should treat them correctly and not be overly nervous or afraid, because bugs and plants coexist~ Finally, I still hope everyone's succulents all grow healthily, and ideally without any bugs causing trouble~

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