How to deal with scale insects on indoor plants? The use of insecticides and folk remedies

Scale is a common pest of plants, including domestic ones. This insect, belonging to the Pseudocyclide family, affects the green part, which leads to weakening and sometimes death of flowers. But there are effective ways to deal with scale insects on indoor plants.

Pest Description

Scabies living on indoor flowers are small insects that can be seen on leaves and stems. The length of their oval-shaped body is about 2–5 mm in length. It is painted brown and protected by a wax shield, which can be brown or brown. Information on what a scale insect looks like on indoor plants is useful to identify an insect.

Females and larvae lead an almost immobile lifestyle, moving only in emergency situations.

Nutrition for scabies are the juices of the plant on which they parasitize. Therefore, it is not surprising that the inhabitants of the windowsill begin to literally languish before our eyes. The leaves turn yellow and fall, and the young shoots dry out one by one.

Fight

If a scale shield is found on indoor plants, the first measures should be taken immediately:

1. Remove all twigs and leaves that the pest managed to infect.
2. If this is not possible, then you will need to manually remove the insects using a cotton pad dipped in a soap solution or diluted insecticide. To remove from stiff shoots, you can use a knife, scraping the parasites with the blunt side of the blade.
   
3. Immediately isolate the diseased patient from its neighbors and then carefully examine all the plants in the house. Preferably through a magnifying glass.
4. The window sill and frame, shelving, adjacent pots should also be treated with a solution of insecticide or ordinary soap, because they may contain eggs or scale insect larvae.
5. The topsoil must be removed immediately and replaced with a new one.
6. Gently rinse the plant in the shower.

Now it remains to wait until the indoor flower dries. Then you can start processing it using pesticides or folk remedies.

Chemicals

When all the moisture has evaporated from the leaves, it's time to start processing the plant. To completely destroy the scab from indoor flowers will help insecticides of chemical origin. They show good results, but produce a toxic effect on the human body. Therefore, you must be extremely careful when working with chemicals: follow the instructions exactly and do not neglect important safety precautions.

After processing the plant, the room must be well ventilated so that the insecticide vapor disappears.

The basic preparations for scale insects on indoor plants include Fitoverm and Aktaru. They are easy to use and have proven themselves in action, becoming the favorite insecticides of many gardeners.

But sometimes their actions are not enough. And, if the treatment did not bring the desired result, more toxic drugs will come to the rescue:

1. Inta-Vir, Confidor, Tanrek;
2. "Actellik", "Vermitek" and "Karbofos" are used if the infection with scabies has become widespread.Processing with these products can only be carried out outdoors, with gloves and a respirator.

Their list is given as toxic properties increase.

Fitoverm

The drug is the most mild exposure, almost safe for humans. Therefore, experienced flower growers are advised to start the fight against the pest precisely with Fitoverma. To prepare the working solution, you will need to dilute 2 ml of the chemical in 200 ml of water. With this composition, the plant is sprayed from all sides from a conventional spray gun. A total of 3-4 treatments will be needed to completely get rid of the pest.

Aktara

A powerful systemic insecticide that destroys most pests of indoor plants. A solution prepared at the rate of 1 g per 1.25 liters of water is suitable for spraying the green part. This amount is enough for 20-30 home flowers, depending on their size. “Aktara” needs to be shed and the soil: for this, 1 g is diluted in 10 liters of water (standard bucket). As practice shows, 2-3 procedures are enough to eliminate the problem of pest infection of indoor plants.

Plant Processing Rules

In order for the insecticides to work in full force, it will be useful to listen to the recommendations.

1. The optimal average daily temperature for the use of insecticides is 22–24 ° C. If the indicator is lower, then the effectiveness of the remedy for scale insects will decrease. This must be taken into account when planning the number of treatments.
2. Some gardeners advise putting a plastic bag on the plant to enhance the effect.
3. Each insecticide has individual characteristics of use specified in the instructions.
4. It will be useful to spray all the plants that are in the room, because it is likely that scale shield I got to them.

A single treatment gives an effect only for a few days, so you need to repeat the procedure. If a specific insecticide does not bring the desired result even when applied according to all the rules, then you need to choose a drug with another active substance. The pest quickly develops resistance to one of them.

Folk remedies

If it is impossible or unwilling to spray chemicals at home, the fight against scale insects on indoor plants can be carried out using folk remedies. But they act on the pest much weaker than pesticides, so it will be difficult to manage 2-3 treatments. Each grower decides for himself, which is preferable.

To folk remedies for scale insects on indoor plants include:

1. Soap solution. It is better to give preference to tar or household, although you can use any, even liquid. To prepare in a bucket of water, dilute soap shavings so that foam appears. To enhance the toxic effect, add 1 teaspoon of ammonia, which is sold in each pharmacy. The stems and leaves of the plant, the place around the flower and the pot with a tray are carefully treated with a solution. The result will be better if you leave the soap for 30 minutes, and only then rinse with running water.
   

   Means with the addition of alcohol can be left only for 15 minutes, so as not to burn the flower. For plants with delicate leaves (for example, begonias), their use is prohibited.

2. Soap solution with the addition of oil. To prepare it, 1 glass of water needs 10 g of soap and 15 ml of machine oil. When applying such an emulsion to a flower, it is important to cover the soil with an impermeable film and keep the product on the leaves and stems for 6 to 10 hours.
   

   Do not use an oil solution when processing plants with thin or pubescent leaves (for example, violets).

3. Garlic. The pungent smell of its cloves is detrimental to scale insects. It will take 5 slices chopped to gruel (you can use a garlic squeezer) pour a glass of water and stand for 24–48 hours. The infusion of garlic can be used to wipe leaves with cotton wool, folded gauze or spraying.
4. Bow. Onion infusion is prepared in the same way as garlic.Only 2-3 glasses of medium weight should be taken on a glass, and the infusion time is much shorter: only 3 hours.
5. Pepper. 50 g of hot fresh pod are crushed and filled with 0.5 l of water. The infusion time is exactly one day. This tincture can only be used once every 14 days, so as not to damage the plants with caustic liquid. The product is well stored in the refrigerator for a long time.
6. Tobacco. 80 g of shag is filled with 1 liter of water, then left to infuse for a day.
7. Kerosene with soap. For 1 liter of water, kerosene (5 drops) and laundry soap (40 g) should be taken. The ingredients are mixed well, after which the solution is ready for use.

It is possible and recommended to add a little soap to plant infusions: this way the product will stay on flowers better.

The number of treatments depends on the degree of spread of the scale. Typically, the procedure is carried out after 7-10 days, unless otherwise indicated. It is important to observe the regularity of spraying and rubbing: if the interval between them is too large, then all the effort spent will be wasted.

Prevention

Prevention of infection of the scale insect coincides with preventive measures against other pests. It is very important to ensure proper care (especially watering) and a suitable microclimate. Do not allow stagnation of moisture in the pan of the pot and excessive wetting of the earthen coma.

All indoor plants need to be inspected every 1-2 weeks to notice the appearance of scale insects in a timely manner.

Pests infect weakened plants. Therefore, you should fight diseases in time and feed the flowers with a sufficient amount of organic and mineral fertilizers.

Often the "relapse" of infection occurs after 2-3 months. You can talk about victory only after the complete destruction of the insect. Make it easier if you know how to get rid of scale insects on indoor plants. To do this, you will need to use chemical and folk remedies, as well as create favorable conditions for the plant.