How to Get Rid of Pollen Bugs

There are over 1,000 species of powdery mildew, an insect that resembles a caterpillar or a small white aphid. They congregate and multiply in large numbers on the undersides of leaves. The larvae and adult beetles damage the plant by directly sucking the sap and transmitting disease to the plant. Once the powdery mildew is heavily infested, it is very difficult to eradicate. You may need to apply several measures over a period of several weeks, even having to prune the tree.

Table of Contents

Use natural solutions

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Suck the pollen. Use a hand-held vacuum or hold the end of a household vacuum cleaner to suck up the pollen. Walk around infested plants and suck the pest under the leaves and canopy. This is a quick, direct method that eliminates all stages of the beetle’s life cycle, from larva to adult gnawing. ^{[1] X Research Source} Vacuuming is most effective if used as soon as you detect an infestation.

Dispose of the trash bag in the vacuum cleaner when it is full of pollen. Put the garbage bag in the vacuum cleaner into a plastic garbage bag and tie it up, then put it in the freezer for at least 24 hours to kill the insects. When all the chalk beetles are dead, you can empty the trash bag in the trash. ^{[2] X Trusted Source University of Missouri Extension Go to Source}

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Remove severely infected branches. Use pruning shears to cut off infected plant parts as much as possible within the limits of not killing the tree. You can also manually remove powdery mildew-infected leaves. Look for white eggs and wingless “crawling insects” on the undersides of leaves. Severely infected leaves can be encased in a waxy liquid – the sweet juice secreted when the larvae suck the sap. ^{[3] X Source of Study} These leaves can also become discolored and wilt.

Prune only to the extent that allows the healthy state of the tree to be maintained. With weak plants infested with powdery mildew, only the most heavily infected leaves should be removed. With sturdy trees, you might consider cutting infected branches close to the trunk to prevent spread. ^{[4] X Trusted Source University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Go to source}
Be sure to dispose of infected branches properly. Burn or isolate infected branches in sealed bags. If you don’t handle it carefully, the powdery mildew can re-infest. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Prepare to handle multiple times. Pollen beetles develop through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. ^{[6] X Sources of Research} Each method usually targets only certain stages in the life cycle of the pollen beetle. So, if you’re using a method to kill adults, you need to keep doing it until all the eggs have developed into adults. You will have to react quickly and be patient when handling to ensure that newly emerging adult beetles do not lay any more eggs. ^{[7] X Trusted Source University of California Integrated Pest Management Program Go to source}

Only the larval and adult stages are actually harmful to the host plant. However, younger beetles will also develop into more harmful forms if left untreated.
To determine the best time frame for treatment, you need to examine the lifespan and developmental stages of the specific beetle. There are many species of beetles – including Silverleaf, Fig, Greenhouse, and Bandedwing species; Each species has a different lifespan.

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Wash the plant with a soapy solution. Pour a little dishwashing liquid into 1 liter of water and dissolve. Pay special attention to the underside of the leaves, where most of the beetles live. Note that this method only kills adults. Wash the plant every 3-4 days to remove adult bugs from the pupae. Depending on the species of powdery mildew, you may need to keep doing it for several weeks until it’s completely gone.

If using a more concentrated soap solution, you should wash the plant late in the day to avoid burning the foliage.

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Use natural enemies. There are many insects in the wild that love to eat beetles, and you can probably control an infestation by choosing the right predators to introduce into your ecosystem. The type of predator you use will depend on the beetle species. You might consider using lace beetles, ladybugs, bait bugs, bigeye beetles, wasps, and stink bugs.

Be careful when bringing foreign insects into the garden. Predators can deal with a chalk bug infestation, but it’s also possible that you’ll soon find yourself dealing with a whole lot more new bugs! Please research carefully before doing this.

Use traps

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Use yellow sticky paper. You can buy these traps at a garden supply store or make your own at home. Method: Apply a long-drying adhesive to a hard yellow surface (cardboard or wood). Glue, honey, machine oil or Vaseline cream are good options. It is believed that chalk beetles are often attracted to the color yellow. When these bugs move to the trap, they land and stick to the glue.

If you make your own trap, you may need to reapply the glue once it dries. For example, glue can dry within tens of minutes or hours. Machine oil or Vaseline cream may not work as quickly, but may keep the stickiness longer.
Be sure to remove the trap if you are using a spray method or using a natural predator to catch the beetles.

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Set traps near leaves. Pollen beetles often congregate on the undersides of leaves, and your traps will be more likely to catch these insects if placed near their natural habitat.

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Know when to clear the trap. You can remove the traps when most of the beetles are dead and you are only catching a few bugs per day. These traps are also capable of killing the pollen’s natural enemies, so this is not an appropriate method for dealing with low-level pollen infestations, unless the predators do not. can control them. If the beetle population recovers and returns, then you may want to consider resetting the trap. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Chasing chalk beetles

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Repel the beetles with plants that have a symbiotic relationship. Like the periwinkle, French and Mexican marigolds are often effective in repelling powdery mildew. Plant these plants in your garden to prevent the pest from coming back! However, you should note that this is only a preventive measure, not an effective solution when the plant has been infested with powdery mildew. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Potted marigolds and marigolds are not effective at repelling powdery mildew. Make sure to use the right plants! If you’re not sure, you can go to a nursery and ask about symbiotic plants that repel powdery mildew.

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Use a mixture of soap and water to spray the plant. Mix rubbing alcohol with water in a ratio of 2:5 in a 1-liter spray bottle, then add a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Spray a layer of the solution on leaves that are at risk of being infested with powdery mildew. If you don’t over-spray, this mixture won’t harm most plants and will work to prevent powdery mildew from producing larvae.

Consider using a natural oil, such as neem oil.

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Spread vermicompost on the base of the tree. It is believed that vermicompost, when added to a fertilizer infested plants, can repel the insects for a few weeks or months. ^{[10] X Research Source} Furthermore, vermicompost is a nutrient-rich fertilizer and can stimulate plant growth. You can ask for vermicompost at any gardening store. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Cover the soil with reflective material. Spread a layer of aluminum foil or reflective plastic mulch on the ground around susceptible plants. This will make it much more difficult for adult beetles to identify the host plant, which in turn makes it less likely that they will lay eggs. ^{[12] X Research Source}

This step requires you to be very careful when watering the plant. Trees covered with plastic material need to be watered with a drip irrigation system.
Do not use the coating in hot weather. Plants will get hot if covered too much.

Use chemicals

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Understand the risks and benefits of using pesticides. On the one hand, commercial insecticides are sometimes an effective way to kill pests quickly. On the other hand, powdery mildew is well known for being resistant to chemical products. Furthermore, these chemicals are often toxic to other organisms in the ecological environment, including non-harmful plants and insects in the garden, domestic animals and wildlife in the area, even harmful to the environment. your family. Chemical products should only be used as a last resort.

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Note that powdery mildew easily develops resistance to insecticides. The fact is that the eggs and pupae are resistant to most common insecticides. If chemicals are used, be sure to rotate them every few days to prevent the bugs from acclimatizing. Even if you’ve done this, it’s likely that the beetles will still be able to adapt. You could inadvertently create a super beetle that is extremely difficult to treat!

Warning

You should process several times to maintain the effect.
Pesticides can be effective but are also toxic when swallowed. Many insecticides used to control powdery mildew are often associated with deaths and significant reductions in honeybee populations, an important factor in pollinating flowering plants.

Steps

Use natural solutions

Use traps

Chasing chalk beetles

Use chemicals

Warning

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