Beugainvilla pest?
Question:I have small hairy wors eating my beugainvilla - sorry, no pic, buit they are small, black and white by the looks of it and about 5 or 6 mm long, and very very hungry.
How can I gert rid of them?
Answers:
For those who do not want to use chemicals mix one part JOY Dish Liquid, one part Canola Oil and five parts Water and spray plant. Obviously it is some kind of worm. The above recipe should do the trick. Or your can use something like sevin dust...I like the earth friendly option my self. I have bougainvilleas and have used this mixture. Could you tell us what part of the country you live in? That would help to narrow it down.
Bouganvillea loopers, as the name suggests, feed primarily
on bougainvillea, but they have also been reported to feed on other plants in the Nyctaginaceae family, such
as the four-o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa). This looper has most often been observed feeding on the common
purple bougainvillea, but it does not appear to have a preference for one bougainvillea variety over
another—it likes them all.
Description:
bougainvillea looper is a green or brown caterpillar
about 1 inch long. It is also called “inchworm” or “measuring
worm” because it moves in alternate contractions
and expansions suggestive of measuring. The looper
larva mimics stems and branches very well and feeds
primarily at night, which is why you may see the damage
but fail to find the culprit on the plant.
The adult is a moth, a very fast flyer with a wingspan
of about 1 inch. The moth does not feed on the
foliage. Like the larva, it also is
active at night, when it is believed
to lay its eggs on the underside of
bougainvillea leaves.
Damage:
The bougainvillea looper feeds from the edges of the
leaves, which results in severe scalloping of the foliage.
Attacks begin on the young, tender shoots and leaves
before progressing down the stem. The loopers may
move down the stems during the night and take shelter
on the larger interior branches during the day. As the
population multiplies, entire shrubs can be defoliated.
To date, the bougainvillea looper has not generally been
regarded as a serious pest. The insect will cause significant
visual damage to bougainvillea, although this does
not apparently result in the death of the plants.
Bougainvillea Looper
Distribution
The bougainvillea looper is a very
wide-ranging, migratory species
from tropical America. It is a relatively
new pest in Hawaii, first reported
on Oahu in 1993, and since
then has spread to Maui, the Big Island,
Kauai, and probably Molokai.
Although it could have been introduced
to Hawaii with nursery stock,
it is possible that it became established
naturally through long-range
dispersal, because the moths can
travel great distances on air currents.
Control
Bacillus thuringiensis (BT, or Dipel®) and neem-based
biological insecticide products should be effective on
the loopers without harming other insects that may biologically control them, such as parasitic, mud, and paper
wasps. Insectical oils and soaps will not control caterpillars
such as the looper.
Most synthetic insecticides with labels permitting
use against caterpillars on landscape ornamentals, such
as carbaryl (Sevin®), will likely kill the bougainvillea
looper, although these products are often destructive to
beneficial insects as well.
Spraying insecticides late in the evening is recommended.
This is when the bougainvillea looper caterpillars
and adult moths are active, and also when the beneficial
insects are not likely to be active.
Disyston -- systemic insecticide. Sprinkle around drip line, water in.
Spray them off with water and step on them.
They are called 'Aphids' I think. Just spray them with some industrial pesticides you can grab from your local nursery.
A 50/50 mixture of insecticidal soap (diluted with water per instructions) and rubbing alcohol works well on most caterpillars and is pretty benign environmentally.
If there are not too many of the little pests, just pick them off and smush them.
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