How to deal with scale insects on honeysuckle: a review of effective methods and tools

A plant such as honeysuckle is characterized by high resistance to various diseases and pests. For this reason, this plant is held in high esteem by many gardeners. However, sometimes parasites still manage to attack the fruit and berry shrub and significantly reduce its productivity. And today we’ll talk about how to deal with a honeysuckle scale.

Pest Description

Scabies are called small pests from the family of homoptera insects, whose body is covered with a kind of carapace or shield. Hence the name - scale insects. These parasites attach to the bark, stems and leaf plates of plants and feed on juices.

In scale insects, sexual dimorphism is pronounced - differences in the structure of the body in females and males. The first are larger, but without wings and walking limbs. Females attach to the host plant and remain motionless throughout their lives. Males have one pair of wings and developed legs.
Scale larvae, regardless of gender, are motile. They have no carapace. As the females grow older, a shield forms in the females. They stick to the stems and leaves, after which they lose the ability to move.

Types of scale insects affecting honeysuckle

On the honeysuckle, the following species of scale insects can be found:

• Parthenolecaniiim corni Bouche (acacia) - representatives of this species are multinivorous and are capable of damaging about 150 plant varieties and species. With the advent of spring, when the air temperature warms up to +9 ... 10 ° C, the larvae settle on young shoots, branches and leaves and begin to suck out nutritious juices from them.
• Lepidosaphes ulmi L. (apple-tree spotted) are also polyphagous pests that parasitize 30 species of plants. As a result of infection, the trunk and branches become covered with brown spots and gradually dry out. If there are a lot of scale insects, then their activity can lead to the death of the plant. You can recognize them by an elongated body, which will be curved in the form of a comma.
  

  On a note! Apple-tree scale insects are most common in gardens where many trees grow!

• Chionaspis salicis L. (willow) - the yield of larvae falls in the spring. They actively creep along the plant and attach to the bark. As a result of parasitism, honeysuckle weakens.

Among the scale insects that feed on honeysuckle, the majority reproduce by laying eggs, but there are also viviparous. Fixed individuals can be found on the underside of the leaves, as well as in those places where the cuttings are attached to the branch. The distribution of young larvae occurs, as a rule, in the spring. With a large accumulation of parasites are so close that they can be mistaken for a plaque that stretches along large veins on the foliage.

Malware

The defeat of the scale will be represented by the following picture:

• affected plants lag behind in growth and development;
• the leaves lose their luster and become covered with a sticky substance;
• with time they turn yellow, brown spots form on them, and the leaves fall off prematurely;
• if scale insects reach the fruits, yellowish or brown spots appear on them.

In addition, the sticky pad secreted by shields is an ideal soil for reproduction of sooty fungi, the appearance of which only exacerbates the situation.

Methods of struggle

Since the body of the scutes is covered with a dense shell, the fight against them is quite difficult. And before resorting to the help of special preparations, it is necessary to try to remove as many sucking individuals from the plant as possible. To do this, make the following solution: add 30 ml of liquid soap and 20 ml of denatured alcohol to two liters of warm water. The resulting product is applied to parts of plants affected by scabies.

Important! However, some varieties of honeysuckle may be sensitive to the alcohol component. Therefore, they are processed only after a small test (on one sheet). If there is a burn, then the drug must be applied only to the insects themselves!

Chemicals

If there are a lot of shields on honeysuckle, then it is recommended to use the following chemicals to combat them:

• "Admiral" is a hormonal drug of contact-intestinal action, based on pyriproxifene. To combat scabies on honeysuckle, 6 ml of the drug is diluted in a bucket (10 l) of water, after which spraying is performed.
• "Aktara" is an insecticide with intestinal-contact activity, the main active ingredient of which is thiamethoxam. To spray the honeysuckle, it is necessary to prepare a solution: 8 g of the drug is added to 10 liters of water. For every 100 m² about 2 liters of working solution will be consumed.
• “Actellik” is an organophosphorus insect acaricide with contact and intestinal effects. It is based on pyrimifos methyl, a substance from the group of organophosphorus compounds. Toxic For processing plants, it is necessary to make a solution: 2 ml of water for 2 liters of water.
  
• "Applaud" is an insecticidal drug that is an inhibitor of the synthesis of chitinous cover. Based on buprofesin. In order to use it in the fight against scale insects on honeysuckle, 10 g of concentrate should be diluted in a bucket of water.
• "Bankol" - bensultap acts as an active substance. To prepare a working solution for 10 l of water, add 50-70 g of the drug, after which infected plants are sprayed.
• Biotlin is a systemic insecticide based on imidacloprid. Treatment of the honeysuckle bushes affected by the shields is carried out with a solution: 10 ml of the drug per bucket of water.
• "Confidor Extra" - in properties and composition is similar to the above tool. Apply as follows: add 1 g of the drug to a bucket of water. With severe infection, the concentration is doubled.

If there are a lot of shields on the honeysuckle bushes, then one treatment will not be enough. Spraying should be carried out two to three times at weekly intervals. At the same time, remember that with each subsequent treatment it is better to use an insecticide from another chemical group - so the parasites do not have time to develop immunity to active substances.