Identifying Pests in the Greenhouse
In the greenhouse you are bound to have little critters come to visit. Unfortunately, not all of these critters are beneficial, and can, in fact, infect your greenhouse if not kept in check. To help you in identifying what's what, I am going to list a few pests that you are more likely to see.

Posted Thursday, April 6, 2006

Boot Mealy bugs are very similar to regular mealy bugs in that can take over and infest plants. Boot mealy bugs are known for attacking the actual roots of a plant. When you pull a plant out of the container, and the outside of the root ball is covered in mealy bugs, these are most likely boot mealy bugs.

The coloring of this insect is waxy and white looking. They are small and resemble woodlice. Boot mealy bugs are most known for eating the smallest of your plant roots. To get rid of these critters, repot the plant with fresh soil and treat the bugs every ten days with an insecticide.

Scale bugs are also known as scale insects. There are many types of insect that fall into this broad category. Scale insects often attack plants such as ferns, ornamentals and orchids. How will you know if you have these type of critters in your greenhouse? If your plant leaves are becoming sticky and you don't know why, scale bugs could be the source.

Scale bugs are going to suck the sap out of your plants, which is a reason that the plants are going to remain sticky. The leaves of your plants will often become speckled or yellow in color, and sometimes you will find mold growing because of the habits of this critter. There are very few methods that are successful in truly getting rid of all these insects. It would be in your best favor to get rid of the entire plant(s) infected by this insect.

The Whitefly is an insect that is a little easier to notice and identify. The white fly is not only a critter that will appear in the greenhouse, but in your gardens outdoors and on your houseplants as well.

The whitefly is a small moth like bug, white and with wings. The whitefly is often found on the underside of the leaves of your plants, rarely sitting on the tops of your leaves. The underside of your leaves are softer, easier to eat for the whitefly. The whitefly is going to suck the sap from your plants.

To get rid of whitefly, you can use a few sticky strips in the greenhouse to catch ones that are flying but you should also be spraying with an insecticide at least every three days for two weeks until you get all of the remaining insects and eggs.