Use balls to clean the leaves and swabs to clean inside the gaps. Outdoors, bougainvillea can experience a few pests, most notably bougainvillea looper caterpillar, which feeds on the leaves of the plant. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →, Red Orange Bougainvillea image by verdantspaces from, Capitol District Community Gardens: Garden Pests and Diseases, Gardening Know How: About Bougainvillea Loopers, Virginia Cooperative Extension: The Insect Pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. Mealybugs love succulents. 3. If you want to keep the plant, prune off the highly infested parts. Mealybugs, like aphids and other scale insects, feed on the sap of the plants and excrete honeydew. Choose a preparation labeled for your particular pest and follow the packaging instructions carefully. Introduce beneficial predators to your garden. View full size in a new window Infestation on potted annuals Mealybugs feed by sucking plant juices which weakens the plant and causes the plant’s leaves to turn yellow, wilt and drop. Bougainvillea loopers are inchworms that eat the leaves. Keep the area free of all excess plant material and debris. Symptoms: The smaller, unhatched scale insects can be observed on the underside of some leaves, covered in a waxy coating. Tiny wingless insects, mealybugs are only 1/5 inch long and have a waxy, gray or white appearance. Brands vary, so make sure you follow the label's instructions. They look like small cottony masses placed at branch crotches and leaf stems. You can also easily knock most bugs from the bougainvillea’s leaves with a sharp stream of water from the garden hose. When the neglect is significant, the plant may suffer from stress, leaving it vulnerable to several plant pests. Appearance and Distribution of the Pest. If you’re really fed up with pests, exact your vengeance by squishing them between gloved fingers. Hand pick any bugs that you find and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. With this in mind, choose a spot against a warm, protected wall where you want to add a BIG splash of color. Aphids suck the juices from the plant and then excrete a substance known as honeydew that attracts fungus that then creates sooty mold, a black powdery substance. Beneficial insects can be purchased from gardening centers. Treat with Neem oil for prevention and treatment of many insect pests. Both of these can be managed by spraying the leaves thoroughly with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of neem oil in 1 gallon of water, or according to label instructions. Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.) horticultural oil and ½ tsp. The insects also produce honeydew, a sticky substance that increases mold growth on plants and attracts feeding ants. How to Get a Bougainvillea Plant Part to Root, Bougainvillea Growers International: Hardiness Zone Search. Bugs may die rapidly or simply stop eating and starve for two or three days before expiring. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources: Cowpea Aphid, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Melon Aphids, Bougainvillea Growers International: Pests and Diseases, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Citrus Mealybugs, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Brown Soft Scale, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Giant Whitefly, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Bougainvillea Looper, University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Spinosad, Difference Between Mandevilla & Bougainvillea. Combine ¼ tsp. 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