Detect and combat rhododendron pests

• Pests or darling "> Possible Rhododendron pests
  • aphids
  • thrips
  • weevil
  • Rhododendron Bugs
  • Rhododendron cicada
• Conclusion

Rhododendron pests do not always have to be recognized and not always combated, they have not been developed so completely meaningless by evolution. Only when the pests get out of hand, there is need for action, the article provides an overview, in which direction.

If it crawls on the rhododendron, an animal is on the way, which does not cause panic. You only have to assess what is crawling, then it depends on whether combat is about to happen and how fast and intense it must be.

Pest or favorite?

Every plant species has its pests - which you might as well call favorites. Plant and small animal live in a symbiosis, in which one part brings the other any advantages. Symbiosis and the surrounding environment usually ensure that no single individual gets overhanded to the detriment of others - this regulates nature completely in a biological equilibrium habitat.

If something is not right, nature still controls a great deal, but eventually the balance is so disturbed that all correction mechanisms fail. If pests get out of hand, that's just the case - either your rhododendron is suffering from deficiencies / deficiencies or your garden soil is not doing very well overall, and therefore your rhododendron is not.

Tip: First of all, supply shortages should be stopped at the Rhododendron. They will pave the way for excessive pest growth (and pathogens, perhaps). Together with the gentlest possible (mechanical) pest reduction and further strengthening of the rhododendron, this is the first important step towards a garden with plants that do not suffer from pest infestation.

Possible rhododendron pests

These are the pests that rhododendrons like especially:

aphids

Aphids are recognizable because they eat on the leaves and leave sticky marks. These sticky traces are honeydew, an important nutrient z. For ants. Ants, in turn, are the most important inhabitants of your garden when it comes to natural soil care.

Aphids multiply at some point in the spring and then appear in large numbers for a while, which does not cause any concern: in the case of overpopulation, some of the offspring get wings and leave the plant from being damaged by too much feeding. Since only about 10% of aphids change hosts, the winged offspring will die if they can not find rhododendrons nearby.

A normal, strong rhododendron shakes shortly after this spring pass and keeps on briskly, feeding "all sorts of useful small animals" with "his pest" during this time:

• Ladybugs and their larvae
• hoverfly
• lacewing larvae
• Parasitic wasps larvae
• Tachinidae
• assassin bugs
• Ground beetles
• Weichkäfer
• Spiders and birds

Aphids do not have to be fought until a weakened rhododendron offers them so little resistance that they multiply excessively. If you see "too many aphids, " then it's time for plant tonics, which provide aphids an unfavorable environment, such as nettle slaughter.

Although the often-recommended chemical control kills aphids, it does not necessarily do rhododendron well, and it increases the imbalance in your garden even more, because it also kills the aphids.

thrips

Bladder feet, fringes (thrips) are striking because the leaves look silvery speckled, you may also see millimeter-sized larvae on the undersides of the leaves or tiny, transparent insects.

What applies to aphids, applies to thrips - in case of excessive infestation rhododendron-strengthening and plant-sparing control:

• Shower with oil-Spüli-water emulsion
  • 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil + 1 splash of rinse to 1 liter of water, mix
• Soft soap solution
  • 15 g to 1 liter of warm water
  • Spray contact agent dripping wet

Flying thrips land on adhesive boards, but they only like blue, yellow. In case of heavy infestation biological pest control with predators (predatory mites named " Amblyseius cucumeris ", flower bugs of the genus Orius, lacewings larvae of " Chrysoperla carnea ") These predators are all to buy.

weevil

Fringed weevil, Otiorrhynchus sulcatus, feeds crescents into the leaf margins and the larvae eat holes in the roots.

Against the inconspicuous weevils and their larvae helps only regular collecting, in the evening at the root neck with flashlight or biological control with nematodes. Chemicals fail in weevils.

Rhododendron Bugs

Rhododendron bugs, Stephanitis rhododendri and Stephanitis obertii, cause bright and later brownish speckled spots on the leaf top and brown-black throat drops.

Only one generation per year, feral animals are fought by removing infested leaves and larvae in early summer and removing shooters with ovate leaves in winter. There are still too few experiences, whether pesticides help against sucking insects in case of heavy infestation.

Rhododendron cicada

The cicadas are described in a separate article: rhododendron cicadas

Conclusion

The second step to the garden with non-pest plants is more nature in the garden, allowing all sorts of small animals to settle among themselves, balancing pests, beneficials, darlings, flies and crawlies. It may take a while, but against the backdrop of increasing resistance to pesticides, it is the only way to be successful over the long term.