The true lovers of gardening are involved in the correct development of their plants as if they were some of their most loved ones, and this is something inevitable when so many hours are dedicated to their care and maintenance.
Although tasks are often pleasant and entertaining, there may also be some setbacks or unpleasant problems that we want to end as soon as possible. One of the ones we undoubtedly hate the most is parasites. Therefore, in this article, we present a guide to the parasites that affect the most common plants so that in this way you can easily recognize them and know better how to eliminate them.
List of parasites that affect plants
Do you want to know what type of parasites affect your plants ? Take note, here is a brief summary:
- Whitefly: these are small white insects between 2 or 3 mm that feed on the sap of plants. In addition to laying eggs on the undersides of the leaves (where they are installed), they secrete sugar that can damage our specimens with sooty mold.
- Shield mealybug: they measure the same as the previous ones and have a dark and somewhat viscous shell. They are found on the stems or in the lower part of the leaves and also feed on sap. The leaves turn yellow, the plants slow down their development and can dry out or become poisoned. Be careful with dark plants, as it is in these that they manage to go unnoticed the most.
- Cottony mealybug : These insects of about 2 or 3 mm are characterized by their pinkish surface covered by white hair. Yellowing leaves and sooty mold are the main problems it causes.
- Nematodes: their size makes them often unnoticeable at first glance, yet they can be very damaging to the roots, stems and leaves of plants, which they easily weaken and dry out.
- Aphids: black, green, yellow or orange, aphids are one of the most common pests on plants. They are easily visible among young shoots, leaves and buds among other things because they are produced with such ease that we can find hundreds of them in a short time. In addition, the sugar they give off is a great attraction for ants, so you must stop the plague before they also destroy your plant.
- Spiders: if you have yellow, green or orange spiders , your plants could suffer chlorosis and defoliation. Like spiders, these parasites weave a web that will hinder chlorophyll function and phytosanitary treatments.
Parasites that affect plants
