Get ready for these pests when you grow geranium

APHIDS

The aphids settle on young leaves the plant sap large colonies. Sprouts, young, developing leaves are distorted at the suction site. Their feces contain many sugars, in which black mushrooms and blackberries settle down. When they do, we regularly protect them against spraying with pesticides. We can also make bioplastics from nettle root, although its effect is unclear.

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

The gamma owl ( Autographa gamma ) caterpillar chews young leaves, leaving irregular holes on the edge or in the leaf. The cotton bollworm ( Helicoverpa armigera ), a relatively new damage, this larva consumes the buds still closed from the inside. It is possible to protect against pesticides that can be absorbed.

MITES

The geranium is most often damaged by the two-spotted spider mites ( Tetranychus urticae ), which settle on the back of the leaf. The eight-legged, tiny animals weave a spider-like web, which is hardly noticed by the dull statuette . After the suction, the leaf turns yellow, turns brown, and then falls off. They grow in mass in particularly dry, warm weather. We can protect against them with antiseptics.

AMERICAN BUTTERFLY JACKET

The American butterfly ( Metcalfa pruinosa ) has appeared in Hungary in the last few years. The animal is 2-3 mm long, snow-white. Like aphids, it shoots massively with shoots and young leaves. Its damage is similar to aphids. The defense, however, is much more difficult because the animal's body is covered with a thick layer of white wax. This layer of wax is also applied to the shoots, from which the fold also receives a white coating, this coating can only be removed mechanically (by washing) after the destruction of the pests.