Tiny white-ish bugs on Podocarpus in Southern Florida

9 years ago

We have thousands of tiny white bugs on our Podocarpus (Japanese Yew) plants.

Up close they appear to have a greyish tint and they do _not_ appear to fly or have wings. They are only 2-3mm in size, roughly .. the size of mites.

We've tried spraying different pesticides but it hasn't affected them.

Here's a high-res macro photo I've doctored to show you a close-up. Any idea what these could be?

Thank you in advance for any insight!!

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

7 years ago

C'mon, Ken.....every day should be an opportunity to learn something. Since you've always been generous with your time in these forums, you might as well be as accurate as possible, right?

Proper ID is important so that control can be as effective as possible with the least harmful of measures. Mealy bugs are a real problem.....aphids, not so much.

I knew you were guessing, which is why I mentioned the fact that you weren't familiar with this semi-tropical plant. How could you know the identity of a species specific pest known only to Podocarpus?

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Comments (10)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
mealy bugs .. ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=mealy+bugs&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirgrXti__RAhVF9YMKHTgdDbAQ_AUICCgB&biw=936&bih=739
rkmfl thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
rkmfl
Original Author
9 years ago
Hi Ken, thank you for the reply!

I had looked at Mealybugs on Google prior to posting and thought they looked the closest, but they are slightly different. I suppose there are many variations?

We're on our 4th pesticide attempt, none of the pesticides have work to date. So far we've tried Bifenthrin, Imidacloprid, Lambda-cyhalothrin, and Deltamethrin (the last two listed there are micro-capsule style pesticides, Demand & Suspend).

None of these have had any effect. I'm a homeowner and work in technology, I really don't know about pesticides and I'm sure what I've done is all wrong, lol.

Any ideas of the best way to treat these? We have about 50' of Podocarpus hedges about 7' tall, and they're all covered in these bugs.

Thanks again!
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Jean
9 years ago
Use Safer's Insecticidal Soap. Far less toxic -- i.e.: more safe for you and yours -- than all that other stuff.

It must touch the beasts.

Repeat according to label directions.
rkmfl thanked Jean
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
We have about 50' of Podocarpus hedges about 7' tall, and they're all covered in these bugs.

==>>> one of the nightmares associated with a monoculture ...

ken
daniela gozlan
7 years ago
use a very small amount of dish soap mixed with water. It killed mine the sencond day but u have to keep your eyes on it. They come back. It’s annoying.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
7 years ago
They are not mealybugs! rkmfl, you should have trusted your instincts, they really don't look like mealybugs at all.

The insects are Neophyllaphis podocarpi, called the Podocarpus aphid. Treat like any aphid, strong sprays of plain water to knock them off, commercial brands of insecticidal soap, and/or horticultural oil. No need for the heavy duty pesticides, which may even create an environment in which the aphid population can explode.

Ken, I'm sure that you're not familiar with podocarpus but it doesn't matter in this case. Have you ever seen a mealybug (or a picture of one) with nice long antennae? No.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
wouldnt be the holiday season.. if i didnt get a beat down ...

i made a GUESS almost two years ago .. and offered a link for the OP to compare ... and as you will note.. they said it was not a match ...

i dont mind being wrong ... its not the first time.. and im sure it wont be the last ... but i dont need the lecture .. pshaw ...

ken
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
7 years ago
Your explanation helps, rhizo, but I must admit that I, too, thought it odd you'd react to a two year old post like that. Did you miss the date?

tj
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
7 years ago
Like so many others, I just read the post of a few hours ago that brought this thread back to the top. Daniela Gozlan (up thread) resurrected it and hers was the only date I noticed.

Saw the picture, knew what the critters were, saw that they had been misidentified, thought it a good idea to put the OP (and anyone else) on the right path.

I probably still would have made the ID had I noticed the date of the original post.