Natural Enemies for the Top 5 North Carolina Interiorscape Insect Pests
PEST |
NATURAL ENEMY |
RATE |
UNIQUE CHARACTERS |
|---|---|---|---|
Citrus Mealybug |
Mealybug Destroyer
(Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) |
2-8/yard of foliage every 3-2 weeks, 2-4 times to start. 2-3/yd/month to maintain control |
Mealybug destroyer larvae can be confused with mealybug larvae |
Long-tailed |
Mealybug Destroyer
(Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) |
As above. |
Mealybug destroyers need cottony egg mass to lay their eggs in. Long-tailed mealybugs don't produce a cottony mass. |
Long-tailed Mealybug |
Green Lacewing
|
2-5/yard every 2 weeks, 2-3 times |
Need to release lacewing larvae. |
Spider Mite |
Amblyseius Mites
|
10-32/yd, every 3 -2 wks, 2-4 times. 3-6/yd/month to maintain |
Effective under a variety of conditions. Can live on pollen as well as mites. |
Scale |
Harmonia |
1-4/yard of foliage every 3-2 weeks, 2-4 times to start. 1-3/yd/quarter to maintain control |
Release of lab-raised Harmonia in interiorscapes will not cause pest problem associated with wild populations of this beetle. |
Fungus Gnats |
Soil-Dwelling Mite
(Hypoaspis miles) |
1-4/yard of foliage every 3-2 weeks, 2-4 times to start. 1-3/yd/quarter to maintain control |
Will also feed on thrips pupae in the soil. |
Aphids |
Aphidius |
2-8/yd/week, 2-4 times to start. 2-3/yd monthly to maintain control |
Shipped as live adults, ready to parasitize aphids. |
Aphidoletes |
2-5/yd every 2-1 weeks, 2-5 times to start. 2-3/yd monthly to maintain control |
Drop from plants into soil to pupate. If soil is not directly beneath foliage, they will die. |
|
Ladybeetles
|
As above |
|
Some Suppliers of Natural Enemies in the United States
The Green Spot |
Ciba Bunting North America |
Koppert USA |
Also see the Members of the Association of Natural Bio-control Producers