The juicy green leaves of a birch fig are a feast for pests. In order to successfully combat the pests, the symptoms should be interpreted correctly. In many cases there is no need to resort to chemical insecticides. This overview provides important information about common pests on the Benjamini with tips for effective home remedies.
How can I control pests on a Ficus Benjamini?
Home remedies help with Ficus Benjamini pests: treat aphids with soft soap solution, rub scale insects with alcohol and combat thrips by showering and spraying daily. Whiteflies can be caught with sticky traps and larvae can be controlled with rapeseed oil insecticides.
Aphids surrender to soap – this is how it works
They are omnipresent in the garden, on the balcony and on the windowsill. They are not afraid of the poisonous plant sap. Aphids pierce the leaf tissue with their mouthparts and suck up the milky sap. Once you have discovered the 1-3 mm small insects, the soft soap solution tops any insecticide. The spray consists of 1 liter of water and a tablespoon each of soft soap and spirit.
Pests with shells – fight scale insects effectively
Scale insects follow the same strategy as aphids. To make matters worse, these pests protect themselves with a shell. The infestation can be recognized by small bumps on the leaves and shoots. Of course, the beasts have nothing to counter high-proof alcohol. Therefore, rub the affected parts of the plant with a cloth soaked in alcohol.
Get rid of thrips without chemicals – this is how it works
Silvery specks on the leaves of your birch fig are an alarm signal because the thrips larvae are sucking the life out of the plant. The fringed winged birds cause mischief primarily during the winter on the warm windowsill. How to combat the pests:
- Isolate the affected Benjamini from other plants
- Shower the plant upside down (protect the root ball with foil)
- From now on, spray the tops and bottoms of the leaves daily with soft water
In the advanced stages, a variant of the soft soap solution has proven successful in combating thrips and their larvae. Add 20 grams of soft soap, 30-50 milliliters of spirit and half a teaspoon of s alt and rock powder to 1 liter of boiled water. Spray the birch fig every 2 to 3 days until thrips no longer appear.
Tip
If white clouds of insects rise at the slightest vibration, the whitefly has struck on your Benjamini. An important indication of an infestation are yellow speckles on the leaves, where the pests extract the plant sap. By hanging sticky traps in the birch fig, you can capture the winged females. Insecticides based on rapeseed oil have proven effective against the larvae.
