mcpriors
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What Are These Cocoons On Back Of Jasmine Leaves?

Morning all, new to the backyard gardening scene but have been enjoying it a lot more since lockdown.
It's been amazing watching the seasons change through the plants around you.

One little problem my wife has encountered is these little cocoons on the back of all our jasmine leaves. Does anyone out there know what these are?

Thanks in advance.
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applestar
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Welcome to our forum! :D

I think those are not cocoons (as in moths) but egg clusters or nest clusters of small sucking pests enrobed in the wooly white, waxy material that they exude to protect themselves — “mealybugs” or “wooly aphids” or scale insects.

Use rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton swab or tissue, etc. and dab/wipe at them. Doing this should dissolve the white stuff and reveal tiny pinkish brown-red, sesame seed sized and shaped bugs with multiple legs underneath (I think I actually see some in your photo)

How to treat will depend on size of your jasmine and extent of infestation, but for now, systematically wiping away will get rid of many of them before they all hatch and disperse.

(If infestation is severe, simply trimming off the affected branches and disposing them is another option, especially with rapidly growing plant like jasmine)

Following with soapy water (pure liquid soap like Dr. Bronners is safest for the plant) will kill the pests by suffocating and dehydrating them after they have been deprived of their protection, and then rinsing thoroughly with water is an easy first step.

Also check for ants climbing all over the plant and if present, set out ant bait for them to take home to kill off the colony. I usually add a bit of borax to the soapy solution so if any ants interact with the mealybugs, they will also ingest the borax.

Remember that soapy solution washed off of the plant will saturate the soil underneath, so be aware that borax is a cumulative toxin that could affect pets and desirable wildlife.

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applestar
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…you said this is in your “back yard” — if infestation is heavy, typically there would be predatory response in a healthy, diverse outdoor environment.

Do you see any other sign of insect activity?

As I mentioned, ants are very likely — they would be actually helping the pests because they like to collect nectar from the honeydew they produce … you may see black mold/mildew starting to form — also taking advantage of the honeydew. There may be increase in wasps and flies as well.

But you may also see obvious predatory activities by spiders, lady beetles, tiny parasitic wasps, or even insect eating small birds.

You didn’t mention where you are located, but in my backyard, I might see chickadees and titmice, nuthatches, downey woodpeckers, and some finch and warbler species busily picking off or scraping up sucking pests.

Tree frogs are another possible predator.

…I mention this because the existing biodiversity could affect how one might try to eradicate the pests as well.

imafan26
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I believe they are long tailed mealy bug egg masses. There are also a few long tailed mealy bugs around the egg mass on the leaf.

Besides what Applestar mentioned, put out ant bait and control the ants which will move and protect them.

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applestar
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Adding “long tailed mealy bugs” to my pest database :wink:

I’m finding isolated mealy bugs (and tiny sugar ants) on my container plants that were brought inside for the winter. These can be picked off with bamboo skewer wrapped with a bit of paper towel and dipped in a little jar of alcohol+soap.

imafan26
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Mealy bugs are difficult pests to control. Their waxy coating makes them hard to kill with pesticides and some species of scale and some mealy bugs are resistant to imidicloprid as well. Mealybug destroyers are the best biological control. Otherwise, I usually deal with these by pruning and hosing them off.

I am having problems with hibiscus mealy bugs, plant hoppers, and stink bugs because my neighbor's hibiscus hedge is infested. My plants are only about 5 feet away. Imidicloprid does work on the hibiscus mealy bugs and I can use that on my hibiscus plants, but not on the okra, tomato or zucchini they also like to attack. I have been able to control those so far. I did pull one badly infested tomato, but it was very old, and I had already harvested a lot of tomatoes from it. So far, I haven't seen any on the cactus or orchids.

I have been controlling them on the vegetables by pruning and water.I have a good garden patrol and it does take care of most things or at least makes a dent in their populations. Alcohol works on a lot of pests and it is one of my go to things when I do actually use something other than water. You can also add up to 1/2 cup of alcohol to a quart of insecticidal soap enhance the effect. Ant bait is put out whenever I see ants. I have ants chronically crawling on my house, but they don't bite and I cannot totally get rid of those ants because they actually compete with termites.



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