Pests in the garden

With the change of season from winter to all-too-soon summer, plants undergo some stress. Additionally, the water we use is RO waste water, which has a higher salt content and low minerals. Some of our plants were invaded by pests. This post is not pretty, but important to document the journey of the plants.

Tecoma

The tecoma plant had some wierd looking bug on it. It looked like a hard blob with spikes. When I squished it, it popped. 

Unknown plant

Sadly, I have forgotten the name of this plant. And now I cannot identify it because these bugs sucked the sap out of it. These bugs were pretty smart as they are the exact colour of the leaves. For weeks I kept thinking that these were buds for more stems. It was only when I looked closely, that I realised that they were pests. I had to scrape them off each stem, but the damage was done. The plant died soon after.

Common purslane

This volunteer plant soon started to harbour a colony of mealybugs. The infestation became so intense that they moved to other plants and to crevices in the pots. Days of alternate neem spraying and picking with tweezers helped to curb them.