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Lice on hibiscus are more than annoying. Read this article to find out the best way to combat the little creatures and what you should bear in mind for prevention.
Fighting aphids on hibiscus
If the leaves of your hibiscus suddenly turn black and sticky, the plant has probably fallen victim to aphids. Now you should act quickly.
- Aphids on hibiscus can be recognized by the fact that the flowers turn black and dry out, and the leaves become sticky. The animals are around 2 mm in size and green or black. If the hibiscus is infested, you should act quickly to prevent the plant from dying;
- First, you should shower the plant with cold water so that the aphids fall off the leaves. Once the plant is potted, it should be isolated from other plants as soon as possible.
- A household remedy that you can use against aphids is soft soap. To do this, mix a small amount of soap with a liter of water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Now spray the hibiscus
- Stinging nettle broth also combats lice effectively. All you need is a few nettle leaves and water. Soak around 200 g of leaves in water and wait two days. Just as with the soap, spray the mixture onto the plant afterwards.
- If you have oregano at home, you can either pour boiling water over the dried leaves or the fresh oregano and leave to infuse briefly. The mixture should then be passed through a sieve and the remains mixed again with water in a ratio of 1:3
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Preventing aphids on hibiscus
Fortunately, there are some effective methods to prevent aphids
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- Mary beetles particularly like to eat aphids and are therefore considered super pest controllers. You can buy the ladybird larvae from pet shops or online;
- The small aphids are also the main food for earwigs . To keep the insects in your garden, you can install an insect hotel, for example.
- Herbs such as lavender, sage or thyme have a deterrent effect against aphids, as they do not like the smell.
So, if possible, plant a few herbs near the hibiscus right at the start. - When buying the plant, make sure that the flowers and stems look healthy and fresh. In particular, you should avoid plants that have dried out.
