Garden Pests Dubai

 Garden Pests In Dubai

If you're trying to cultivate your garden or you balcony there are some pests that you need to keep an eye out for before they start munching away on your favourite plants...

Pests to watch out for in the UAE

Mealy Bugs:

Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects and are found in moist, warm climates. They are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also acts as a carrier for several plant diseases.

Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males on the other hand, are short-lived as they do not feed at all as adults and only live to fertilize the females.

These critters will breed fast and suck the life out of you plants- literally- do not let them get a hold in your garden!

Leaf Cutter Bees:

The most common leafcutter bees are approximately the size of the common honey bee, although they are somewhat darker with light bands on the abdomen.  Leafcutter bees are not aggressive and sting only when handled. Their sting is very mild, much less painful than that of honey bees or wasps. Leafcutter bees are solitary bees, meaning that they don't produce colonies as do social insects. They do more good than harm as polinnators but you will start to see circular holes cut out of your plant leaves- they use these to wrap up the egs they lay. They like to lay eggs in hollowed out bamboo poles. If you don't mind them let them be- if you don't want them taking up residence on your balcony for example remove their nest source and they will go away.

Leaf Miners:

Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths, flies, beetles and wasps. They are quite prevalent in the UAE and you will know if you have them as there will be a white trail on the leaves of your plant. They are hard to get rid of but you can just pinch the leaves off. They suck the nutrients out of the plant but would take some time to actually kill a whole plant so keep an eye out for them.

Whiteflies:

Whiteflies are closely related to aphids. Whiteflies can be found on the undersides of leaves and are active during the daytime when the temperature is warm. When a heavily infested plant is disturbed, white clouds of winged adults fly into the air. Whiteflies damage plants by sucking out plant juices. Because large amounts of sap can be removed, heavily infested plants can be seriously weakened and grow poorly. Leaves often turn yellow, appear dry and drop prematurely. You can get rid of them by using a hand held vacuum or one way of catching them that many gardeners use is make a trap from a 12-by-6-inch strip of bright yellow cardboard coated with a sticky substance, such as petroleum jelly or mineral oil. Hang the trap vertically just above the plants. The adults are attracted to the yellow colour and become trapped on the sticky substance.

Aphids:

Aphids suck sap from the plant and can cause new growth to be stunted and distorted. Aphids may be just about any colour and are found on new growth and the undersides of the leaves, usually clustered together in a group. Heavy infestations cover the plants with a sticky honeydew. Unfortunately their natural predator the ladybird is not readily available here.

Ants:

The damage done by ants is usually indirect and actually caused by the aphids, other insects which they 'farm' for the honeydew. They can however cause damage to the root system of the plant as they burrow to build their nest. Get rid of the aphids and the ants should go!

In order to protect your plants you may need to get a professional pest control company.