Worms on a Hibiscus Plant

Identification

• Mealy bugs are among the pests likely to infest hibiscus plants. The soft bodied, gray worms are actually wingless scales and 0.05 to 0.2 inches long. The bodies are segmented with waxy, thread-like appendages growing from it. Female worms are covered with a cottony wax.

Damage

• Mealybugs infest plants in large numbers, creating soft, cottony masses. The pests suck plant juice or sap with their long mouths causing stunted or distorted growth. Mealybugs secrete sticky, honeydew like substance that promotes the growth of black sooty fungus on infested plants. It takes seven to 10 days for the small worms to hatch from their eggs.

Management

• Introduce natural parasitic predators in plants as an effective control option. Use insecticidal soap and narrow range oils in plants. Light population of pests is often easily eradicated with forceful jets of water.