Fight sooty mildew - first the pests have to go away

Fight sooty mildew - first the pests have to go away

Detect sooty mildew

Sooty mildew is a fungal disease that leaves clearly visible traces on the infected plant. A black, washable coating covers the ever larger areas of their leaves. It is a fine network of mushrooms. Sooty mildew does not prefer any particular plant because it does not feed on it. Rather, they settle on the honeydew that some pests leave as excrement on the leaves.

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Identify the pest

Soot thaw symptoms also indicate a pest infestation. These pests must be combated promptly so that the infected plant does not suffer major damage or even die. Combating them also deprives the sooty fungi of their livelihood. Usually these types of pests come into question:

  • Aphids
  • Scale insects
  • Mealybug
  • Mealybugs
  • Whiteflies

Tips

Irregular, black spots on the leaves indicate another type of soot: star soot. It is not related to a pest infestation, but occurs in damp weather. Mostly on plants that are outside in the open air.

Fight pests

The identified pest must be combated as quickly as possible so that the disease does not progress or other plants are infected. The control measures depend on the type of pest. In any case, the following points should be observed:

  • Isolate the diseased plant from healthy plants
  • Cut off heavily infested and damaged parts of the plant
  • use only sharp, disinfected scissors for this
  • Avoid insecticides whenever possible
  • use natural home remedies instead
  • z. B. Spray pests with a water jet
  • spray with soapy water

Remove the soot

The soot itself does not have to be combated directly, as the fungus dies as soon as there is no honeydew available. The black coating should still be removed from the leaves with a wipe. On the one hand, it robs the plant of its beauty, and on the other hand, it prevents light absorption and thus the necessary photosynthesis in the covered areas. When you wipe the covering, the missing chlorophyll will show up in the form of lighter leaf spots.