In general, the yucca or palm lily is a fairly undemanding and easy-care plant - ideal for the living room or bedroom at home. But like any other plant, the yucca can also catch pests, with plant lice such as aphids, mealybugs or scale insects being particularly common. Plants that are not optimally supplied and thus weakened are usually attacked.
Lice are best washed off
Identify and treat a lice infestation
The various plant lice are sucking insect pests that prefer to sit on the underside of the leaves and pierce the leaf veins there. An infestation of the yucca often only shows itself through strangely sticky leaves, whereby the ground below the plant can also be covered by a sticky mass. Furthermore, deformations on leaves and shoots, stains, signs of damage or stunted growth provide valuable information. The little animals themselves are often very difficult to recognize - their tiny size means that they remain undiscovered for a long time. The pests can be combated in various ways, whereby the poison bottle should only be used if nothing else helps:
- Stripping or showering (for aphids)
- Remove affected leaves and shoots (in the case of a light infestation)
- Spray the infested plant with a mixture of tea tree oil and water (10 drops per liter of water, very good for scale and mealybugs)
- wipe affected plant with dishwater (a few drops of detergent such as Pril etc. in lukewarm water)
Which lice prefer to settle on the yucca?
The following three types of plant lice are particularly common on the yucca. Separate affected plants immediately to prevent spread.
scale insects
The tiny scale insects can be recognized by their brownish, hard "shells" - these look more like small brown "eggs" to the naked eye. They can be easily combated with biological agents based on oil (e.g. rapeseed or tea tree oil).
Mealybug
Mealybugs or mealybugs are surrounded by cotton-like, whitish wax excretions. Again, dab the affected areas with tea tree oil or spray the affected plant with a tea tree oil-based solution.
aphids
Aphids can be green, yellow, brown or black and primarily attack the soft parts of the plant such as young leaves and shoot tips. Give the affected plant a good shower and spray it with a solution based on tea tree or lavender oil.
tips
If you still want or have to use poison, never treat the plant inside the apartment. Instead, place them on the balcony or in the garden and follow the prescribed safety rules!