The common boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is not only very popular with gardeners, many pests also find the evergreen tree extremely attractive. The so-called boxwood flea (Psylla buxi) causes serious damage to the leaves and thus to the decorative value, but it can be fought relatively easily.
Boxwood fleas can cause a lot of damage
damage picture
The larvae of the boxwood flea appear shortly after sprouting in spring. They prefer to sit on the soft tips of the shoots and feed on the plant's nutritious leaf sap. As a result, the leaves become crippled, they bend upwards like a spoon, and there are also whitish structures on the leaves that look like cotton swabs. As the process progresses, the leaves become sticky and can become covered with a blackish film, a sooty mold fungus. The green larvae, which are around three to six millimeters long and difficult to see with the naked eye, excrete sweet honeydew like plant lice, which also attracts ants. The growth of affected plants is inhibited.
life cycle
The larvae develop within about six weeks into adult, very agile fleas that are capable of jumping, and the first adult generation appears around the end of May/beginning of June. These in turn lay new eggs on the leaves in late summer, from which larvae hatch again the following year. Only one generation develops per year.
Fight boxwood flea
If you know the life cycle of the boxwood flea, you can tackle the pest with garden shears. The quickest way to get rid of the animals is to cut back the boxwood in good time in spring and dispose of the clippings contaminated with the eggs and the larvae that have already hatched with the household waste. Do not compost the material, as the fleas can still hatch and infect neighboring plants. In addition, the garden tools used must be carefully disinfected before and after pruning. If the infestation pressure is very high, insecticides help against sucking insects. You can get these from specialist retailers, but they should only be used if the pruning was unsuccessful.
tips
Boxwood is very popular with all kinds of insects that suck leaf sap, as well as with various types of mites. Ensure adequate planting spacing, a suitable location and a good supply of water and nutrients to keep the plant healthy and strong. Pests prefer to attack already weakened specimens.