Natural remedies to remove the cochineal from your plants permanently – No chemicals
When the warm season arrives, one of the most pleasant things is to see our plants come back to life. We have cared for and pampered them all winter and when the time comes to enjoy them, the much hated cochineal appears. There are many species of this annoying insect. The most common is cottony or floury, so called because it releases a white substance called honeydew. Eliminating these insects is crucial for plant health. Fortunately, there are so many ways to do this. All quite simple and extremely effective.
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Tea tree oil
This oil has many properties and can really be used in many areas. Its disinfectant and antibacterial power allows us to use it to eliminate cochineal. Let’s dilute about ten drops in a liter of water. With the help of a sprayer let’s spray it on the leaves. We repeat the treatment every 4-5 days. We must be careful not to use it if the temperature is too high, because it may not allow the leaves to breathe.
Marseille soap
Everyone knows the delicacy and at the same time the disinfectant power of Marseille soap. We dissolve about 20 grams of product in a liter of water. We spray the solution on the crown of our plant every 3-4 days. The infestation will be only a distant memory.
Garlic and onion
In the event that our plants were placed in a sufficiently distant point, to free ourselves from the cochineal we can use garlic and onion. Finely chop them and pour them into 5 liters of water. We use the solution on the leaves. If desired, however, we can also simply plant a few cloves of garlic all around the plant. Sprouting and giving off its smell will make the annoying insects disappear.
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White vinegar alcohol
Another extremely effective method to free plants from cochineal is the one that involves the use of vinegar. Dilute a measuring cup in a liter of water then gently pass the solution on the leaves with the help of a cotton swab about every 5 days. Our plants will finally be free.
Denatured alcohol
For very resistant infestations, we can try a more aggressive method, creating a solution consisting of a liter of water and a tablespoon of denatured alcohol. We use this remedy only on resistant plants and above all never on too hot days. It is very effective but just as aggressive.
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Direct light
Finally, to get rid of the cochineal, we can simply expose the plants to direct sunlight. Provided that the plant itself can tolerate it. These parasites are sensitive to strong light. However, we must be careful to turn the pot from time to time, because annoying guests could simply move from one leaf to another.
Finally, we could enjoy the first days of spring and the first blooms without worrying about the hateful cochineal.
