amount and has been found most satisfactory. Applying the solution 
from the top of the pot, (using approximately the same amount you would 
use to water your plants ) and being sure not to get any of it on the 
leaves. If you do drop some on them you must remove it at once by 
washing them with warm water, other wise it will burn the leaf. If the 
treatment is used to guard against mite, one dose is sufficient every 
six months. If you have mite repeat the dose in two weeks and then not 
again for six months. It will take approximately six weeks for you to 
See any improvement on a badly infested plant. Other plants mildly in- 
fested might show improvement in less time. The tiny heart leaves will 
begin to grow out perfectly when you have destroyed the Mites. 
MEALY BUG 
(Citrus) 
Mealy Bugs are found all over the world and find many host plants 
including the African Violet, Ivys, Begonias, Cactus, Mums and Orchids, 
making it very Simple to have them in your houseplant collection. They 
are small visible insects, having a white powdery substance carried on 
filaments extending from their body. They are a sucking insect and pro- 
duce honeydew, which ants feed on. The adult female lays about 300 to 
600 eggs and carries them attached to her body. The eggs hatch in about 
ten days, and the female dies. After leaving the egg, the larvae then 
crawls over the plant and start sucking the juices from the plant tissues. 
The entire life cycle takes about thirty days. The female attains a length 
of about 1/8 inch and the male is slightly smaller. 
The damage resulting from mealy bug infestation can be detected from 
the crippling affects and general stunting in advanced cases. Control in 
the house can be had by touching the bug with a swab dipped in alcohol or 
actually removing the egg, the adult insect. They may be flushed off the 
plant with a warm water spray. Due to the ants liking the secretion, 
honeydew, they carry eggs from plant to plant, so try and get rid of any 
ants that you might see around your house plants. Control in our green- 
houses is obtained with Parathion Gas. 
SPRINGTAILS 
Springtails are the tiny fast moving insects which live in the soil and 
move around in the watering tray. These tiny white bugs can be seen 
with the naked eye and many times cauSe a great deal of alarm. This 
need not be since they are definitely far more of a nuisance than harm- 
ful. They can be disposed of in many ways without too much trouble. 
You can take your plant to the kitchen sink and Set the pot under a fine 
warm spray, washing them down the drain. They can be eliminated 
also by the use of Optox or a weak Nicotine solution used as a spray. 
