Your plant may have bugs. You often see this first on the underside of the leaf. When there are white or black insects, this often indicates a disease. We list the most common diseases for you.
aphid
Aphids live on the nutrients of the plant, so that your plant quickly lacks important nutrients. The aphid damages the leaves and makes the plant vulnerable to diseases and pests, but also to fungi.
To deal with
To get rid of aphids in an environmentally friendly way, you can regularly spray the leaves with cold water. Adding a little washing-up liquid if necessary will not harm your plant, but it will deter aphids well. In the worst case, you can cut off the leaves with a lot of aphids and major damage.
Trips
Thrips usually come with the plants from the greenhouse. They attack the leaves of your plant in their search for nutrients. The damage is clearly visible on the leaves, but the thrips are difficult to see with the naked eye. Thrips are difficult to control and sometimes carry viruses. They can fly and move easily from one plant to another.
To deal with
The best way to combat the thrips is to spray the plant with water and a solution of mild yellow soap (20g per liter of water) and 10 cc of methylated spirits or methanol. Repeat this regularly until the thrips disappear. You can make your plant less interesting for thrips by regularly spraying the leaves with water. Thrips do not like high humidity.
spider mite
Spider mites are an infection of mites on your plant. Mites are difficult to see with the naked eye and only become apparent when they have attacked the leaves in their search for nutrients. As a result of spider mite, your plant does not get enough nutrients, causing the leaves to discolor or fall out.
To deal with
When your plant is affected by spider mites, you can spray the plant with water containing a solution of 2% green soap and 1% methylated spirits. Repeat until the spider mite pressure decreases. Spider mite develops well in dry air. Therefore regularly spray the leaves with water to increase the humidity.
lice
Aphids drain the nutrients from your plant and leave discolored spots on the leaves. In addition, the leaves turn yellow or fall out due to a lack of nutrients.
To deal with
Cap lice have a 'cap' above their body, which makes them difficult to combat from above. Submerging your plant in the water will drown the aphids. You can also use a cotton ball with green soap, methylated spirits or oil to rub them in so that they come off the leaves.
scale insects
Scales, like the other aphid species, extract nutrients from your plant. This causes the leaves to turn brown and yellow or fall out.
To deal with
Scales are difficult to treat from above because of the shield they build around themselves. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways. Submerging your plant in the water will drown the scale insects. You can also use a cotton ball with methylated spirits or oil to rub them in to loosen them from the leaf.
mealybug
Like other aphid species, the mealybug attacks your plant's leaves in their search for nutrients. You can recognize mealybugs by white, woolly balls on the leaf. Mealybugs leave behind honeydew, which is a great breeding ground for fungi.
To deal with
You can pick mealybugs off the leaf relatively easily, as they are fairly easy to see. You can also dab them with a cotton swab with alcohol. Check regularly whether your plant is clean, mealybugs regularly lay new eggs.