Maintain caution on mealybugs: Nahid

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has advised everyone to guard against the ‘Giant Mealybug’ which recently swamped the College of Home Economics in Dhaka.

“This pest is harmful to trees and crops,” the minister, flanked by entomologists, told reporters in Dhaka on Sunday.

“Contact with the insect causes the skin to turn reddish and eruptions like blisters in humans. It may also cause itching, allergy and asthma,” Nahid said.

He said ‘Giant Mealybugs’ have their origins in Africa. A female descends to the ground to lay eggs. Each bug lays close to 400 eggs.

The pest saps plant juices, causing plant ailments.

The College of Home Economics was recently infested with the pest at Azimpur, triggering panic among students and prompting the authorities to shut the institution.

Nahid said these insects have a waxy layer on the body, making it resilient to ordinary pesticides.

He feared these bugs would spread to other places if they are not controlled.

The agriculture and health ministers have been notified, he said.

Prof Abul Bashar of Dhaka University’s zoology department, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University’s entomology department’s Prof Md Razzab Ali, and Bangladesh Agricultural University’s entomology department’s Prof Khandker Shariful Islam and Prof Abul Manjur Khan briefed the reporters on the insect.

They suggested burying the insects in two-feet holes or burning them.

Minister Nahid said roots of the infected plants have to be covered with plastic bands or smooth stainless steel sheets to protect them.

“Mix classic or dursban 20EC pesticides or 5ml fipronil with one litre of water and spray them to kill the bugs,” he said.