Lace Bug Facts & Information
Protect your home or business from lace bugs by learning techniques for identification and control.
Treatment
How do I get rid of lace bugs?
What You Can DO
Some effective, proactive measures that the homeowner can follow are:
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Pick the right plants - Select and plant tree or shrub species or hybrids that are lace bug resistant.
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Plant shrubs in the least stressful locations - For example, azaleas planted in hot, full sun conditions experience more damage from azalea lace bugs than those planted in partial shade conditions.
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Water your plants - Maintain the health and vigor of trees and shrubs, keeping them well supplied with nutrients and water.
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Use a garden hose - In lieu of spraying chemicals, use a high velocity stream of water from your garden hose to knock off the lace bugs from your plants. The best time to do this is early spring when the lace bugs are in the nymph stage.
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Inspect your plants - Continue to frequently inspect plants to determine whether lace bugs have infested or reinvested your trees or shrubs.
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Be careful with mulch - Do not use lace bug host plant leaves as mulch since the dropped leaves may contain lace bug adults or eggs.
Do not use insecticides unless your pest management professional either recommends it or does the applications.
What Orkin Does
If lace bugs become a problem on your trees or shrubs, the best advice is to contact your pest management professional who can positively identify the pest and provide recommendations and advice for how best to deal with the problem. Do not use insecticides unless your pest management professional either recommends it or does the applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Behavior, Diet & Habits
Understanding Lace Bugs
Appearance
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Size: Adult lace bugs are very small, only about 1/8" long and 1/16" wide.
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Body Shape & Color: Their body shape is flat, either black or brown
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Wings: The appearance of the wings is what gives this group of insects their common name. They possess wings that have a lace-like appearance extending all the way up to the rear part of their head. The lace bug’s nymph stage does not have the lacey wings.
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Eggs: Lace bug eggs are very small and usually laid on the underside of the host plant’s leaves.
Habitat
More than 150 species of lace bugs have been identified in North America.