5 Dragon Fruit Pests and How to Get Rid of Them

Dragon fruit, or pitahaya, is a tropical cactus cultivated worldwide for its delicious fruits. Outside of subtropical regions (USDA zones 10-11), it performs well in a large container to overwinter with protection.

While not usually plagued by pests, dragon fruit isn’t immune to those that visit our gardens to feed, whether on its succulent stems or fleshy fruits. Detecting dragon fruit pests early helps prevent them from impacting growth and fruiting, transmitting diseases.

Pests tend to flock to specimens experiencing stress from growing conditions, like dry, dusty situations or overly damp ones. As we move dragon fruits around or they experience fluctuations in cultural conditions, it’s possible to invite pests. Others will pop over from nearby garden specimens or houseplants to feed. While often minor, the dragon fruit pests do damage and cause the plants stress in large numbers.

A diversity of flowering plants that attract beneficial insects and wildlife helps with natural dragon fruit pest management. Even with all of the right cultural conditions, pests happen. Here, we’ll examine common dragon fruit pests and how to treat and prevent them.

Thrips

Several thrips species may visit pitahaya, with piercing mouthparts to feed on plant tissues. The tiny insects have long, narrow bodies. Adults have delicate, fringed wings, and their color ranges from translucent white to yellow, brown, and black. 

Adult females lay eggs on flowers and young fruits, and larvae hatch to begin feeding. Thrips can scar fruits as they feed and cause deformation. They also leave behind an unsightly waste residue. As they infest petal tissues, blooms may distort and show damage. Thrips can also carry viruses between plants.

Early scouting is the best defense, especially by inspecting the blooms for damage. Since they’re difficult to see, shaking a blossom or stem over a white piece of paper can help confirm their presence. Sticky traps, too, are useful indicators of a population. However, these trap other insects that may be beneficial.

Treatment

Predatory insects like parasitic wasps, ladybugs, certain mites, and green lacewings naturally control thrips. Spray the tropical with a strong stream of water to remove the insects and to rinse the dust off dry, dusty specimens to deter sap-feeding insects. Prune out and discard any damaged segments when feasible.

To prevent harboring thrips, keep the area weed-free. Weeds host the pests, making for easy access to dragon fruit in proximity.

Neem and other horticultural oils or soaps treat infestations. Take care to follow application directions, as these also impact pollinators and other insects that come in contact with the concentrate.

Thrips are often gone once damage is evident. It’s best to choose treatment methods that do the least harm to your local ecosystem. Neem and insecticidal soaps are good standbys if you determine thrips are still present.

Aphids

There are thousands of species of aphids, and the common sap-feeding insects will make their way to dragon fruit and many other garden features. They populate quickly as they pierce plant parts and leave behind sticky honeydew, which leads to unattractive black, sooty mold. Aphids spread fungal spores and are vectors for viruses.

Aphids are pear-shaped and soft-bodied in light yellow, green, pink, brown, or black. They gather in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and move slowly as they feed. 

Plants with severe infestation may experience yellowing and stunted growth. You may notice virus or fungal disease symptoms caused by their feeding and wounding.

Treatment

Parasitic wasps, ladybugs, and lacewings are important aphid predators. As with thrips, spraying the plant with a strong stream of water may displace them by knocking them off buds, fruits, and stems. The stream separates the mouthparts of piercing insects from their bodies. Do this regularly as part of ongoing maintenance with aphids in the area.

Horticultural soap or oil controls infestations. Dusting plants and soil with diatomaceous earth may prevent the spread. The powder creates a sharp surface that damages soft-bodied insects.

To prevent aphids, aim for consistent watering during the growing season. They’ll gravitate toward drought-stressed dragon fruits over healthy, well-watered specimens.

Leaf-Footed Bugs

Leaf-footed bugs (Leptoglossus spp.) are visible flying insects that buzz as they pass by. Brown to gray to black, they have a lighter band on the back and prominent leafy “feet.” They feed on dragon fruits and the stems, with damaging punctures that also allow disease entry at the wound points.

Adult females lay eggs along the stems and fruits, and in nearby weeds. The eggs are golden brown and laid in a single row or chain. The nymphs, smaller and lighter than the adults, are flightless and begin to feed in place on the pitahaya. They range from bright orange to light brown.

Leaf-footed bugs and their nymphs resemble assassin bugs, a predatory insect that’s beneficial to have in the garden. Observe to avoid targeting the non-damaging assassin bug, which has a prominent proboscis.

Treatment

Beneficial insects that target leaf-footed bugs include tachinid flies (prey on adults) and parasitic wasps (infest the eggs). Spiders and birds work on populations, too. Hand removal, or knocking them off the stems into a bucket of soapy water, helps reduce populations of these dragon fruit pests. Remove eggs, nymphs, and adults.

Neem and horticultural oils work on nymphs, which are wingless. The flying adults are less practical to manage with a spray treatment as they travel between plants.

Mealybugs

Mealybugs join aphids as soft-bodied pests who reproduce quickly, extract sap, and leave behind a sticky honeydew residue. They have waxy, white, cottony, and fibrous bodies. They move slowly and congregate along pitahaya stems, flowers, and fruits, as they pierce the plant to feed and lay eggs in cellular tissues. The larvae feed as they hatch, continuing the cycle.

Early mealy infestations are easier to control than those left to develop. They’re challenging to get rid of entirely in large numbers. Scout for mealybugs by inspecting the bracts beneath developing flowers (a good hiding and feeding spot).

To prevent mealybugs, aim for consistent moisture during the growing season and a site with good sun exposure, at least in the morning. Avoid fertilizing too much, as the dragon fruit pests feed on tender new growth with high nitrogen levels (excess fertilizer promotes both).

Treatment

Ladybugs, lacewing larvae, and spiders help control these dragon fruit pests. Remove and heavily infested plant parts. Spray the stems and buds with a stream of water to dislodge the insects.

For a single dragon fruit specimen, dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol and wipe the impacted stems. The alcohol wipe instantly kills the pest and limits the population. Horticultural soap or oil, applied to all sides of the stem, helps reduce the population during an early outbreak. 

Scale

Scale joins their fellow sap-feeding dragon fruit pests as black, gray, or silvery splotches beneath buds and blooms and along stems. As with aphids and mealybugs, they leave a sticky residue in their wake. Black sooty mold is likely to develop in humid conditions, which can hinder photosynthesis, but is mostly difficult to remove from the fruits.

Scale are mostly stationary as adults, sticking to stems to feed in the same spot. Nymphs are mobile. To prevent scale, water evenly and rinse dusty stems. They flock to dry, gritty situations.