I thought these were spider mites and treated it – I've never had pests before but did everything I saw on here. Then a new leaf started to open and look at them all hiding in there! 😭😭
are these spider mites? Or something else? I'm so scared they'll go onto my other plants that I'm tempted to just bin the whole thing😭
by migraine-guy-
16 Comments
I think mealey bugs. Not a great photo
Yeah definitely mealy bugs.
https://preview.redd.it/7xskhti1i0jf1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=0290ad1ca1371c87c2418deece7aaaedae1d743f
If you’re not overly attached to this plant I’d bin it! Its possible to deal with them though it can be difficult. If you keep it then definitely isolate it from your other plant babies. Good luck!
I’ve had luck treating these jerks with rubbing alcohol on a q-tip. It cuts through their waxy coating pretty well.
What kind of plant is this?
I just received cuttings with mealy bugs and I didn’t know.
I cut off uncurled leaves as they like to hide in there, and squished the rest that I could see. Separated them from rest of plants and sprayed with neem oil/alcohol/water/Castile soap mixture. Then everyday checked for more and killed them. Only took 4 days to eradicate them completely. Mind you, these are cuttings – so they are in water. The mealy bugs had nowhere to hide.
If the infestation is not too bad, removing them with alcohol soaked q-tips is an option. Otherwise disposing of the plant is probably the best option, to prevent migration of mealy bugs to your other plants.
Ok I’m itchy lol
I just want to say that it is totally okay to put the whole plant, soil, and pot in a garbage bag and get rid of it. Far far away from anyone else’s plants.
For this I usually take them out of the pot and rinse the whole plant and roots off well. Then I mist the whole plant with rubbing alcohol (70%) and then repot it in new soil and pot. Then I’ll spray it with alcohol every three days or so for about a month.
You probably don’t have to keep spraying for a month, I just have over 100 plants and things can get out of hand if I’m not super careful.
I’ve used this method many times and I’ve never lost a plant to mealy bugs.
Are ladybugs native where you live, or do you have some outside space to set up a makeshift greenhouse? My old man cactus had mealybugs when I got it. I put it outside, collected ladybugs and put then right on top of the pests. It took less than a day and all the mealies were eaten. For the roots I completely cleaned them. If ladybugs aren’t native, order them online and set up the greenhouse, so they don’t get outside
Submerge your plant in soapy water for 15 minutes or longer. Mealy bugs cannot survive or breathe under water. You can also treat with isopropyl alcohol as it dries them out very fast.
If all other steps given here fail, you could try some [meally bug destroyers](http://Cryptolaemus montrouzieri – Mealybug Control – NaturesGoodGuys https://share.google/kPpNZUdk1VV9s4w0X).
I’ve not tried them myself, but I’ve seen others post about them.
If it’s mealy bugs all you need is an isopropanol spray… that’s it. Spray 2x a week for 6 weeks and you’re golden
Absolutely nottt. It’s at least going directly outside. Like yesterday 😱