Just found a bunch of these small white fuzzy looking things that seem to have little antennas all over my golden pothos plants… Please help! What are they and what should I do about them? They almost look like tiny cotton balls and some have antennas ðŸ˜
by Otherwise-Switch2078
6 Comments
That’s mealybugs. Get this plant away from everything else right now. And check other plants.
Mealybugs are soft, oval, wax-covered insects that feed on many plants. Usually found in colonies, they are piercing-sucking insects closely related to soft scales but lack the scale covers. Like soft scales, they can produce abundant honeydew and are often associated with black sooty mold. Some mealybugs feed on the roots, which results in yellowed leaves, wilting, and stunting, and also makes them difficult to detect. Mealybugs are difficult to get rid of because immature insects typically wedge themselves in stem crotches, leaf folds, or other tight locations where washing or pesticides cannot reach them.
On small infestations on houseplants, a 70% or less solution of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in water may be dabbed directly on mealybugs and scale with a cotton swab to kill them or remove them. Test the solution out on a small part of the plant 1 to 2 days beforehand to make sure it does not cause leaf burn (phytotoxicity). In some cases, a much more diluted solution may be advisable. Where infestations are extensive, a 10-25% solution of isopropyl alcohol can be applied with a spray bottle.
Even if you remove every adult, however (and that’s unlikely, unless you’ve got a very small plant and a very good eye), eggs and juvenile scales and mealybugs remain on the plant. Because those do not have the protective coating which the adults do, a horticultural oil or soap such as those described above will work. Repeating both parts of this treatment will probably be necessary in order to fully eliminate the pests.
Read and follow the label when using these or any pesticide, including neem oil.
Wash all affected plants with warm water. Remove remaining pests with cotton ball soaked in isopropyl and soap water. Repot or treat soil with insecticide, because they are on roots too.
Wash window sill or shelf where plants werewith isopropyl and soap mix very good. Because they can be there too.
Oh no. I have yet to own a plant (they didn’t even look this bad) recover from mealybugs. Better luck to you!
https://preview.redd.it/kn86z3326isg1.jpeg?width=753&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc4b22f0caef7d78d41095b30cad93fe5b4dfc7a
Text book mealybugs
uh oh