It is. Get out the qtips and alcohol and isolate this big boy.
Significant_Agency71
Mealybug, just treat it with an insecticide and you’ll be fine
HorrorComfortable773
I need help on what to do for it. I haven’t had an issue with bugs til now. 🙁
HorrorComfortable773
Like, what do I buy, how do I treat, how long does it need to be quarantined, etc?? LOL Ahhh!! I’m freaking out a little bit.
arioandy
Mahoosive mealie
torils65
Checking my plants now!🏃🏾♀️
Lady0905
It’s a mealy bug!
Vantriss
It is. Kill it with fire!!
NoodleBack
Mealy bugs aren’t bad if you’re on top of it, but like spider mites they can get out of hand very quickly
promisedlandmom
I’m so sorry.
Cremius
It is a mealybug, a relatively easy parasite to eradicate.
1. Isolate the plant and rub all surfaces thoroughly with rubbing alcohol, preferably around %70 alc. content and after sunset. Contact with IPA instantly kills the bugs. Repeat for a few days until you are absolutely sure that the plant is clean (usually about 2 or 3 times).
2. They came from somewhere. Did you buy a new plant recently? Isolate it too, even if it looks clean.
3. Check every plant thoroughly for signs of contagion regularly for at least a week. Check under the leaves too, they like to hide. Repeat the first step for any plant that was infected.
That is how easy it is. Check any new plants you wish to buy meticulously for health and infestation and set it apart for a while just in case after you bring it home to prevent it from happening again.
Good luck!
gloomsloth
If you manage to get it under control, I have my fingers AND toes crossed that they haven’t damaged your new growth too badly. I had fungus gnats on my bird of paradise and they left their mark, regrettably.
Macy92075
Oooh sorry BoP has mealy bug! Not the worst thing though. Pretty easy to get rid of. Just wipe off with Q-tip dabbed in alcohol, as people already said. Look for more because where there’s one that size, there are most likely more. Inspect and isolate for a month, checking regularly for any more. It takes at least a month to get all the life cycles of mealies. I had one on an orchid and got rid of the mealy but pretty much for the next 4-6 weeks I would find one more each week. Where they were hiding on an orchid was crazy!!! 🤪 I’d inspect that guy throughly but still there’d be another. And like full grown size too, not a little teeny one. It was puzzling 🧐.
Dry_Web_6211
PajeczycaTekla
I am so sorry.
missjiji
Get it off now, also check for more.
_ChipWhitley_
Nooooooooooo!!! 😩
taybug1092
HorseEmotional2
A bloom?
Full-Owl-5509
As far as pests go, mealy bugs arent the worst. I’ve had great luck by spraying my plane with a water/alcohol mixture (test on a small area first to make sure it doesn’t burn your plant) and then inspect the plant for stragglers in the crevices. Use a qtip with alcohol to get the stubborn ones and then repeat in about a week. It could be worse!
madolive13
It is 🥲
TinyGrizzly
Time for some Dead AF spray! I swear by mine!
Aggravating_Photo169
It’s a mealy.
StupendusDeliris
Friend…
undwtr_arpeggi
Yeah… it’s what you think it is. Get them qtips, alcohol and neem oil!!
Honu_Daze
I shower my BOP with alcohol sprayed directly into the shoots from the top & as the shoots unfurl. The last state I lived in had these pesky mealy’s airborne outside like someone was burning a campfire & ashes were floating in the air. Last summer was dreadful for it. So out with the alcohol, put it in a spray bottle & get to dousing that pesky sap sucker. I’d take daily inventory to see if more spraying was necessary and then spray accordingly. The alcohol never was problematic (to my untrained eye) to the plant, and it was positively helpful at killing these pests. You can also follow up with a sponge bath to the leaves, stems and shoots. Or even a paper towel wipe down
Fair-South-7474
lunaappaloosa
NOOOOOOOO
Stariskatja
i found one on my pothos a few days, my first time too. but it happens. i took my pothos to the shower, washed all of the leaves, used a spray mix (water, castile soap, neem oil and a tiny bit of iso. alcohol). and i applied systemic houseplant insect control to the soil and lightly watered it.
still checking it daily but it happens! just get on top of it before it gets bad!
jawnajawnajawn
[ Removed by Reddit ]
EmLee-96
I just finished (or at least I think I finished) my battle with mealy bugs on one plant.
I tried checking the plant each day and doing the q tip and alcohol method. It didn’t work.
I sprayed neem oil + q tip method and it still didn’t work. Tried several months of it.
I then replaced the soil completely and blasted the plant with the water hose. Still didn’t work though it did markedly reduce them.
Ended up trimming off the last 3 leaves +stems on each stem and I haven’t seen any since (3 weeks ago).
MortadellaBarbie
Get it now—I didn’t catch mine in time and eventually had to cut my BOP back to the soil. Not sure yet whether it will recover.
XylixiaNeph
I cannot stress this enough, start treating with a systemic!!!!! You will never get rid of all of them on a bird of paradise if they have already established themselves, and you are only removing the ones you can see.
If you are seeing visible ones, there are already so many more hidden ones in the cracks and crevices. Treat several times and eventually the entire plant will become poison for them.
thestateisgreen
Mealy bug and I’m pretty sure this one is flipping you off.
pinklady425
70% isopropyl spray, wash every inch with very dilute dish soap mixture, and neem oil spray once a week took care of mine!
improvisedname
ETA: all advice welcome!
Ugh I feel you. My taller-than-my-husband olive tree (so tons of tiny leaves) has an infestation now, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to go full-on insecticide, as I don’t think natural options will tackle it fast enough and it’s in a garden with tons of other plants, though I’ve separated it from them as much as possible (it’s in a HUGE pot too, so reading about having to remove the soil sounds like not a lot of fun haha but I’m optimistic, I have to save him)
AngryLady1357911
The ONLY thing I’ve found that actually gets rid of mealy bugs is spraying the bastards with pure rubbing alcohol
39 Comments
Mealy bug.
Sorry for your loss.
It is. Get out the qtips and alcohol and isolate this big boy.
Mealybug, just treat it with an insecticide and you’ll be fine
I need help on what to do for it. I haven’t had an issue with bugs til now. 🙁
Like, what do I buy, how do I treat, how long does it need to be quarantined, etc?? LOL Ahhh!! I’m freaking out a little bit.
Mahoosive mealie
Checking my plants now!🏃🏾♀️
It’s a mealy bug!
It is. Kill it with fire!!
Mealy bugs aren’t bad if you’re on top of it, but like spider mites they can get out of hand very quickly
I’m so sorry.
It is a mealybug, a relatively easy parasite to eradicate.
1. Isolate the plant and rub all surfaces thoroughly with rubbing alcohol, preferably around %70 alc. content and after sunset. Contact with IPA instantly kills the bugs. Repeat for a few days until you are absolutely sure that the plant is clean (usually about 2 or 3 times).
2. They came from somewhere. Did you buy a new plant recently? Isolate it too, even if it looks clean.
3. Check every plant thoroughly for signs of contagion regularly for at least a week. Check under the leaves too, they like to hide. Repeat the first step for any plant that was infected.
That is how easy it is. Check any new plants you wish to buy meticulously for health and infestation and set it apart for a while just in case after you bring it home to prevent it from happening again.
Good luck!
If you manage to get it under control, I have my fingers AND toes crossed that they haven’t damaged your new growth too badly. I had fungus gnats on my bird of paradise and they left their mark, regrettably.
Oooh sorry BoP has mealy bug! Not the worst thing though. Pretty easy to get rid of. Just wipe off with Q-tip dabbed in alcohol, as people already said. Look for more because where there’s one that size, there are most likely more. Inspect and isolate for a month, checking regularly for any more. It takes at least a month to get all the life cycles of mealies. I had one on an orchid and got rid of the mealy but pretty much for the next 4-6 weeks I would find one more each week. Where they were hiding on an orchid was crazy!!! 🤪 I’d inspect that guy throughly but still there’d be another. And like full grown size too, not a little teeny one. It was puzzling 🧐.
I am so sorry.
Get it off now, also check for more.
Nooooooooooo!!! 😩
A bloom?
As far as pests go, mealy bugs arent the worst. I’ve had great luck by spraying my plane with a water/alcohol mixture (test on a small area first to make sure it doesn’t burn your plant) and then inspect the plant for stragglers in the crevices. Use a qtip with alcohol to get the stubborn ones and then repeat in about a week. It could be worse!
It is 🥲
Time for some Dead AF spray! I swear by mine!
It’s a mealy.
Friend…
Yeah… it’s what you think it is. Get them qtips, alcohol and neem oil!!
I shower my BOP with alcohol sprayed directly into the shoots from the top & as the shoots unfurl. The last state I lived in had these pesky mealy’s airborne outside like someone was burning a campfire & ashes were floating in the air. Last summer was dreadful for it. So out with the alcohol, put it in a spray bottle & get to dousing that pesky sap sucker. I’d take daily inventory to see if more spraying was necessary and then spray accordingly. The alcohol never was problematic (to my untrained eye) to the plant, and it was positively helpful at killing these pests. You can also follow up with a sponge bath to the leaves, stems and shoots. Or even a paper towel wipe down
NOOOOOOOO
i found one on my pothos a few days, my first time too. but it happens. i took my pothos to the shower, washed all of the leaves, used a spray mix (water, castile soap, neem oil and a tiny bit of iso. alcohol). and i applied systemic houseplant insect control to the soil and lightly watered it.
still checking it daily but it happens! just get on top of it before it gets bad!
[ Removed by Reddit ]
I just finished (or at least I think I finished) my battle with mealy bugs on one plant.
I tried checking the plant each day and doing the q tip and alcohol method. It didn’t work.
I sprayed neem oil + q tip method and it still didn’t work. Tried several months of it.
I then replaced the soil completely and blasted the plant with the water hose. Still didn’t work though it did markedly reduce them.
Ended up trimming off the last 3 leaves +stems on each stem and I haven’t seen any since (3 weeks ago).
Get it now—I didn’t catch mine in time and eventually had to cut my BOP back to the soil. Not sure yet whether it will recover.
I cannot stress this enough, start treating with a systemic!!!!! You will never get rid of all of them on a bird of paradise if they have already established themselves, and you are only removing the ones you can see.
If you are seeing visible ones, there are already so many more hidden ones in the cracks and crevices. Treat several times and eventually the entire plant will become poison for them.
Mealy bug and I’m pretty sure this one is flipping you off.
70% isopropyl spray, wash every inch with very dilute dish soap mixture, and neem oil spray once a week took care of mine!
ETA: all advice welcome!
Ugh I feel you. My taller-than-my-husband olive tree (so tons of tiny leaves) has an infestation now, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to go full-on insecticide, as I don’t think natural options will tackle it fast enough and it’s in a garden with tons of other plants, though I’ve separated it from them as much as possible (it’s in a HUGE pot too, so reading about having to remove the soil sounds like not a lot of fun haha but I’m optimistic, I have to save him)
The ONLY thing I’ve found that actually gets rid of mealy bugs is spraying the bastards with pure rubbing alcohol