I use Safer brand insecticidal soap....it worked for me....

Nancy

Imidacloprid, i.e., Bayer Advanced. Watered it at 1-2 TBS per gallon. Always works for me. Which of your plants are affected?

Tom

pretty easy to kill... but they will ALWAYS come back

If you really want to kill all adult mealies on a specimen, you can either submerge the entire plant + pot in a tub filled with a water + soap mix for about 10 minutes (they will drown)...or...expose your plant to a light freeze outdoors.

Killing them is easy. Preventing them from returning is another matter. I'd bet one or more of the following conditions are prevailing in your growing scheme:
- your soil mix has a high peat content
- your plants are not hydrated enough
- your plants are not exposed to adequate fresh air
- your plants are not exposed to an adequate day/ night temperature fluctuation
- there is not enough light and too much warmth this time of year

Healthy plants rarely succumb to mealies and other pests. You need to focus on modifying your growing conditions to suit your plants, and not try to force your plants to tolerate inferior growing conditions.

I don't mean to offend you or anyone else. Unfortunately too many "growers" aren't placing their plants in a position where they can thrive, and then wonder why they are doing poorly.

x

Hi...
yes, I do have some peat in the soil mix..
I do keep my plants on the dry side over winter..
its minnesota and my house is closed up...
temperature is 68' day time and 65' at night...
I have my plants in a south window and they do get a little cold off the window....
you did not offend...I'm here to learn more about growing plants in doors and not killing them..:)
thanks all for the suggestions, its all things that I have tryed in the passed, I guess its a matter of preventing them....I will have to improve the growing conditions...
thanks.........linda

Hi X,

Thanks much for the above, that was well stated, very clear & worded such that I can't imagine ANYONE taking offense.

I rarely have mealy problems, once in a while I see one & always have a bottle of alcohol & Q-tip nearby & at the ready!

Nonetheless, it's a good little primer (as it were) that you've given us. I think I'm even going to print it & affix to my plant supply cabinet; serve as reminders of good care/culture. Thanks.

(PG) Karen

Mealybugs. You've identified them as such, they have round white, fuzzy looking bodies....then the control recommended is to touch them --you should be able to see them without difficulty--with Q-Tip dipped in rubbing alcohol.
Initial control is with water by blasting them off with a squirt.

Most houseplant pests have short cycles from egg, to larvae to adult atage. What you kill today, is only what you see, the incoming pests are in the soil in their beginning stage and ready, within days, to make their appearance. So you must treat the soil as well.

The recommended spray is with dormant oil--the same oil you use on your outdoor deciduous trees and roses--albeit without adding lime sulfur.
Give your plant 3 treatments, 7 days apart. This should break the cycle--but keep vigil for any sign of them coming back and repeat the spraying schedule.

If you spray mist the plant in the same general area of the window, do wipe dry any overspraying which can harbor eggs and which re-infests nearby plants.

Let the plants dry down soemwhat between waterings and always, water to drainage--then dump the excess never letting the plant sit in that water for extended time.

Lzrddr,

No, I must respectfully disagree, they don't always come back.

I'd noted on some of my Hoya pots the date I last treated w/ systemic (against mealy) in '92. I hadn't seen any since, 'til maybe I saw 2 this summer (think they came in w/ new purchases, maybe I forgot to quarantine 'em).

So no, I don't believe they ALWAYS come back!

And besides, in my home, they wouldn't DARE ;>)

(just teasing).

Right now I have 13 plants in my heated garage. It's 60 degrees out there, but no windows. (like there is any sun anyway this time of year in ND) 4 pots of Jades,(including my Hummels Sunset!) a mammillaria matudae, Aeonium,euphorbia obesa, graptoveria. Anyway, I noticed before New Years the fuzzy white crud. Tossed one cactus immediately because I couldn't get into it with a Q-Tip! Grrr Wish I hadn't tossed it, a few days later I took at least 5 or 6 plants out of the plant room. Then a few more a couple days later.
I have no idea if it is working, but so far I've crossed my fingers and it seems to be, I put equal parts rubbing alcohol and 2 tsp Ivory Dish soap in a spray bottle. I've sprayed the plants every couple days and just did it yesterday even though I didnt' see any more mealies.
I kept my plants very dry from this fall (Sept when I brought them in) to Thanksgiving. I should have watered a little more often I think!! Hindsight and all that.
Good Luck Emerald! I know how I hated to see this in my situation.

The difficult thing about controlling mealy bugs is finding all of the egg stashes that the adults lay, sometimes quite far from the spot where you find the actual infestation.

No chemical will kill the unhatched eggs. You have to be very diligent and treat every 7 - 10 days to kill the newly hatched young before they mature and start laying eggs of their own. Eventually, you'll deplete the eggs and be rid of the buggers, but it will take a while.

I would treat with Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub (BATS), but you have to treat EVERY plant you have. Also, remember that the active ingredient in BATS, Imidacloprid, does not move into the flowers or fruit of a plant so you need to remove all of the flowers and fruit or the mealies will continue to multiply.

One other important point is that you need to quarantine every plant you receive for at least 8 weeks, plus treating it before you move it into your collection. You may not see any bugs on the plant, but they can certainly be there and if they are, you have to start all over again.

Once you get rid of the mealies, it's best to not acquire any more plants after that. (not realistic, but the best way to guard against future bug infestations.

I unpot the plant and wash it good under a faucet or submerge it under soapy water for a few minutes.then I throw the potting soil outside and wash the pot and repot in new mix.make sure to wash and double check the roots.I never throw the plant out unless its to far gone. joe