50/50 mix of water/alcohol if you have a limited infestation. A systemic containing imidacloprid as a spray or granules also works. I add a bit of liquid soap to the imidacloprid spray to make it "wetter". The cottony web of the mealy makes it hard to get the insect and the juveniles living under the female wet with the insecticide. You may want to search on GW because this question appears frequently.

This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 17:27

I learned my lesson!

I travel with 2.0 magnifiers so I can inspect *before* I buy, especially greenhouse plants.

Just today I went to a pricey nursery to see what their offerings were. I need more plants like I need a hole in the head, but wanted to see if they had any mature adenium for gift-giving.

I found a wee little variegated jade start in a 2.25" pot for $2.49, so I figured why not.

I pulled out my glasses and gave her the once over =D She passed muster, but not a single other plant I picked up did -___-

I gave her a spritz with a bottle of alcohol I (now) keep in the car just in case 8) Even though I didn't see anything suspicious on her, there were plenty of them on surrounding plants. None moving, but still. She's in my 'sick bay' and will stay there until I'm confident she's ok.

I'm fighting the mealies and haven't seen one (alive or dead) on plants since I started hardcore treatments every 3 days.

Disclaimer:
I have no experience with plants that are not succulents.

My advice:
*Sequester affected plants so as to contain the outbreak.
(I keep them in separate rooms).
*Daily inspections on unaffected plants.
(doing this, I found 3 plants that I had purchased from Ebay which appeared unaffected upon arrival, indeed had mealybugs but I caught it early enough to keep it from spreading)
*Alcohol spritzes to all affected plants every 3 days.

I plan to do this through out the winter for sure and will try to keep vigilant.

Most of my plants are c. ovata, echeveria, aeonium, adenium & assorted other succulents. I imagine it can be a nightmare to find and destroy mealies on some plants though.

I went a little further & bare rooted all plants, discarded potting medium, scrubbed out pots & repotted in new grittier mix.

I also set up a small fan to increase air circulation, as I've read this along with treatment, can help to eradicate them. That is, as long as you treat the newly hatched and continue for however long you need to, in order to break the life cycle.

I don't use the alcohol & q-tip method anymore. I needed to bring out the big guns with a spray bottle & hose each plant like mad.
99 cent store was great for cheap bottles of 50% alcohol.

Good luck. I would like to believe it *can* be done.
But I'll let you know next Spring ;)

You could use a soil drench with imidicloprid indoors, or move the plants outdoors long enough to spray them with Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 Insect Mite and Disease Control. It's a very good product with imidicloprid as a systemic insecticide, tebuconazole as a systemic fungicide, and a miticide I forget the name of, something like Tau-fluvinate .... close to that. It's approved for indoor use but the spraying must be done outdoors. It's served me well as a fixative and prophylactic.

Al

If the alcohol thing fails, I'd definitely consider a systemic solution.

I'm really surprised at how often I come across them on plants for sale. I bought my mom a Mandevilla vine in September, it wasn't doing well, so I went to check it out today.

Dx: mealies -___-

It went straight from the nursery to her house & there are no other plants in the room. It has joined the ranks in my sick bay, but it looks dead dead dead.

It was in a very cold unheated porch (probably as low as 50 degrees) and I'm hoping it's just dormant. I guess we'll see in a few days or so.

I've only just started using readers 'cause my arms just weren't getting any longer (har har) and I got tired of making dumb mistakes. I'm over my pride & I take these suckers with me *everywhere*. With these things on, I spot issues best avoided, easily.

I rock 'em for sure 8)

I've learned my lesson to inspect plants before I buy and then to quarantine them. My problem last year was I brought a plant in with spider mites last winter. Because of the dry conditions and the crowded conditions in the house during the cold weather, the spider mites spread like crazy.

It's just another reason for me NOT to buy plants during the winter, no matter how tempted I am.

Get an jeweler's loupe and carry it with you plant shopping. They are cheap and well worth the trouble of having it with you when you're at the nursery.

The jeweler's loop is a great idea!

Considering I don't usually carry a purse, I'm that kooky lady with the crooked eye glasses. They get that way from being put into a jacket pocket and getting mashed up, sat upon, squished etc.

Inspections in the last 2 days showed as many crawling mealies on 2 different plants previously thought of as unaffected.

I think I'm getting close to the end of my rope with alcohol as my collection of infected plants has now outpaced the unaffected ones.

It's like playing hide & seek -___-

I gotta find the buggers to treat them =P

Looking at that Bayer Advanced 3 in 1 harrrrd.

With a heavy heart, I bit the bullet & ordered Bayer 3 in 1 Advanced from Amazon.

Not sold here in NY -___-

Hookilau, you must've missed my post in another thread. Does that soap and alcohol bath work with your new plants?(And the ratio to water?) Doesn't it hurt the furry and pruinose ones?

" I need more plants like I need a hole in the head." Yes, i know *sigh*.

Iane

I think we ALL have the addiction! But atleast it's a nice addiction! Lol

Truth is, the "addicts" here are some of the most pleasant addicts you'll ever find.

I TOTALLY agree! :)

Hi Al =) Hey! You have your settings such that I can't respond to you via email - your email addy is blocked. You can fix that on your user page. I hope it's ok that I copy/pasted my reply here.color>

I heeded your advice & ordered Bayer 3 in 1 from Amazon today (not sold here in NY). I donâÂÂt often recommend it, but truth is, itâÂÂs great for scale & mealies. So many are dead set against any sort of chemicals .....color>

I was hoping to keep it simple with the alcohol, but in the last 2 days, 2 additional plants from my unaffected room had crawlers ��"____- Alcohol and topicals can help control scale/mealie populations, but not eradicate them. With alcohol/water as a weapon, fighting bugs would be a never-ending battle.color>

I am treating about 3 dozen plants in my affected area and there are another 2.5 dozen or so in my unaffected area. Probably better to treat as you suggested due the logistics.

All of these are currently indoor plants but will spend spring & summer outside. Like all of my plants.color>

Any suggestions of how you would use this to treat an assortment of succulents both large & smallish in a gritty mix would be greatly appreciated. I would move them outdoors to spray (where do you live?) and allow them to dry before bringing them back in. To be safe, I would treat 3 times at 2-week intervals.color>

If it's as simple as 'follow directions on bottle', I can live with that too =) Please do, do that.color> Just curious as to how you use it on your collection, which collection (all plants, bonsai trees, succulents etc) and what criteria you use to treat prophylactically. I have a few plants that are prone to scale, and I know that if I don't use a prophylactic, the little buggers will appear, so I treat those plants. I also have some Taxus (yew) bonsai that are prone to contracting needle cast fungal infection, so I treat those prophylactically with the 3-in-1 as well. Then, when it's about a month prior to time to bring the tropical trees in, I use a prophylactic spray twice at a 2-week interval prior to bringing them in. That usually keeps everything free of insect predation all winter, unless I get a few mites toward winter's end. For those I use a 50/50 mix of water and alcohol as a control.color>

Thank you for your help =) My pleasure. Best luck! ~ Alcolor>

Antoinette

This was part of the message I rec'd: color> >>>>> (PLEASE NOTE: The member responding to your post has chosen not to reveal his or her email address. Therefore, you cannot reply to this message via email.)