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Citrus Mealy Bugs

11 years ago

Hi all,

In September I purchased two indoor potted citrus - a Meyer Lemon and a lime. I noticed right away, after I got them home, that the lemon was dropping leaves. I thought that it was due to the change in lighting conditions or that there was too much of a temperature difference between the roots and leaves, so I moved them.

Just a couple of days ago I noticed that the lemon has a mealy bug infestation. I tried to remove as many bugs as I could with a cloth, sprayed the tree and leaves with a water bottle then applied a solution of Dr. Bronner's and rosemary EO diluted in water. I also sprinkled Diatomaceous Earth on the soil. Yesterday I picked off more bugs and located 2 cottony nests which I also removed. I then swabbed the whole tree, including the undersides of most leaves and the leaf nodes, really well with rubbing alcohol. The plant has been isolated away from any other houseplants now. This morning I noticed the odd small mealy trekking around the plant.

I have a couple of questions, though. Should I continue to try to treat these mealy bugs, or is it going to be a losing battle? The lemon tree is taking up prime real estate in my sunroom right now! Should I go the natural route of neem oil and insecticidal soap, or something with chemicals and then keep in the bathtub for a couple of days away from pets and children?

The lime tree looks healthy, but it was in such close proximity of the lemon that how could it not be infected, especially since the lemon was at the stage of harbouring 2 nests? Should I be treating this one as well?

If I do pitch the tree, how long should I wait before I start introducing other houseplants back into that space?

Thank you in advance for your help!

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Comments (2)

johnmerr
11 years ago
You are doing all the right things; you will win this battle.

A caution... every time you move a Meyer, i.e., change the light conditions it will drop leaves; better to move the lime.
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jettagrrl
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for your input. I called the nursery from where I had purchased it and they recommended just tossing the tree since I have other houseplants. He even offered to refund me, but I can't say for sure that I brought home an infected plant so I don't feel right taking the refund. I noticed a couple of really tiny mealies on the lime tree this morning, so I squished them and then sprayed the whole tree with my Dr Bronner rosemary EO concoction. I'll keep repeating that daily as the lime tree appears really healthy.

In all honesty, I have been stressing over the lemon tree since bringing it home and so many leaves had either dropped, turned brown and are generally deformed. I took a deep breath, bagged it and threw it in the back porch and already feel a sigh of relief. With young kiddies, I just don't have the time to baby this one back to health, I felt like it had become a giant time suck and rewarded me with a daily dropping of leaves to be sad about.

I'm still holding out hope for the lime though!!
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