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Tropical Plants - Australia

Potted palms with root mealy bug

22 years ago

Hi

I'm hoping someone might be able to help me. I have a few potted palms I'm not sure but I think they are Teddy Bear Palms. When I have gone to repot one into a bigger pot there were alot of ants and a few mealy bugs, the leaves on this palm are starting to go brown on the ends also. What is the best way to treat them. I read the previous post about using soapy water will this still work on root mealy or is there something else I should use. I live in Townsville Nth Qld. I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Michelle

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Comments (2)

alisonoz_gw
22 years ago
I've heard the lazy gardener (DB) say anything with mealies, just chuck but then I don't have his income.
Get rid of the ants and part of your battle is won.
Depending on how you feel about chemicals, Yates Ant and Roach powder works and you can buy in supermarket. If you have ants you may also have scale and soft green scale is hard to detect at infant stage and may be more the cause of your leaf prob than the mealies. Scale don't move fast and can be wiped off or brushed off with an old tooth-brush. Mealies do move but can be squished or removed by hand or water blasted off and if you are vigilant I think you can clear it up. Confidor may help with surface ones. I am only just testing systemic granules so don;t know if they offer any help usually the prob is too bad by then.
CoralCoast_Tropicals
22 years ago
You could try drowning them in a bucket of water leaving the pot immersed for quite a few hours or do what I do, remove the plant from the pot and wash off all soil and bugs before repotting. Rogor works ok on mealy bugs if they are really bad but I also find lux flakes work ok as well.

Andrew.
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Mealy bugs and root mealy bugs are not the same, the former inhabits the plant and the upper soil layer as you describe. Root mealies do not leave the soil (except when they move to another plant of course). So no, I don't think you need to repeatedly examine the whole root ball, treating the plant and uppermost soil should be enough. It is usually possible to get rid of them except if they are well established, if so it is often easier to throw away the plant. I have had 2 severe invasions in the past, but now I see less than 5 individuals each year (but they die quickly). (These are not from old colonies but are "immigrants" from new plants etc.) You should check your other plants over the next weeks (and preferably spray them just in case), the young mealy bugs are almost invisible to the naked eye and move surprisingly fast, so they could have migrated even if you did not see anything the first time.
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