Are they mealy bugs??? If so, what now?

24 years ago

Hi again,

I recently bought some fox tail palms from my local market. I noticed some white blotches on parts of the stem/trunk area at first. Then I went to repot the palms and found that the root system was INFESTED with what I think might be mealy bugs?

They are small white 'fluffy/powdery' little things wedged between crevices in the root system. I thought they were a white lace bug, but I'm not up to speed on my bugs and can't find a decent picture anywhere to check.

So I removed every trace of them and the old soil and repotted. Next day ants went through the entire pots from top to bottom - which made me think maybe there is still a problem. (I got rid of the ants) They look otherwise very healthy - new shoots and all.

Can anyone suggest whether I should be spraying anything at this stage? Should I risk unsettling them again and checking the new soil? And if they are, in fact, mealy bugs?

Thanks for you assistance - appreciated.

Regards,

Donna

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Comments (11)

gardenlen
24 years ago
g'day the don,

sounds like you've gotten rid of the bugs, the ants most likely bought them in in the first place. the thing to do now id to keep the ants out of the pots, best way is to stand the pot on 3 or 4 bits of broken tile in a tray that can hold some water that will act like a moat and keep the ants out.

mail len

lens garden page
altadena
23 years ago
Now that I've spent hours on the Internet I think I might haave mealy bugs...However, I'm still hooking up my electronic device. Plus that I'm spraying every day.
Also, i'M wondering if ants have anything to do with this problem Looks like I'm looking a new career in the face like it or not........altadena
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bernard_qld
23 years ago
If you drench the pot with diazinon insecticide you will get rid of ants and the white bug without having to disturb the plant. And please read the label on the bottle before applying.
JohnQld
23 years ago
Hello Donna. Try spraying with 50% water and 50% meths. Or get a kids paint brush and paint straight meths onto mealy bugs. Watch them disapear. Good Gardening. John
annabel__WA
23 years ago
I just used a cotton bud and meths to each bug and then sprayed with white oil. Bit tedious, but it worked. You need to follow the others advice for cleaning out the soiland you need to check nearby plants as they are easily infested.
rosied
23 years ago
I've been following this with interest.
If you have a plant in a pot of any size, and there is an ant problem, do this:
Dissolve half a teaspoon of Condys Crystals in a bucket or watering can of water, and thoroughly soak the soil in the pot with this. For small pots, there will be enough to do quite a few. You will find that the ants avoid it for months later.
Dirty_Digger
23 years ago
what are condy's crystals and where do you buy them from?
Dirty Digger
Liatris
23 years ago
Condy's crystals are Potassium permanganate - you can buy them from the chemist.
mudmonkey
23 years ago
I have the same things throughout my garden and they periodically invade some select pot plants. An old franjipani is infested with them and they seem to have spread everywhere. They seem to be in the soil in one part of the garden (near the Franjipani) and were all over the small fowxtail trunks and roots. I don't fancy throwing poison around too much as I also have green frogs. Does anyone know haw I might deal with this problem short of cutting down the tree, which I'd rather not do.
Marie_K
23 years ago
I managed to get rid of some mealy bugs that were infesting a potted fern, both on the leaves and in the soil. It meant spraying the fern daily with half meths half water for a couple of weeks. I also drenched the soil in the pot with some Amway organic cleanser mixed with rainwater. Had to do this about 3 times, 1 week apart too. Finally won the battle!

I don't know how this would work for plants in the ground though, because they would soon be back. Soap products aren't too good around frogs either. Might have to resort to a systemic like Confidor (I've never used it though.)
swap
22 years ago
Please help me to get rid of the mealy bugs from Clivia. I have tried to clean out what I can see from the stems however it will be a battle and half if I have to lift everyplant up to clean the root. The flower stems are getting shorter, actually flower from ground level. do you think there is also a fungus in it??
Swap

Are they mealy bugs??? If so, what now?

Comments (11)

gardenlen

altadena

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