Attack of the white fuzzy bugs

[vfem]

Ok, on my house plants I have these white fuzzy looking bugs that are leaving white powder residue in their wake. Oh yeah, they are killing a couple of my plants slowly as the seem to do their breeding and eating in the area where the leaves attach to the vines. I'm MAD. Last year it was white fly and gnats... this year, its some white pest I've never seen before. My only friend in the battle is some chinese ladybugs that got in the house over the fall and just woke up from their beauty sleep. They seem to be eating some of the foe, but not enough!

Grrr...

What do you think about spraying house plants with a Neem Oil mix? Or should I sprinkle some DE around them?

 

[bid]

Are they mealy bugs?

 

[patandchickens]

They're mealybugs. They will be hard to get rid of but you can do a reasonable job by just removing all accessible ones by hand, once a week or so. Use your fingers and/or a Qtip.

Then if you set the houseplants outside in the summer, sometimes ants will clear the problem up for you entirely.

On houseplants that grow from rosettes and have lots of little inaccessible crevices, though, like some ferns or cycads, it can be pretty close to impossible to 100% exterminate them forever.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[vfem]

This was a waxy leaf house plant I saved from clearnace at the store for $1.00. It was fine until a month ago. I've been picking until now, and it was just obnoxious to say the least. I just gave the plant a good soak of the vines in lukewarm soapy water in the sink. I sprayed the rest of the plant with a soap and alcohol and water mix. Its a good hardy plant, so I hope after a couple more treatments all will be fine.

I kinda drown a few lady bugs in the process... but oh well! LOL

Yeah, they do appear to be mealy bugs... and I think I had the same thing on my green beans outside last year. Weird!