What are they?
Mealy bugs are a soft, oval wax covered insects that feed on not only our indoor plants but outdoor plants too. They are slow moving but can reproduce rather quickly making them harder to get rid of
What do I do to get rid of them?
First thing to do is isolate the effected plants. The more mealybugs you have the harder it will be to get rid of them so you don't want them to spread to other plants. We suggest you give them a good wash in the shower or sink. Wash the top & bottom of the leaves & the stems. These bugs love to hide in the books & crannies of our plants. After you wash them you can us Rubbing alcohol & cotton swabs to remove the bigger bugs. They stick to the cotton swab & the rubbing alcohol kills them. After you've done this you'll want to give them a good neem to hopefully prevent anymore from coming back. Repeat this process 2-3 times a week until you've gotten rid of them. This process can sometimes take months since some bugs are so small they're hard to see & keep reproducing.
How do I prevent them?
It's important to regularly check not only both sides of the leaves but also the stems for any pests. We recommend when dusting you plant leaves to help with
photosynthesis using neem. This will not only clean your leaves making them look refreshed & beautiful but help prevent bugs such as mealy bugs. Like with most bugs they can grow quickly with inconsistent watering so make sure you're allowing your plants enough time to dry out between watering.
We hope this information was helpful & if you have any more questions feel free to reach out & we'll do our best to help.
Comments