Mealybug Mayhem!

pink_hibiscus_mealybug.jpgI am really peeved right now, because I keep finding mealybugs on my jade plants! Just a little background, my roomie and I got a bunch of plant clippings from our university greenhouse last summer. This included several clippings from Coleus plants (which mealybugs apparently LOVE). And of course, these Coleus plants were carrying them! We eventually just ended up having to throw the Coleus plants away, because the mealybugs just would not go away. Seriously, we did everything except order large quantities of expensive, exotic bugs to eat them off.

Anyways, ever since this Coleus incident, I have been finding these stupid bugs on my jade plants. Now I know that it might be smart just to throw these plants away and start anew, but I just cannot admit defeat to these little monsters! That and jade plants are my absolute favorite houseplant, I couldn’t just throw them all away (I have about 6 of them).

The one thing that I haven’t tried yet is an alcohol spray. I think that it should definitely work, but I just haven’t wanted to risk burning the leaves of my plants. The last few times, I have used a little bit of alcohol on a cotton swab to kill them, then rinsed the leaves with water. This didn’t burn the leaves, so I think it should be okay. So next time I see any of those creepy little things on my plants, I’m getting the alcohol spray out! They are going down!

One thought on “Mealybug Mayhem!

  1. I’m from M’sia, a country in Southeast Asia. Few months back I ordered seeds of Coreopsis Tinctoria from the US hoping they’ll grow in our scorching hot tropical climate. They did! And beautifully too, but those little monster came and now are feasting on my coreopsis. I tried spraying them with strong sprays of water but they just wouldn’t budge! I hate those mealybugs. And what’s worse, the coreopsis are dying, one plant already dead, because of mealybugs. I’ll try the soap/oil method and hope it’ll work.

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