Got a small mealy bug problem! Ugh…I’m trying not to feel overwhelmed but I am! From your experience how difficult are they to treat? I’ve been using q-tip with alcohol and neem oil.
Got a small mealy bug problem! Ugh…I’m trying not to feel overwhelmed but I am! From your experience how difficult are they to treat? I’ve been using q-tip with alcohol and neem oil.
maybe give the plant a little bath and use the alcohol to wash, just make sure you place it in a dark area after giving it a thorough wash off :)
3 LikesWhy do you put it in a dark area after the wash? No light at all?
0 Likesyes indeed!! misting or cleaning or any water on the leaves magnifies the light source and makes the leaves more prone to burning from that light, so just until it dries is necessary :)
0 Likesunfortunately they’re a persistent pest so you may be having to use the q-tip method for a couple of weeks anyway, but giving your plant a good bath should help tremendously
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I'm sorry, mealies are awful 😖. I agree with the previous comments. Persistence is key, daily treatment is a must IMO. Even if you think they're gone, keep at it an extra few days or even a week. I lost the battle with mealies, treated my plant for almost 3 weeks or more, thinking I got them all, boy was I wrong. They are very persistent,also check your soil. Best of luck!
2 LikesIf you catch them early and stay vigilant, it's not too bad. Preventative treatments like neem are mostly effective on young mealies, so be sure to re-treat every 5 days to catch them at the ideal age. Mealies live for 31 days, so if you can go two months without seeing any, you can be certain they're gone
1 LikeThank you! 2 months 😩 I’ve been spot treating and started the neem as well. Do you recommend preventatively treating my plants that were close by with neem as well?
3 LikesThat is a big Y-E-S! Treat anything that is near this infected plant! And of course, this poor plant should go into quarantine until these bugs are all gone. Be sure to use the above info, as far as timing goes, because this treatment takes quite a while! Good luck!
3 LikesWhat about using systemic granules as well? I ordered them and feel I should just treat all my plants! I know drastic but I’d rather do it all at the same time.
2 LikesBTW, what is the product you’re going to use that treats with systemic granules? Depending on what this product is, I would use something that could treat all of my plants at once. I think the old adage is “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Definitely true, particularly in this case!
0 LikesWell I was going to use the bonide systemic granules but I’m open to suggestions!
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