--- title: "What is this? I wiped the whole plant down and changed its dirt and…" description: "What is this? I wiped the whole plant down and changed its dirt and pot and sprayed it with neem…. And it’s worse than ever, it’s even in the dirt. Help! It’s…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/bRVrcHGqgy01hSjiZpgysw" community: "Anything about plants" author: "Jenny" published: "2025-11-28T20:01:31.311039Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/QryYBZkjhqyMJzz2qf3oiSurz7a-9Dz7U_QppL8p7wY/QrExPI1TQE6dVlBnGt6Rag.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Anything about plants](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md) # What is this? I wiped the whole plant down and changed its dirt and… _Posted by Jenny on 2025-11-28_ What is this? I wiped the whole plant down and changed its dirt and pot and sprayed it with neem…. And it’s worse than ever, it’s even in the dirt. Help! It’s on two other plants now! ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/QryYBZkjhqyMJzz2qf3oiSurz7a-9Dz7U_QppL8p7wY/QrExPI1TQE6dVlBnGt6Rag.webp?size=large) ## 10 comments ### Kenny commented on 2025-11-28 Mealy bugs #### Jenny replied on 2025-11-28 It’s fur? Is it really bugs? Doesn’t neem kill them? #### Alocasia addict replied on 2025-11-28 Separate the plant from any of your other houseplants if possible. Wipe the “ bugs” off with rubbing alcohol on a swab or paper towel. I also put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle for severe cases. Also I will put a few drops of Castile soap in my watering solution to get in the soil. Lastly captain jacks “ dead bug brew” and bonide insecticidal soap is a spray I add to my bug preventative/deterrent/killer. Just my .02 cents/experience, you probably won’t need all that but good to have on hand sometimes. ### Waspinator commented on 2025-11-28 Yes it's mealybugs. They secrete a waxy material that looks like cotton. To get rid of them, soak a qtip in isopropyl alcohol and touch it directly to any visible mealies/fluff, and use the qtip to remove them. (Since your infestation is pretty bad, you might want to seal the used qtips in a ziplock bag, just to make sure they don't escape if a few survive.) Then use neem oil or hydrogen peroxide as a preventative. Repot and replace all the soil. Monitor the plant and kill any visible mealies when you see them, otherwise redo your preventative every 5 days. Watch your other plants as well, since mealies can travel. The lifespan of these insects is 31 days, so if you go a full two months without seeing any, you're done ### Trevor commented on 2025-11-28 The big question is do you have any attachment to it. Tossing it might be the best option ### Sunny commented on 2025-11-28 It could be mealy bugs. They appear on both the plant and soil. The bugs will be easy to identify in the soil if they are soil mealybugs. They are common on indoor plants. The suggested treatment above should work. Repeat weekly treatments to eliminate the future offspring. It could be fungal which includes powdery mildew and mycelium. Powdery mildew is dusty and easily wipes off. A commercial fungicide can treat fungal issues including mycelium. 🪴🍀 #### Waspinator replied on 2025-11-29 It's definitely mealies; powdery mildew stays very flat on the surface of the leaves, and i can see the body segments on one of them #### Sunny replied on 2025-11-29 I agree they are mealies if they have body parts and are moving. My phone is too low resolution to see. ### Nan commented on 2025-11-29 I hate to say it, but you may lose the plant after this:( ### MummaDeb commented on 2025-11-29 I've had mealy bugs a few times. The best way to deal with them is to take a Q-tip soaked in alcohol and just clean them off. After that water them with a mix of one part hydrogen peroxide to three parts water to kill anything in the soil. Definitely quarantine them and repeat the alcohol on a Q-tip treatment if you see any more. Oh and check the plants that were nearby. Mealy bugs are sneaky little things. And personally, I wouldn't throw it out. They're not too hard to deal with especially once you learn the trick of running the hydrogen peroxide and water mix through the soil. --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_