---
title: "Y’all I just brought my plants back in a couple days ago and found…"
description: "Y’all I just brought my plants back in a couple days ago and found this little white bug thing on this one anybody know what it is?"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/vOLjreBcQ-OpqrHIhVSc4w/W7O2OhnPFZLnufaNDcVCtu"
community: "The Cactus & Succulent Circle"
author: "Jillian Champ"
published: "2025-11-12T15:15:19.134399Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/aHnKT0hD3J86JrtgIIzMS5qWgLylCjQ-Gi25dZSwJ2Y/Vp5RSZYsTImYhuazHeTgGQ.webp?size=large"
---

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# Y’all I just brought my plants back in a couple days ago and found…

_Posted by Jillian Champ on 2025-11-12_

Y’all I just brought my plants back in a couple days ago and found this little white bug thing on this one anybody know what it is?

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/aHnKT0hD3J86JrtgIIzMS5qWgLylCjQ-Gi25dZSwJ2Y/Vp5RSZYsTImYhuazHeTgGQ.webp?size=large)

## 12 comments

### Nunyabzwx commented on 2025-11-12

Wow that is a great picture of a mealy bug. Its not good. Get a qtip with rubbing alcohol on it and wipe it off. Also wipe the whole plant down with alcohol, in crevices and under the leaves. Do it again in 3 to 5 days.

#### Jillian Champ replied on 2025-11-12

Ok thank you so much!

#### Waspinator replied on 2025-11-12

I agree on using alcohol. It can burn plants though, so you might want to selectively only kill the mealybugs or dilute it for treating the main plant. A mealybug's lifespan is about 30 days, so it you're clear of them for two months, you can be certain they're gone. Gentle/preventive treatments only affect young mealies, which is why you repeat treatment about every 5 days

### Nunyabzwx commented on 2025-11-12

Your welcome. Oh and get it away from all your other plants until there are no more. Hopefully thats the only one..

#### Jillian Champ replied on 2025-11-12

Noted!

### Phil commented on 2025-11-12

Not difficult to get rid of. Do the alcohol swab thing and then follow up with a spray every few days for a couple weeks. I use insecticidal soap or Systemica.

#### Summer replied on 2025-11-12

Haha! Great 🧠s! 💚

### Summer commented on 2025-11-12

Easy! You’ve only just caught them! Spray him off with forceful but not too brutal water \& if needed use a Qtip with vinegar (or neem oil) to wipe off the rest. Sequestering until rid of them is very wise as mentioned above. You may also choose to spray him down with a bit of water-neem oil mix for a week or two hereafter to keep ‘em gone. You’ve got this!

### Nate commented on 2025-11-12

Lots of great advice in here for you already, so I’ll just add a few words of warning on some of the suggestions.

Alcohol will kill roots if it touches them, so be sure only to use alcohol on the leaves and stems. Both alcohol and neem oil are likely to strip the waxy coating from your leaves. They may be less pretty, but it isn’t a problem.

If using Neem oil, be sure not to give them intense light after application. Neem oil concentrates the sun and succulents will sunburn in this case. Also, Neem oil DOES NOT KILL ON CONTACT. Neem oil works by killing the insect AFTER it eats the plant. So I’m not sure swabbing with neem oil will be an effective treatment. For this reason, I prefer insecticidal soap, which similarly to alcohol, functions by dissolving the exoskeleton.

### Jillian Champ commented on 2025-11-13

Thank y’all!

### Lover of Cacti commented on 2025-11-13

This is a weird suggestion but you can actually buy mealy bug destroyers if there is an infestation. They only eat mealy bugs and die off when there is no mealy bugs left

### JuicyCactussy commented on 2025-11-14

NOOO

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