Then strain the mixture and spray it on the infected plants. Mealybugs are common indoor pests. To make an even more effective mixture, mix alcohol, liquid soap and water. Mealybugs or woolly aphids as they are called, are small white insects that are usually found in warm and moist areas. The soap will penetrate the waxy coating of the mealy bugs and kill them. If you are determined and watchful you are sure to keep them in check or get rid of them eventually. One of the common reasons for a mealy bug infestation is over watering or over fertilizing the plants. Ladybugs love a good lunch of mealy bugs and you’d do well to attract and encourage lady bugs to visit your garden. You can make a DIY pesticide for your cactus at home by adding 8 drops of dish soap to a cup of water. Individual bugs can be killed by using a swab dipped in alcohol. I found that soaking tobacco leaves overnight and spraying the solution did the trick. Spray this mixture regularly on plants, to get rid of mealybugs completely. 11 years ago. Timing, Timing, Timing: When to Mulch Your Garden & Yard. Combine equal quantities of water and alcohol to make about one and a half liter of the mixture. Prune out light infestations or dab insects with a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. Mix one tablespoon of dish washing soap with one pint of warm water and spray on the infested plants. You will notice white powdery clumps or larger affected areas. Add between 20 … Aim it at the mealybugs. The cottony coating protects them against predators and many control products, but you can outsmart them. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It shouldn’t be enough to kill the plant since it’s not boiling, but it should be enough to kill the mealybugs instantly. Get a tub of hot water (120F), and dunk the plant in there for minutes. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. If you enjoy live plants from the comfort of inside, you may want to learn how to control mealybugs on indoor plants. This guide contains remedies for mealybugs on plants. Do you make use of any specific method to get rid of mealy bugs naturally? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Be careful to apply the mixture thoroughly on the plant, as the bugs tend to hide below the leaves and the undersides of the plant. They’re unarmored, unlike the pest you think of when scale is mentioned. Dish washing soap is another home remedy for killing mealy bugs. One of the first things you need to do when you find mealy bugs in your plants is to move the infected plant far away from the rest of the plants. Spores and “eggs” can be … We’d love to know how you tackle these little white devils. Or, to your dismay you will soon find that they have infected other plants as well making it all the more difficult to get rid of. I could not understand why my parsley is not growing wildly as I have mixed my own stash compost and feeding my plants monthly. Apply this mixture on the infested plants, once a week, till the pests are under control. Worse, they quickly spread from one plant to the next and are a gardener’s worst nightmare. You can use this method if the issue is with just a couple of house plants. Would you like to write for us? To prepare a soft soap solution, proceed as follows: Warm up 1 liter of stale water, decalcify if necessary beforehand. Mealybugs, sometimes called woolly aphids, leave behind a telltale white cottony coating on the plants. The ginger produced succulent type growth so it was hard to put the Q-tip to it without breaking it. The pests form sticky clusters on plant stems, flowers and leaves and if not controlled can cause stunted growth, leaf loss and fruit loss. Simple home remedies can save the plant. These white colored devils are quite hard to get rid of once they’ve found a good food source they settle down reproduce rapidly and destroy a healthy plant in no time at all. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Try using insecticidal soap. Tiny wingless insects, mealybugs are only 1/5 inch long and have a waxy, gray or white appearance. They also suck sap from your plants, which can weaken and damage your garden, especially if you have a major infestation. Do not use any other alcohol, as it can be harmful to the plant. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. On hard-leaved plants, gentle rubbing with the fingers, a cotton ball, cotton-tipped swab, or a soft infants toothbrush is effective. This will even discourage future infestations. Another option is to take an old toothbrush, dip it in water and brush the buggers off. Mealybugs are nasty little bugs that like to eat new growth on succulents. An easy way to get rid of mealybugs in the early stage is by simply spraying water at full force on the plants. Fill to the top with water to dilute. When my plants are infected with mealy bugs, I simply hit them with a spray of water until they drown in it and fall off. Remove all mealybugs, large and small. Spray on the leaves and stem of the plant to control and get rid of bugs. Use the Bug Blaster to hose off plants with a strong stream of water and reduce pest numbers. Mealybugs – cedarwood, peppermint, or lemongrass; Spider mites – spearmint or peppermint; Add 10 drops in total into a 4-ounce spray bottle. Apart from the above mentioned remedies, you can also use a mixture of garlic, vinegar and hot sauce. This method is effective, but extremely time-consuming. If left untreated, mealybugs can kill a plant. If mealybugs appear once your orchid is home, there are six home remedies that you can use to eliminate them. Plants infested with mealy bugs often look like they are drying out, even when they've been watered. MyOrganicGarden is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Copyright © Gardenerdy & Buzzle.com, Inc. Here’s what I’ve used to get rid of mealybugs: Mix rubbing alcohol with water. REMEDY: Probably the most popular home remedy against mealybugs is to swab and daub plants with a cotton-tipped swab or ball of cotton dipped in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Take a clean cloth, make it wet and wring out excess water, we want it slightly damp and not dripping with water. These wily buggers can sometimes hide before making a re-appearance. Regularly washing the foliage thoroughly with soapy water, wiping every leaf and rinsing with a sink sprayer is one way to bring populations down. Your email address will not be published. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Hence, it is extremely important to use effective methods and eliminate them at the earliest. Check around the pot, on the inside and outside as well as in the bottom of the pot. The combination of alcohol and soap is highly effective and works well in eliminating the pest. 1. You’ll usually find these creatures in the undersides of leaves as a thick cottony mass or between the leaves and the stem and getting rid of them is no easy task. Mealybugs are a kind of scale insect, actually. Insecticidal soap can also be sprayed on houseplants to kill scales. Click here to discover different ways in which you can attract lady bugs to your garden. MyOrganicGarden © 2020 // Runs on StudioPress. Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. If your house plants are infested, take them out and spray some water on them. If you start to notice more and more gnats, beetles, mealybugs, or other nuisances start to appear on your cactus, start spraying! Home and garden insecticides are not very effective for mealybugs, especially on larger plants. We hope you are enjoying Gardenerdy! There are several species of mealybugs, some of which are more difficult to get rid of than others. Required fields are marked *. You can catch the bugs by attaching a sticky tape to your hands and touching the bugs. Murphy ’ s what i ’ ve used to get rid of mealybugs: mix rubbing alcohol water! We take a few cotton swabs, dip it in alcohol and the! And works well in eliminating the pest you think of when scale is mentioned home. 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