I have an infestation of mealybugs in my indoor houseplants. I have trounced them, gone around and painstakingly q tipped them with rubbing alchohol and also sprayed the plants with horticultural oil. They keep coming back! They are now on my palm tree, passion vine, jades, one orchid and hoya. What else can I do to get rid of them?
first, move the plants about so that there is no overlapping of leaves (to keep the little buggers from moving and setting up house on the plant next door). then, continue with the q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. i know it's a pain and so time consuming - still, it needs to be done weekly, until you are sure there are none left (and no eggs either). i've never used any kind of oil to deal with them - just plainjane rubbing alcohol. so, just stick with that. i've never had a serious infestation...just a couple of plants here and there over the years. usually they're on the plants when i bring them home (and i just missed them in the store or the eggs hatched after they got here). i always treat with r-a and then treat again the next time i water the plant - and then again at the next watering if i see anything. only once have i seen them pop up again (couple weeks after first two treatments) and then they had traveled to another plant, too. i really, really doused the ponytail leaves that time! literally let the r-a drip onto the leaves and then rubbed really hard with the q-tip after i'd let the r-a sit for a couple of minutes. they've not returned and the single treatment on the other plant was all that was needed (i'd caught it in time). did you recently get any new plants? if so, definitely take them and put them in a completely different room!! once you're sure they are clear of infestation, bring them back to the other spot. you might want to repot, too. i've heard they can live in the soil as well as on the plants. also, if you have anything on top of the soil (like moss just for the decorative quality) get rid of it. after you've cleared out the buggies, put fresh back. if you get more bugs after that, then the moss would be the problem and time to dump it and get a new bag.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply Joclyn. I have a lot of work ahead of me with those mealy bugs. They are everywhere!
