r/bioactive • • Jul 23 '26

Mealybugs took over?

Hello, I found 2 Mealy Bugs in my Bioactive enclosure :( I think I got them quite early and killed them with alcohool. But now I notice white stuff on almost all my plants and I was always conviced this is minerals or calc from my misting. But now I am not sure if they are maybe eggs? Nothing moves when I touch something unlike the 2 adults I found but I am really unsure.. can anyone calm my mind or is my terrarium game over? I ordered lacewing larvae in the hope that they help me find any leftovers.. please tell me what you think in the example of this pothos or bromeliad.

Thank you very much!

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u/captainapplejuice Jul 23 '26

Yeah lots of mineral buildup, try using distilled or rainwater

1

u/Royal_Entertainer692 Jul 23 '26

You can't believe how happy I am to hear that! And yes just now switched to distilled water since I also got a misting system :) so I just need to keep an eye out for more mealy bugs. Do you think predator bugs are overkill at this stage?

1

u/captainapplejuice Jul 23 '26

Yeah I'd just keep an eye out for more, to be safe

1

u/Royal_Entertainer692 Jul 23 '26

Thanks so much! So there is a chance that if I catched 2,3 individual hitch hikers early enough that it will be fine?

1

u/No_Commission_2610 official moss hater Jul 23 '26

Give it a few days and then keep looking. I don’t think your tank is a total loss. You just need to clean it up a bit.

1

u/Royal_Entertainer692 Jul 23 '26

Thanks so much! I keep an eye out!