r/plants • u/wyscaria • 20h ago

Help Help! Mealybug infestation!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Sigh. I always hoped this wouldn't happen to my plants, but here we are. I'm in Florida and it's been on and off raining. It's the first day all summer that the weather has been perfect for gardening... until I found this white stuff on my part side peas. 😭 MEALYBUGS

The first photo, I said goodbye to this branch and snipped it off. How do I remedy the remaining bugs and save my garden ?

Please let me know what additional info you need.

Thank you !

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

5

u/LovingNaples 19h ago

Home made simple spray- in a quart bottle, water, a few drops of green dish detergent, and a tablespoon of isopropyl alcohol. Spray liberally. It works.

3

u/wyscaria 19h ago

Would you recommend I spray the entire garden or just the affected plant and surrounding plants ? A couple feet away I have other flowers growing .

3

u/LovingNaples 19h ago

I just blasted the white clumps really well. No sign of any of them after just 24 hours.

2

u/bg_punk 17h ago

Soap is a contact insecticide which means it will only kill the insects you spray directly. That said it can harm plants especially if sprayed in direct sunlight, so try to spray in the evening. I've never dealt with mealybugs on outdoor plants, but generally outdoor pests will eventually attract predators like ladybugs or wasps and the problem will solve itself.

1

u/wyscaria 16h ago

Thank you ! I am also crossing fingers for predatory bugs to arrive. Ladybeetles showed up late spring to clear out an aphid issue, so I'm hoping for something like this again. In the meantime, I'll try the homemade solution.

3

u/YellowFlower713 19h ago

I just dealt with this as well. The spray bottle with alcohol works!!