by onlycurious 4 Replies latest jw friends
Okay, I decided to bring my ficus tree, ivy/combo plant home with me from the office. My daughter and I transplanted it and began to clean the leaves that were pretty dusty.
Then, it happened. I started to notice white circles at the stem of each leaf....sometimes 2 of them.
I believe they are mealy bugs.
Does anyone here have any suggestions? I read to buy Insecticidal Spray. Any success with this?
Ideas please.....I feel like I need to shower. Yuck!
I dont have green fingers but i heard on local BBC radiostation the advice to remove leaves that appear infected. They said that circles on leaves was an infection that plants can get like a cold (just floats on the air and they catch it) and that the discoloration of the outside of the circle meant whether it was viral or bacterial infections. taking the infected leaves off reduces the infection spreading. but if its on most leaves i reackon it would kill it cuz it would no longer be able to photosynthasize (sp?)
I'd go and search a green fingered website though before hacking those leaves off :)
if you keep samples of the leaves and are a member of the royal horticultural society you can send the leaves to them and they send a report back telling you whats wrong - how mad is that? lmao
Today was day 2 of my creepy crawler day. I bought 3 new pots and more soil. I did find out these bugs are mealy bugs and let me tell you, they look like small bits of cotton.
First things first, I transplanted and pruned the trees. Tomorrow I am going to attack the things with a q-tip and some spray.
By the time we build our new home these plants should look good. It'll take a while because they haven't really been taken care of in years. They've been in survival mode.
I got this off the net:
Your house plant has mealy bugs if they look white and cottony, and tend to congregate where the leaf meets the stem. Mealy bugs are not easy to cure and they spread from plant to plant easily. Unimportant plants that are heavily infested should probably be trashed. Or you can dip them in a half and half solution of water and denatured alcohol. They will probably survive and recover. Dip only the plant parts above the soil. Then knock off all the soil and repot in new soil and a new pot. Put Di-syston systemic granules on top of the soil. Should there be any recurrence, immediately touch each mealy bug with a cotton swab dipped in undiluted denatured alcohol. Valuable pots should be thoroughly scrubbed with sudsy ammonia and water, as should any sticky residue on window sills etc.
Lightly infested plants and valuable plants should be treated less harshly. Take them outside on a warm day, spray with Acephate. Let them dry, then remove all the soil and repot in new soil and a clean pot. Use gloves to protect your hands from the Acephate residue. Treat the soil with Di-syston systemic granules and touch any recurring mealy bug with the cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
You've already taken a good step by transplanting them and pruning off any heavily infested leaves. If possible (weather permitting), take them outside every week and spray it with the garden hose, this will help dislodge the insects. When inside, the plant can be sprayed with insecticidal soap -- Safer's Soap is a good one -- or horticultural oil, like Neem Oil (but it smells bad!). I find the best treatment is a spray of rubbing alcohol and water, mixed 10 parts water to 1 part alcohol.
Keep watch of the plants, especially at the base of the leaf stems. If you see any white cotton reappear, treat immediately with Safer's Soap or rubbing alcohol on a q-tip.
Don't fertilize the plants while treating for insects, also keep out of direct sun, and be sure isolate them to avoid re-infestation. A little persistence, and your plants will be rid of these destructive little pests!
(Be careful using chemicals, especially in the house, use only products that are marked for inside use -- botanical based products like Neem Oil, rubbing alcohol are safer than chemicals.)
With your care attention, your plants should thrive!
willow
