| What does mealy bugs look like? How I prevent it from infesting the plant? |
| Mealy bugs feed by sucking out the plant juices, which often causes yellowing, cupping and/or curling of leaves. They look like small white specks. Wipe them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. Then wash the plant in a mild solution of soapy water (a gentle soap such as Ivory dish liquid works well). Rinse all of the soap off. You may need to do this several times. You can also try an insecticidal soap. The next possibility would be dormant oil spray. It kills pests by smothering them. It is important to thoroughly cover the pests, so it may take a couple of applications to do them in. Good luck! |
