Do you have pics? It's pretty much impossible to tell what it is without a pic. As far as I know, aphids are yellow. Mealy bugs are white. But there are other things it can be. A pic would be really helpful.

Gabi

Sounds like a good rinsing in some warm water is in order. You can kill mealie bugs (white cottony looking things) with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip or sprayed on the leaves. To keep these things off for the winter months, I use a systemic (Bayer Tree and Shrub) at one ounce to a gallon of water. Soak the plant soil once and it will be good until spring.
Marcy

Unfortunately I have mealies too, i think. little white furry kinda looking things. Can you buy systemic (bayer tree and shrub in the winter? Where at? Lowes? How long to do you soak the plant soil. I found the mealies yesterday. I did use a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol on my hoya yesterday but knew I needed to get on GW to find out what else I needed to do. Mealies multiply fast on your plants b/c I hadn't looked at my plants in a week b/c of a death in the family and all of a sudden they were there.
shanna

I'm not sure why we're assuming these are mealies. Mealies are white but so are other bugs, and it could also be another "disease", no?

I have had mealy infestations, and I have never had the "yellowing/browning/shriveling" leaves as described above. But who knows, maybe if left there for a long time mealies can do that?

Txmom, where is the white stuff located? Mealies can either look like cotton or like little white bugs, and are normally on the underside of leaves or on the stems or by the nodes. They also tend to be on new growth.
Another possibility is whitefly, but I don't know much about that bug or what they do. Anyone know if it could be scale?

Do you have a picture of your hoya?

I just got back from lowes and purchased Safer brand insect killing soap. It says it kills Aphids, Mealybugs, mites, whiteflys and other pests. That should take care of my Australis bug problem.

If you purchase new plants would it hurt them to apply the Safer to them before you put them with your other plants even if you don't see any sign of bugs? Maybe everyone else does this already.

shanna

Mealies can kill a plant if they get bad. I've seen one of the healthiest carnosas go downhill because they weren't dealt with. White furry things definitely sounds like mealies to me. I've only seen brown scale, which is when you have wierd little (small) brown "caps" that almost look like the head of mushrooms but are very hard all over your plant.

I've heard most people say they put their new plants into isolation for a couple of months until you know that they don't have anything on them. However, if you don't have the space, you could spray them (I would hesitate doing this if your new plant is a cutting)

Hope that helps, Hills

hills
After reading and looking at pictures on the internet I'm pretty sure it's mealy bugs that I had on my Australis. The plants I recently purchased are cuttings so I guess I will just watch my plants carefully and see what happens and if I see anything I will definately isolate and spray. Thanks for the advice. Haven't ever dealt with bugs before now.
shanna

I didn't see the original poster write that they had white furry things. She just said there is something white on them. Could be a fungus, no? They are probably mealies just because they are very common among hoyas - but it would be nice to see a pic or more of a description. I wonder what happened to the poster...maybe she'll post a pic.

I don't separate my new plants from my current plants because of space issues. The only time they get separated is when mealies attack. I hate those things!

Gabi

I'm back - just don't have an opportunity to get on the computer at home every day.
Yes, fuzzy and sticky.
{{gwi:961998}}

Having trouble posting another picture to show you the underside with the "bugs"

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:997197}}

Even though the pic that shows the bugs is blurry, it definitely looks like mealies. Wow, I've never seen that much damage from mealies. I don't even know what to do. Hopefully someone here will have some good advice. I would definitely remove those dead stems though, and then treat the plant.

Good luck!
Gabi

Yep...mealies. They LOVE the warm, still, dry conditions inside the house in winter months. Get a bottle of rubbing alcohol and put a spray nozzle on it. Spray the whole plant with the pure (3%) alcohol and let it dry somewhere that is out of any direct sunlight. Also, first cut off any dead stems and yellow or brown leaves. If you want, then you can rinse off all the dead bugs and clean the plant up.
Then to make sure they don't come back, when you go Lowes or Home Depot, pick up some "Bayer Tree and Shrub" systemic insecticide. Mix it in a gallon container that you ONLY WILL USE FOR THIS at a ratio of ONE OUNCE of the Bayer T&S to a gallon of water. Water the plant with that until the soil is good and saturated. (You can use the left over to water any other plants that may have a bug problem, except I would not water fruit trees or anything that may be eaten by humans or pets.) This will keep the plant pretty much mealie free for about 6 to 8 months.
If you don't want to use the systemic stuff...you can just keep spraying with the alcohol whenever you see new ones appear. If left unchecked, they will likely kill the plant.
Marcy

thanks, everyone.
I washed the plant thoroughly and saturated the soil. When it dried, I began treating with rubbing alcohol. On closer inspection of other plants, found problems there, as well. I guess I need to look at them with glasses ON more often!
I now believe that this is what killed my African violets - I lost 20 of them more than a year ago after struggling to treat them for a couple of months.
I will definitely go and get that Bayer T&S.

Hi, it's me again and still problems with my hoya...
As I posted previously I had mealy's on my australis well I have been treating with Safer (which claims to kill mealy bugs)now my hoya is getting brown spots on the leaves. What's going on now??? What causes brown spots on leaves?

thanks for your help

shanna