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shayezone9b

Mealies? Other bugs?

8 years ago

After a long vacation I came back to see some pretty upsetting things. If anyone could tell me what these pests are and how to DESTROY them, I'd be very appreciative!

i dipped a paintbrush in rubbing alcohol and wipes off a good amount of the fuzz. What was left were these reddish black dots.


just some harmless spiders I hope. Early spring cleaning may be the fix?

Comments (11)

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I would think they are mealy bugs: 'fuzzies' are great for hiding. I believe it is wax (white, light gray) that covers their body and it will dissolve with rubbing alcohol. It kills them... What I circled in your photo looks def. like mealy bugs to me:


    Is the web shown in next pic on different plants? That looks little closer to spider web, but may not be.

    I would repeat spraying with rubbing alcohol after few days, since many eggs will hatch.

  • 8 years ago

    Webbing like that makes me think of spider mites.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If its a spider, youll be able to see the spider somewhere in the web. If its not a spider then its spider mites. Hopefully the spider set up shop there to eat the pests on your plant and helped keep it in check.

    Every three days, wipe the plant down with rubbing alcohol for 2 weeks and that should get rid of your pests and their life cycle.

    P.s. this treatment is for the mealie bugs.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    shaye

    To get rid of mealy bugs, and especially if they had chance to multiply for a while (OP suggested being away for a while), spraying plant thoroughly is probably better than just wiping or dabbing. It is important to get to all nooks and crannies, since that is where they hide best - and these places are difficult to wipe.

    I don't believe that rubbing alcohol works as well on spider mites. They are tiny, but could be spotted in webs with help of magnifying glass (often just by careful inspection) as tiny dots, reddish-brown or pale in color. They are often found on underside of leaves. Large infestation would have much more webbing. They are smaller than spiders (and they are relatives of spiders). They suck up fluids from the leaves, and those leaves eventually turn yellow, and often curl up, dry up and fall off. If I see what looks like a spider web on a pot or plant, I usually try to move it lightly with a stick - toothpick. If it is actual spider web, spider will react to movement of the web thinking there is a pray caught in it.

    Outdoors, there are many natural predators that can help to get rid of them - unless those were destroyed by using all kinds of pesticides. Spider mites prefer hot and dry conditions. They spread from plant to plant by 'surfing' on breezes or winds. Sometimes blast of water from garden hose is enough to get rid of them. Neem oil or insecticidal soap may have to be used on heavy infestations. I believe there are other insecticides but can't recommend any - I didn't use any of them (not even neem oil, it isn't available in Canada). I use rubbing alcohol if necessary (and have used Insecticidal soap in the past but not on succulents), and luckily didn't need anything different so far. Hope my luck continues :)

    It is important to make sure to ID insect properly, and use controls suitable to get rid of that pest.

    shayezone9b thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
  • 8 years ago

    Thank you everyone!

    @rina, the spider web was a few pots away, but was sort of creeping over. I plan to do a deep cleaning on this sun room tomorrow, just jet lagged tonight. I'll be able to tell if it's a spider or spider mites. Very often I get this tiny little spiders in this room, so I'm hoping for them. They eat pests :).

    I'll spray down the plant with rubbing alcohol and I'll check all the surrounding.

  • 8 years ago

    I don't kill spiders either - glad to see others don't :)

    Let us know how it worked out once you get back to it.

  • 8 years ago

    I figure if they help me, I'll help them by not killing them ;)


    After spraying with rubbing alcohol these were left behind all over. Are they mealies?

    they also squish out brown when pressed.

  • 8 years ago

    If they were fluffy before you sprayed them and looked like that after then yes, they are mealie bugs (a type of scale insect)

    shayezone9b thanked laticauda
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Sprayed again before I started cleaning. Inspected all the others in this room and they seem clean.

    I couldn't find a spider in the web, so I used plant safe insecticide to be safe? I dusted and cleaned everything and found a few of the tiny spiders I'm used to. Hopefully I didn't Destroy their home :/. I'll pick up some neem if I start to see webs again with no spiders.

    Thank you everyone for the help!

  • 8 years ago

    If you didn't kill the spiders, they will make new homes :) For mealies, spray 2-3times, every 5-6 days.

    shayezone9b thanked rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
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