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Sap-sucker

Mealybugs

Cottony white clusters in leaf joints and along stems, sticky residue below.

Severity

Identification

Mealybugs form soft, cottony white masses tucked into leaf axils, stem joints, and along roots. The waxy coating repels water, so a light misting rarely dislodges them — you'll need direct contact.

Life cycle & spread

Females lay eggs in that cottony mass, and nymphs crawl to new feeding sites before settling. A generation completes in about a month, and root-dwelling mealybugs can persist unnoticed in the soil.

Organic treatment

  • Dab visible clusters with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
  • Follow with horticultural oil coverage every 7–10 days until no new clusters appear.
  • Unpot suspect plants to check roots for mealybugs hiding below the soil line.

Chemical treatment

  • Apply a systemic insecticide for infestations that keep returning from the root zone.
  • Treat soil and foliage together for root-dwelling colonies.

Prevention

  • Quarantine new plants and check leaf joints before adding them to a shelf.
  • Avoid overwatering — soft, overwatered tissue is easier for mealybugs to colonize.
  • Check root balls at each repotting for early signs.

Commonly affects

Ficus — Fiddle-Leaf Fig →Ficus — Rubber Plant →Ficus — Variegated Triangle Fig →Echinopsis — San Pedro Cactus →Euphorbia — African Milk Tree →Opuntia — Prickly Pear →Aeonium — Tree Aeonium →Senecio — String of Pearls →Euphorbia — Pencil Cactus →Dracaena — Snake Plant →Zamioculcas — ZZ Plant →Philodendron — Philodendron Brasil →Agave — Foxtail Agave →Dypsis — Areca Palm →Syngonium — Arrowhead Plant →Syngonium — Syngonium Albo →Epipremnum — Golden Pothos →Epipremnum — Neon Pothos →Alocasia — Alocasia Amazonica →Maranta — Green Prayer Plant →Nepenthes — Miranda Pitcher Plant →Strelitzia — Bird of Paradise →Musa — Banana Plant →Heptapleurum — Australian Umbrella Tree →Heptapleurum — Dwarf Umbrella Tree →Phalaenopsis — Moth Orchid →Cattleya — Corsage Orchid →Vanda — Blue Vanda →Hedera — English Ivy →Chlorophytum — Spider Plant →Rhaphidophora — Mini Monstera →Alocasia — Alocasia Black Velvet →Philodendron — Philodendron Micans →