What are Mealybugs?

Mealybugs are white, small, soft-bodied insects and common household plant pests that feed on plant juices. It’s easy to mistake mealybugs for fungus and mildew due to their fuzzy white appearance.

How to Get Rid of Mealybugs on Houseplants

It’s a good idea to move fast after noticing the presence of mealybugs on your indoor plants. Heavy infestations of mealybugs on houseplants are notoriously difficult to treat.

Mealybugs are just one reason when you bring any new plant into your home that you carefully inspect it for pests and keep it away from your other plant babies for 2 weeks.

Why do plants attract mealybugs?

Plants attract mealybugs because they provide food, shelters, and breeding grounds. Mealybugs love moisture and readily invade overwatered and overfertilized plants.

Mealybug Identification

If you notice white fuzzy splotches on your houseplant, you have mealybugs. White cottony masses on indoor plants are the first sign of a mealybug problem.

Mealybug Prevention Tips

Keeping your plants healthy makes them less susceptible to a mealybug attack as they’re less likely to attract pests.

Here are proven ways to prevent a mealybug infestation:

– First, cut back the watering and fertilizing schedule to reduce the nitrogen levels and allow the growing parts to harden. – Spray or wipe down the foliage of susceptible plant species with a neem oil solution.

SWipe UP to read more about how to get rid of mealybugs on houseplants