Mealybugs are tiny white bugs in your houseplant that will kill your lovely potted plants. If you have spotted them on your indoor plant and you are searching to find natural ways to treat them, keep reading to tell you all things about organic methods to get rid of mealybugs in houseplants including making your homemade pesticides.
I, as a plant pathologist, prefer to recommend natural methods to gardeners for controlling pests. It is more important for the houseplant because the natural methods are safer for the family and pets.
Hence, Let’s show how to get rid of mealybugs in your houseplant in 11 natural ways. I am walking with you through this article, hence, please feel free to ask your questions. I will share my knowledge and experience with you. Good luck in the fight with Mealybugs.
➡ You can also hear the audio version of this article in the following.
Part one: Make your homemade pesticide
1- Spray your infested plant with your homemade “Apple cider vinegar” spray.
It can be a useful insecticide not only for mealybugs but also for many pests on houseplants. Apple cider vinegar kills mealybugs by preventing their moulting process. You can easily make it at home by using the following formula:
- Mix 2-3 ounces (about 57 to 85 ml) of water with 1 once (about 28 ml) apple cider vinegar.
- Pour the above liquid into a spray.
- Now, you can spray it on your plant. Try to cover all parts of your plant, especially the parts that mealybugs hang out there.
- Do it early morning or early evening.
➡ Warning:
You must do it first on only a leaf of your houseplant and if you don’t spot burning and wilting symptoms, use your spray on the whole of your plant and soil.
2- Use the magic “Neem oil”.
In the following, you will get familiar with a magic natural insecticide: Neem Oil. Although It works as soap spry and is used against most plant pests, neem oil has other benefits too including:
- It is also a fungicide that can work against several plant diseases.
- Neem oil is a systemic pesticide. Do you know what is the meaning of it? It means that after spraying Neem oil on a plant or soil, it is absorbed by the plant and spread inside it by xylems. hence the plant’s sap will be toxic to pests and every bug that feeds on it will be killed. So, you don’t need to spray all parts of the plant with Neem oil and it will be effective even after spraying.
- It is completely safe for humans, animals, earthworms and beneficial insects such as being. Hence you can use it at home.
Now that you know about this magic natural pesticide, you can buy it in various brands and use it based on its instructions or make it at home. I recommend you to read about “Homemade Neem Oil Spray” to find out all of the things you must know.
➡ Warning:
There are reports about burning or killing plants with neem oil, especially young and weak ones. Hence you must:
- Avoid using too heavily Neem oil on your plant.
- you should test Neem oil on one leave or a few parts of your houseplant and wait for at least 24 hours. If you don’t spot browning, curling or wilting symptoms, spray it on all over your houseplant.
3- Make your “Soap insecticide spray”
Spraying Soap on mealybugs will suffocate them and interfere with their nervous systems. In the following you can find two instructions to make a homemade Soap insecticide spray:
First instruction:
- Add one tablespoon of a Horticultural soap to a quart of water.
- Mix the above mixture completely and pour into a gardening spray and use it (read warning and tips parts).
Second instruction:
- Add 1/2 cup of ordinary rubbing alcohol to liquid horticulture soap.
- Mix them completely and then pour them into a gardening spray and spray on your houseplant (read warning and tips).
The alcohol removes the waxy coat of mealybugs and helps the soap to penetrate better and kill them.
➡ Warning:
- Before spraying the whole houseplant, select one leave use it on it and wait 2 days, if you don’t spot any burning symptoms, spray the whole plant.
- Never use soap spray in direct sunlight.
- After spraying your houseplant, rinse it with clean water. If you leave the soap on the leaves and don’t wash it, the soap remaining may dissolve the protective layer of the leaf and hit your plant.
- You have to use Horticultural soap. Do you what is it? it is not a soap for cleaning plant leaves, it is an environmentally friendly soap for removing soft-bodied bugs on your indoor or outdoor plants like spider mites, mealybugs, aphids, and whiteflies
- Using dish detergent, hand soap and laundry detergent may harm your plants because of their abrasive ingredients.
- After using soap spray, you must check the plant daily for about two weeks for evidence of symptoms of wilting, browning, curling, and spotting leaves.
💡 Tips:
- Use your homemade soap spray in the early morning or early evening.
- Spray it on the upper and lower parts of leaves and stems, especially anywhere that bugs are gathered. In the intensity of infestations, try to cover the whole of your houseplant.
- If you have a small potted plant, you can pour the above mixture into a pot (or basin) and dip infested leaves and stems into it. Please be careful!
- If the mealybugs are gathered in specific parts, you can soak a rag into the soap mixture and get rid of them by wiping out the bugs with the rag.
- Depending on the intensity y of the infestation, repeat it everyday day or every week.
- The dead bugs are dark although they don’t fall off. You can remove their dead with a cotton swab or toothpick.
- After using soap spray, rinse the plant with water.
4- Get help from 70% or less solution of isopropyl
Finally, rubbing alcohol (70% or less solution of isopropyl) can help you in fighting mealybugs. To do it you need to wipe bugs with a cotton swab that is soaked in the rubbing alcohol.
Warning:
To avoid phytotoxicity, please test it on a small part of your plant and wait for at least 24 hours. If you don’t spot any symptoms of plant burning, apply it on the other infested parts of your houseplant.
5- Spray with warm water
Washing your plant or its infested parts with warm water can be a useful remedy for small plants. You can do it with a moderate strong spray of warm water. Before doing it, put a cover on top of the soil to collect the bugs that may down on the soil.
➡ Warning:
Be sure your houseplant can tolerate the warm water. If mealybugs are present on only a few, small plants, you can try to reduce or eliminate infestations by washing off the plants. A moderately strong spray of warm water will dislodge most of the mealybugs. Be sure plants can tolerate these conditions.
Part two: Other natural control methods of mealybugs
6- Use the “Diatomaceous earth” (DE).
You must sprinkle DE on your plant or its soil depending on the type of the bugs. In addition, if there are hard-to-reach parts on your houseplant, you can add several tablespoons of DE to a gallon of water and spray it. DE will stick to leaves and stems and will be effective after completely drying.
DE kill pests by cutting their body. Look at its close pic, it is made of very sharp pieces. However, DE is safe for your plant.
If you are wondering how long DE can be effective against bugs, it will be effective when it is dry. So, after watering your plant, DE will be ineffective. You should spread DE on your houseplant or its soil when the surface is dry to gain the best result.
We recommend using it 1 day to a week or more. You can see the result after 24 h but the best result will be appeared after 5 days.
➡ Warning:
while using DE, if you breathe or touch it, DE may irritate your nose, nasal passages, skin and eyes.
7- Your delicious coffee can kill Mealybugs!
The mealybugs overwinter in the soil and some of them live on the soil surface. If you spread Coffee grounds over the surface of the soil, they can be useful to kill mealybugs. Try it.
8- Perform Pruning of infested parts
One of the best ways to get rid of mealybugs and prevent their spreading is by pruning the infected stems and leaves. After that put the infested part in a plastic bag and eradicate it.
9- Get help from predator insects to control mealybugs naturally
In the following you can find a list of predators of mealybugs with their images:
- Lady beetles
- Green and brown lacewings
- Spiders
- Minute pirate bugs
- Larvae of predaceous midges
- Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (mealybug ladybird or mealybug destroyer)
You can buy some of the above predators online.
10- Control the ants: the coworkers of mealybugs
As you know mealybugs move very slowly but can spread quickly, so, who are their accomplices? The ants, eh? It is hard to suppose that these pretty fine insects are the partners of the culprits. Mealybugs provide a sweet honeydew for ants. to repay this favor, the ants protect and support the mealybugs.
The ants not only carry mealybugs from one plant to another, but they also protect them from predator insects and fight with the predators.
So, if you want to get rid of mealybugs naturally you have to control ants too. you can do it by spraying the mixture of lemon juice or vinegar with water (50-50).
11- Plant the Repellent plants
Several plants can repel mealybugs. If you plant them in your garden or put their pot in your house near your houseplant, the mealybugs will leave there. In the following, you can see a list of them with their images.
- Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
- Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia and other species)
- Basil (Ocimum spp.)
- Garlic (Allium sativum)
- Lantana (Lantana camara)
- Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
- Onion
- Rosemary
Conclusion
In this article, we tried to show you how to get rid of mealybugs naturally on your houseplant. You found 11 remedies including Apple cider vinegar, Diatomaceous earth, Pruning, Soap spray, predator insects, Neem oil, Control ants, Repellent plants, warm water, Coffee grounds and rubbing alcohol.
Do you have any experience with mealybugs? Have you ever tried to get rid of them in natural ways? Do you think the list above will work well? Which remedy was more functional for you? do know a treatment that didn’t mention above? Please share your ideas and experiences with our readers below this page.
In addition, let me know if you have any questions. helping you it’s my pleasure.
Elahe Rabiei
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.