Tiny White Dots in Houseplant Soil: Root Mealybugs

If you have a weak houseplant that you cannot solve its problem with fertilizing, join us in this article to speak with you about tiny white dots in houseplant soil: Root Mealybugs. In the following, we will help you design a perfect strategy to get rid of mealybugs in your houseplant soil.

In the present article, we want to speak with you about root mealybugs, however, in addition to mealybugs, there are about 6 common tiny bugs that live in houseplant soil including:

• Root Aphids
• Isopods (Pill bugs)
• Springtails
• Scales
• Fungus gnats
• Earwigs

Some of these tiny bugs attack your houseplant’s roots, feed off them and cause decline, wilting and yellowing symptoms although others may be beneficial. If you are not still sure about the identity of the culprits, please read” The 6 common tiny bugs in houseplant soil” to help you detect them by their images.

In addition, if you have any problem with other bugs, click on their above name and gain a lot of useful information about those tiny bugs and how to get rid of them.

 

When tiny bugs attack the roots of your houseplant, you cannot see them first. You can spot the symptoms of their attack on your indoor plant. Hence, in the present article:

• First, we will show you the symptoms of the infested plant.
• Then, we help you to detect of exact culprits and their habits.
• Finally, we will tell you how to get rid of them.

So, if you are ready, let’s get going.

The Symptom of the Mealybugs Infestation in Houseplants

Detecting the identity of culprits correctly is the first step to getting rid of mealybugs in soil. In this part, we will try to detect the tiny white dots in houseplant soil by their symptoms.

Almost all houseplants are sensitive to root mealybugs such as Begonia, succulents, cactus, Ferns & Streptocarpus.  As mentioned above you cannot see the culprits above the soil line you can only see the decline signs and see your houseplant is weakening more and more. Its leaves are yellow and it loses its vigour.

If you cannot solve this problem with fertilizing, you have to think about some things that attack roots. In this situation, after removing the soil around the roots, you may see:

• The tiny white mealybugs hang out around the roots and feed from them.
• They usually produce a white cottony substance on roots to cover and protect their eggs.
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You may confuse between root mealybugs, root aphids, mites, springtails, etc. Most people mistake root mealybugs for springtails but mealybugs are smaller and move very slowly so you may assume they are tiny white dots in houseplant soil.

Please grab your magnifying glass and try to compare your culprits with the following pictures. In the following, we will tell you about the root mealybugs’ appearance. Keep reading.

What Do Tiny White Dots in Houseplant Soil (Root Mealybugs) look like?

As mentioned earlier, detecting the culprits exactly is the first step to getting rid of mealybugs in soil. If you are familiar with mealybugs that attack to foliar part of the plant, the root mealybugs are similar to them but smaller. Under your magnifying glass, you see:

• Oval pinkish-purple bodies that are covered with a cotton-like wax, hence you may see them as tiny white bugs or even light grey.
• They are tiny bugs in your houseplant soil (about 2-3 mm).
• They are almost or completely blind with short antennae.
• They have a protective waxy coating with appendixes that you may think have many legs around their body.
• You may spot a netting over the bugs. It is because of the slender filaments that are secreted by the insect.

What Is the Mealybugs’ Habit?

After detecting the culprits exactly, you should know about their habits. It will help you to design a perfect strategy to get rid of mealybugs in soil and prevent them from infestation. In the following, we present a list of important behaviours of root mealybugs. So, keep reading.

• Although root mealybugs are global pests on houseplants, they are more common in moist, warmer environments such as the soil of houseplants.
• Almost all plants are the host of mealybugs but some of them are more favourable for them including Succulent Plants, African Violets, Zonal, Geraniums, Pelargoniums, Streptocarpus
• The mother’s bug secretes a white cotton-like cover to protect eggs.
• The larvae hatch after 48 hours, hence they can increase their population quickly and you have to detect the infestation as soon as possible before getting late.

Where Do Mealybugs Come From?

In this part we want to answer some common questions about root mealybugs that you ask:

• How do plants get mealybugs?
• What causes mealybugs?
• How do mealybugs spread?

Answering the above questions will help you to get rid of mealybugs in your houseplant soil and prevent more infestation.

As mentioned above, mealybugs are wingless, and move slowly but can increase and spread quickly! How? In the following you can find out the important ways that cause your houseplant to get infested with root mealybugs:

• Buying an infested houseplant.
• Potting your houseplant in infested soil or compost.
• They travel to other plants by irrigation water.
• Re-use of infested pots.
• Reuse contaminated culture media in the plant nursery.

How to Get Rid of Root Mealybugs (Tiny White Dots in Houseplant Soil)?

Now let to tell you the golden ways to get rid of these annoying guests in the soil.

Wash the Roots with Warm Water to Get Rid of Mealybugs in the Soil

Caution: before starting to work, make sure your houseplant’s roots are OK with warm water for example I know the succulents and Rhapis palms are OK with this policy.

Follow the below recipe step by step.

• Remove your houseplant from its pot. Try not harm to the roots.
• Try to remove most of the soil around the roots without harming them. you can do it by knocking off the soil.
• Prepare warm water (115 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 to 48 degrees centigrade Celsius) in a bucket.
• Soak the roots in warm water for about 10 min.
• Sterile the pots too. Click to show you the best way to do pot sterilization.
• Re-pot your houseplant in new sterile pots with uninfected soil.

Using Natural Pesticides to Control Mealybugs in Soil

There are several organic insecticides that you can use in soil to control mealybugs such as Neem oil, Hydrogen peroxide and diatomaceous earth. I recommend reading “Get rid of mealybugs naturally in houseplants ” and “How often to use neem oil spray for plants” too.

Get Help from Predator Bugs to Get Rid of Mealybugs in the Soil.

One of the good ways to control root mealybugs is by getting help from the mealybug destroyer Cryptolaemus montrouzieri. This small grey bug feeds on mealybugs in both larva and adult stages.

Caution: make sure didn’t have used any pesticides for at least a month before their release inside the soil.

 

Using Chemical Pesticides to Treat Mealybugs in Houseplant Soil

I don’t like to recommend chemical pesticides, especially for houseplants. They can harm your family and pets. However, if you want to know some pesticides that can work well to control root mealybugs, they can be Bifenthrin, Phenothrin, Tetramethrin, Dichlorvos and Chlorpyrifos.

How to Prevent Root Mealybugs in Houseplants?

Prevention is easier and more effective than treatment. In the following, we tell you about some works that you should do to prevent root mealybugs infestation:

The Tips that You Should Do for Buying a New Houseplant

• Avoid buying weak plants with signs of root mealybugs.
• Ask the Seller to remove the houseplant from the soil to check its root ball for tiny white dots in the houseplant soil.
• Put your new houseplant in quarantine for at least two months until you are sure about its health.

The Tips that You Should Do to Prevent of Spread Mealybugs in Houseplants

• Do pot sterilization before repotting your houseplant. Click here to show you how to do it.
• Avoid water travelling from an infested plant to other plants. The mealybugs especially their babies can spread through it easily.

Conclusion

Now you are familiar with root mealybugs that like Tiny White Dots in Houseplant Soil, you know about the symptoms of their attack on your houseplant’s roots, and you found out how they spread in your indoor plants and how to get rid of them.

Do you have any experience with rood mealybugs? Have you been successful in controlling them? do you think the above remedy can work well? Do you have your specific treatment to get rid of root mealybugs? Please share your experience and ideas with us below this page.

Furthermore, please let me know if you have any questions and I will answer as soon as possible.