INFESTATION!
What’s the best way to remove our unwanted little white guests from our philodendron?
5” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 week ago
1
@AshandSarah Hello đź‘‹
It looks like your infestation is bad. Start by spraying plant with Neem Oil and since it’s inside the pot, I would imagine that they have spread to the roots as well.
Should you repot when a plant has mealybugs?
Yes, if the infestation is really bad, or you just want to do everything possible to get rid of the mealybugs as thoroughly and quickly as possible, the third step is to repot. You don't have to if you're concerned about how well your plant will recover, but it is recommended. Remove as much of the old soil as you can, focused on the top 5cms or so of soil as that's where the eggs and larvae concentrate.
Rinse the roots well, especially focused on the base of the plant. You don't have to remove every particle of soil. While you're doing that, it's really important to give the nursery pot and cover pot a good clean and sterilise too. Give the pots a scrub and 'bath' either in a bleach solution (I use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water), or using hydrogen peroxide, to make sure any sneaky mealybugs are gone-burgers.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used both to kill what's in the soil and to clean the nursery pot and cover pot. I use hydrogen peroxide 3% from Oxygen Plus which is at the right strength for use with plants.
After rinsing the roots, to kill what's left, water with a quarter cup hydrogen peroxide 3% to 4 cups water and pour over the roots before repotting. To clean the nursery pot and cover pot, scrub off surface soil, then mix half hydrogen peroxide 3% and half water in a tub or bucket. Fully submerge the pots in the cleaning solution. Leave them in the mixture until the solution stops bubbling. Remove them, rinse well, then leave to dry. You can re-use the same nursery pot and cover pot right away once dry, or repot into new pots.
It looks like your infestation is bad. Start by spraying plant with Neem Oil and since it’s inside the pot, I would imagine that they have spread to the roots as well.
Should you repot when a plant has mealybugs?
Yes, if the infestation is really bad, or you just want to do everything possible to get rid of the mealybugs as thoroughly and quickly as possible, the third step is to repot. You don't have to if you're concerned about how well your plant will recover, but it is recommended. Remove as much of the old soil as you can, focused on the top 5cms or so of soil as that's where the eggs and larvae concentrate.
Rinse the roots well, especially focused on the base of the plant. You don't have to remove every particle of soil. While you're doing that, it's really important to give the nursery pot and cover pot a good clean and sterilise too. Give the pots a scrub and 'bath' either in a bleach solution (I use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water), or using hydrogen peroxide, to make sure any sneaky mealybugs are gone-burgers.
Hydrogen peroxide can be used both to kill what's in the soil and to clean the nursery pot and cover pot. I use hydrogen peroxide 3% from Oxygen Plus which is at the right strength for use with plants.
After rinsing the roots, to kill what's left, water with a quarter cup hydrogen peroxide 3% to 4 cups water and pour over the roots before repotting. To clean the nursery pot and cover pot, scrub off surface soil, then mix half hydrogen peroxide 3% and half water in a tub or bucket. Fully submerge the pots in the cleaning solution. Leave them in the mixture until the solution stops bubbling. Remove them, rinse well, then leave to dry. You can re-use the same nursery pot and cover pot right away once dry, or repot into new pots.
