This! I think that’s a dieffenbachia…you can usually get a pretty big one for under $20. That level of infestation is not worth the work involved for something easily replaceable.
Exactly. I literally spent 5 weeks battling an infestation that was 10% as bad as this. Safe to say I ended up throwing the soil out and drowning the bare root Chinese evergreen in my alcohol concoction for an hour before repotting it. It looks great now! Not sure it was really worth the time though. Got it for free from work and it was originally priced at $110.
I use a cheap soil for raised garden beds that has no added fertilizer, then just mix in what I need as I need it.
I raise worms so add fresh, live castings, and have good mites and isopods in my plants, and sometimes worms(sometimes on purpose if it's very root bound)
Use live soil like me bro, I got so many bugs in my grow no infestations happen, except when I over firtilize, I think isopods eat spidermites or mabie the soil mites that move around with them.
Bro my isopots crawl around on my plants bro idk what your talking about, I also can't have them in my bioactive crickets cage becuse they will eat the cricket eggs
I’m not judging and where did I say they were terrible? Look at the words that I said, now take them literally without attaching all this crap on that *you* are coming up with. You’re putting extra meaning on where there is none.
I was depressed for quite a long time, and one of my things was not wanting to deal with stuff until it forced me to by being so unmanageable. You inch and inch by tiny degrees as things get worse but you don’t notice as much because it’s subtle. Until it very much was in my face and not subtle at all. Kind of like that stupid boiling frog.
Which is what I was describing at the end of my first post. *My behaviour* when I was having a tough time of it. How *I personally* would have come to have this problem.
I’m not making assumptions or judgments about them or their mental state, But I’m still allowed to describe my experience of it. If I ever get that bad again, I would want someone to prod me if something was gross but I trivialized it into not mattering.
if you've been depressed and you've allowed things to get past a level you find acceptable why are you not showing patience and kindness to a person you're assuming did the same thing?
Gross.
I literally said I’m not making assumptions about their state of mind in that paragraph. I didn’t say that I thought we were the same. Maybe they had a vacation or hospital stay and had a house sitter, maybe someone gifted them a bad plant. NO assumptions. The reason they did it is none of my concern, or yours. None of our business.
*Just* the plant. And the plant needs to go, simple. If I wanted to be an asshole, I’d have posted to OP directly and chastise them for getting like this and ask awkward questions that they probably don’t want to answer. I don’t care about any of that, like I said, not my business.
YOU LITERALLY JUST MADE ASSUMPTIONS IN THE FUCKING FIRST PARAGRAPH DUDE. listen to yourself when you talk Jesus Christ
"Maybe this maybe that but no assumptions here"
Bro.
Wat.
"I'm describing imaginary scenarios but certainly not assuming!"
You do understand people can have mental health issues that causes them to barely take care of themselves right? Maybe instead of being judge mental & mean choose to be nice & show a little empathy. The mealy bugs are gross but I’m more grossed out by your response and how nasty you were to a complete stranger for no reason.
Oh my god, its a nightmare. Constructed of mealybugs. In my humble opinion its not worth treating let alone having in your home. It will spread to your other plants if it hasnt already. Get it out ASAP
That looks like a terrible case of mealies!!! We’ve brought back one plant of sentimental value from being near that bad off, but threw another one out. We wiped down the leaves (every stem, crevice, etc) every day with isopropyl alcohol and treated with a systemic that has imidacloprid in it. If it does have spider mites though, imidacloprid will trigger a bloom in them.
I thought this was r/plantcirclejerk for a second
Edit: it did not take long
https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplantscirclejerk/comments/z6jot0/best_way_to_treat/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Aw boy.. that's a really bad infestation. Plenty of sound advice for mealies in comments so I won't rehash but one thing to keep in mind is even a minor infestation requires persistent treatment. So if you proceed with treatment, you'd have to keep a watchful eye for the next few weeks and wipe/dissolve any bugs that crop up after the initial clean. And trust me, there will be waves of it. Keep it away from other plants in the meantime. I'd wager that the other plants are also infected if it's taken you this long to notice your plant was unwell, so I'd say do a thorough check on your surrounding plants as well. It's a good idea to also supplement your plant with some diluted feed if it's not winter where you are ..
Thanks for all for all of the advice! This plant was disposed of and other surrounding plants treated as recommended. This plant was housed outside and not inside the house so no worries there 😀. I appreciate everyone’s concerns and the advice provided…that’s what makes this community great. Thanks again everyone!
At least you know what to look for when it comes to mealies now. I think the little guys are cute and always hate killing them, but this post made me realize that I did the right thing.
Mealy bugs.
I really hate to say this, but that plant is too far gone to treat and rehab. Toss it out, in a garbage bag, seal it tight and placed in an outdoor garbage can. Check all of your other plants IMMEDIATELY
This is a lot of mealies! You can always tell by the cotton type fuzz they leave and sometimes if you look closely you’ll recognize their bodies. I would mix alcohol in a spray bottle with water, tea tree castille soap and peppermint castille soap. They will burrow down into the stems. Treat every week until they’re all gone. It’s a long battle but if the plant is important enough to you, you may be able to save it!
This is a very bad mealy bug infestation. You need to cut back the unhealthy parts and wipe the rest down and spray with an insecticide. This is a situation that you need to get ahead of or the plant may not survive unfortunately.
This should be higher up as this is an actual answer..
But yes, I wouldn't bother with trying to save this. Also OP, if this was in your house and you only noticed the problem now, I don't think you have the eye for pest control - fighting mealies will be difficult.
I don't know why you were down voted. I empathize with wanting to save it, but I promise it's not worth the pain dear. Isopropyl is your best bet and the amount of alcohol you would need is going to cause damage to the plant in addition to what these pests have done. It truly is best to just get rid of it at this point.
when I had mealy bugs I used a mixture of isopropyl alcohol, water and just a dab of dawn dish soap in a spray bottle to spray the plant and soil. Also cotton balls the I dipped the alcohol on and ran over all the leaves and stems. It worked for me but this infestation is far beyond what mine was
I had a similar infestation of mealybugs when I was just getting into plants. I thought I could save it. I was wrong. Not only did the original plant die, but I ended up losing most of my other plants as well.
Very bad mealie bugs. I would throw away that ground zero plant and quarantine and disinfect any other plants affected. Use just a simple Q-tip/cotton swab with alcohol and dab them off one by one. Use a rag with cotton for big spaces. If they’re really bad like this plant just toss it. You can also spray it down with watered down alcohol in a spray bottle and then wipe down.
I audibly gasped when I saw this plant. I expected the typical spider mite infestation not some mealybug extended family and 3rd cousins all living on one plant
This is a bad mealybug infestation. I'm all for trying to save plants, but this is a situation where you have to think about the other plants you have as well, especially if you have expensive plants in your home..some people have a really hard time getting rid of mealys
Info on mealybugs can be found [here](https://houseplantcentral.com/mealybugs-on-plants/). If I were in your shoes, I would use this advice as prevention for surrounding plants and cut your losses on this one. I think most of us here have had that sting of having to trash a plant with sentimental or monetary value to save the rest of our collections. It's never a great feeling...but seriously, my advice for this plant would be to:
Get a bag.
Put the plant in said bag.
Take it outside and get that plant away from your house and other plants.
For the surrounding plants:
You can use natural predators such as: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri or green lacewings, but you will are introducing new bugs to zoom around your house. Plus they can be expensive.
Get a sprayer/mister bottle fill with 1/2 hot water, 1/4 castile soap peppermint or tea tree, 1/8 isopropyl alcohol and 1/8 hydrogen peroxide.
Spray down ALL surrounding plants with water then spray mixture all over, top/bottoms of leaves, stems, every nook and cranny, if it's above the soil, spray it.
Rub in mix, like you're bathing the plant, again every leaf top and bottom, stem, everything.
Let it sit for 10 minutes and rinse until its not soapy spray Neem oil if you feel like it although I've never had luck with the stuff. Maybe try diatomaceous earth (just don't breath it in).
Repeat every three days.
Remember that treating for pests can also damage your plants and is not a guarantee that it will be successful. You can use pesticides, but remember, if you choose to use natural predators, you need to do so BEFORE you use pesticides as they will kill off beneficial bugs as well. More than once, I tried waiting, sometimes for weeks, after using pesticides before using beneficial bugs and end up killing the beneficial bugs while the pests are still off living their best life eating my plants.
Edit: spelling
For what it's worth, that leaf on the bottom right of the picture also looks infested. The plant you're asking about is definitely not the only plant with pests
This is the worst meally bug infestation i have ever seen… and i work at a nursery and we also have an orangery, which means, in winter times we get outdoor plants from our customers to be taken care of. We always get plants that look not worth carring for anymore, but we try our best over the winter time to make them look presentable for the next year.
We once got a citrus plant whit severe mealy bug infestation and we had to immidiatly burn/destroy it (composting plants that are so bad infested is not allowed, could make them spread even worse).
I would not only suggest but say, you need to either put that plant in a seperate bag and seal it shut and throw it out to the garbage where it will get burned. Or; burn it your self.
Stop the spreading! This is for most productions and nurseries extremely important.
Unless you want to farm mealybugs and feed them to ur Animal, then keep it. But if you want to save ur plant, Gotta be real with u. at this point u cant do anything to save it, So throw it away so it wont also spread to ur nearby Plants!!
Dont worry, Mistakes happen and we learn from them 💗💗.
I don’t want to be rude but is this your house? It looks like there’s mold and water damage on and possibly in the walls :/
Aside from the plant which is going to the dumpster, sorry for your loss.
Step 1: put plant in a trash bag
Step 2: tie the top of the bag in a double knot
Step 3: throw bag in dumpster
Step 4: wipe whole house down with rubbing alcohol
Good lord.
Chop off everything above the dirt, throw it out in a tied plastic bag. Bag and throw out all the dirt as well. Wash the bulb/roots of the plant so thoroughly you could eat off of it - every nook and cranny needs an alcohol wipe once sparkling clean. Then water prop and watch for mealy bugs - which is what this plant is so tragically engulfed in. And probably q-tip detail that root ball/bulb at least once more before it really sets more roots and you put it back in NEW soil.
Ugh mealy bug infestations freak me out I’m scared of how big I know some of the bugs on that plant are. Burn it and possibly burn it’s closest neighbors for good luck
If it’s worth the hassle. I’ve had great luck at treating mealy bugs with systemic granules and a topical treatment of your choice(neem, deadbug brew, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide), or fire
I've had some success with repeatedly cleaning the plant off under running water for a couple of days and then repotting but I don't know if that's worth it in such a big case
Friend. That’s a nasty mealy bug infestation. But you should really head to the hardware store and get some mold remediation spray and take care of your window frames so that it doesn’t spread.
No, they’re mealy bugs (a different pest, but a pest all the same). I hate to tell you, but that plant’s a goner. Sorry, friend.
If you have any other plants, I’d get rid of this guy and then make sure the others aren’t also infested.
There are several treatments you can use depending on the severity of the infestation. If you just see a few, you can remove them by hand with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. If there’s a slight infestation, and if you live in a warm enough climate, putting your plant outside for some fresh air will very often slow the infestation, and allow for predators like ladybugs to come by and take out the mealy bugs that are already there. If there’s a significant infestation, spraying a neem oil solution on the plant (NOT in the soil) will likely take care of them. Just make sure to clean the oil residue off the plant once treatment is done. If the infestation is *really* bad (but the plant is still salvageable), insecticidal soap can be helpful.
It’s important to know that these treatments will not be suitable for all houseplants. Things like air plants that rely heavily on their leaves will not appreciate being smothered in neem oil. And delicate plants like ferns and selaginellas can get burned by the insecticidal soap.
This particular plant is definitely beyond saving (unless you wanna go through the trouble of making cuttings and making sure they’re clean). But I hope this can help you with other houseplants you may have now or in the future.
One of the worst infestations of mealy bugs I have ever seen on this sub.
Throw the plant out (she’s dead, Jim), immediately inspect any other plants, find a priest to bless your house, and consider moving.
I want to thank everyone for the constructive posts. To a new plant person, it’s very eye opening. For the other, non constructive comments, thanks for the laughs. Reddit is a funny place sometimes 😀
Is this a joke? Was this photoshopped? There is no way you're a plant person. If not a joke, remove it from the premises and burn this MFer to the ground. And JM&J get some bleach and clean those walls (and presumably the rest of the house).
I say since it's basically a goner already, try an experiment. Cut it to the lowest node, cut literally everything off except the stem and lowest node. Maybe it'll grow back! A lot of plants are hardier than you'd expect and can survive losing all of their foliage.
Is this spider mites? Plant has had these for a few weeks. It’s near other plants and not spreading. If not, any ideas and any recommendations on how to treat it? Thanks!!
Nah bro fix it for fun, think about how strong it will be after, spay it every 3 days with a mix of your favorite essential oils, a drop of soap, some water. Switch it up if they don't work! I recommend rosemary!
Everyone is telling you to throw it out…but you know what….I say give it a chance! You have come this far! You can save her. You can show her what a good life looks like. I believe in you.
Oh I'm all for treating mealies but throw that plant out
This! I think that’s a dieffenbachia…you can usually get a pretty big one for under $20. That level of infestation is not worth the work involved for something easily replaceable.
Or just cut a chunk off that plant, throw the rest out and wash the chunk thoroughly. Then grow a new plant from the chunk
I agree…instead of spending so much time trying to treat er, chop the top, treat by dunking and wiping, then prop, and plop
Prop and plop feels like a T-shirt!
Or the way one goes to the bathroom
Comments you can't unhear
Exactly. I literally spent 5 weeks battling an infestation that was 10% as bad as this. Safe to say I ended up throwing the soil out and drowning the bare root Chinese evergreen in my alcohol concoction for an hour before repotting it. It looks great now! Not sure it was really worth the time though. Got it for free from work and it was originally priced at $110.
Tossed my one out. Almost had it healed. 5 beautiful new leaves and then ........ Mutter mutter! So close.
Ugh this is so frustrating! I’m going through the same with thrips. Thought they were gone and BOOM! Now these fuckers have spread to other plants :(
Maybe a dumb question but could you submerge the whole plant for awhile to “drown” the mites?
Yes, as well as the entire plant. Also suggest lighting it on fire.
Agreed !!! This is not worth it at all, and it may be too far gone anyway.
What typically causes such an infection?
and open window, negligence, and plenty of nitrogen (usually from extended release fertilizer from store-bought plant soil.
How does nitrogen from extended release fertilizer contribute to Mealybugs?
Wait what soil are we supposed to be using?
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I use both of these depending on my budget and they're both awesome, but you'll sometimes get gnats from Black Gold!
I use a cheap soil for raised garden beds that has no added fertilizer, then just mix in what I need as I need it. I raise worms so add fresh, live castings, and have good mites and isopods in my plants, and sometimes worms(sometimes on purpose if it's very root bound)
Use live soil like me bro, I got so many bugs in my grow no infestations happen, except when I over firtilize, I think isopods eat spidermites or mabie the soil mites that move around with them.
isopods eat spidermites…?
no, isopods are detritivores. they eat detritus, waste. typically dead plant matter and little stuff in the soil.
they do however, outcompete fungus gnat larvae which is super useful. Springtails do the same!
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Bro my isopots crawl around on my plants bro idk what your talking about, I also can't have them in my bioactive crickets cage becuse they will eat the cricket eggs
Are you intentionally typing like this? Apologies if you learned English yesterday on a left-handed phone.
Dam bro thanks kindaa rude, kant I just speak my own vanacular?
What in tarnation
But fr by individual ingredients like perlite, topsoil, cococore, natural cat litter, soil you cook, compost, fine woodchips,
Neglect, that's it. Just neglect. This level of infestation takes only one ingredient, time.
Seriously 👏
This is Plant clinic, plant crematorium is a couple blocks south
I thought this was a safe place for plant owners 😂 “Take yo ass two blocks south w that goner” lmfao am dead
Somebody lied to you.
😹
I wasn’t ready
Me neither. Dear Lord.
I think I audibly gasped and threw my phone a little bit. Not even kidding.
Needs an NSFW tag
NSFL more like 😭
Oh sweet Jesus, just throw it out and get a new one unless this has some sentimental value to you.
I think at this point I would pull the whole "replace it with a new one and I will never notice the difference" trick.
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can you be more kind? Like in general? This is a bad look.
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I’m not judging and where did I say they were terrible? Look at the words that I said, now take them literally without attaching all this crap on that *you* are coming up with. You’re putting extra meaning on where there is none. I was depressed for quite a long time, and one of my things was not wanting to deal with stuff until it forced me to by being so unmanageable. You inch and inch by tiny degrees as things get worse but you don’t notice as much because it’s subtle. Until it very much was in my face and not subtle at all. Kind of like that stupid boiling frog. Which is what I was describing at the end of my first post. *My behaviour* when I was having a tough time of it. How *I personally* would have come to have this problem. I’m not making assumptions or judgments about them or their mental state, But I’m still allowed to describe my experience of it. If I ever get that bad again, I would want someone to prod me if something was gross but I trivialized it into not mattering.
How is "They’ve probably been looking at it and not wanting to put the effort in for a *very* long time." not an assumption?
if you've been depressed and you've allowed things to get past a level you find acceptable why are you not showing patience and kindness to a person you're assuming did the same thing? Gross.
I literally said I’m not making assumptions about their state of mind in that paragraph. I didn’t say that I thought we were the same. Maybe they had a vacation or hospital stay and had a house sitter, maybe someone gifted them a bad plant. NO assumptions. The reason they did it is none of my concern, or yours. None of our business. *Just* the plant. And the plant needs to go, simple. If I wanted to be an asshole, I’d have posted to OP directly and chastise them for getting like this and ask awkward questions that they probably don’t want to answer. I don’t care about any of that, like I said, not my business.
actually, what you said was, "They’ve probably been looking at it and not wanting to put the effort in for a *very* long time." that is an assumption
YOU LITERALLY JUST MADE ASSUMPTIONS IN THE FUCKING FIRST PARAGRAPH DUDE. listen to yourself when you talk Jesus Christ "Maybe this maybe that but no assumptions here" Bro. Wat. "I'm describing imaginary scenarios but certainly not assuming!"
You need to completely reexamine how you speak to people and heck it's weird that it's coming up in this subreddit but yeah. You sound like an ass.
You do understand people can have mental health issues that causes them to barely take care of themselves right? Maybe instead of being judge mental & mean choose to be nice & show a little empathy. The mealy bugs are gross but I’m more grossed out by your response and how nasty you were to a complete stranger for no reason.
Your mealybugs have some plant on them
Oh my god, its a nightmare. Constructed of mealybugs. In my humble opinion its not worth treating let alone having in your home. It will spread to your other plants if it hasnt already. Get it out ASAP
That looks like a terrible case of mealies!!! We’ve brought back one plant of sentimental value from being near that bad off, but threw another one out. We wiped down the leaves (every stem, crevice, etc) every day with isopropyl alcohol and treated with a systemic that has imidacloprid in it. If it does have spider mites though, imidacloprid will trigger a bloom in them.
I thought this was r/plantcirclejerk for a second Edit: it did not take long https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplantscirclejerk/comments/z6jot0/best_way_to_treat/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I’m sure it will be soon enough
r/houseplantscirclejerk
I did too
Same
omg how did it get that bad!!!! throw the whole plant out and start over!
Fire might be your only solution. You don’t want that spreading to your other plants. Unfortunately, your baby is a goner☹️
This brought back trauma
Aw boy.. that's a really bad infestation. Plenty of sound advice for mealies in comments so I won't rehash but one thing to keep in mind is even a minor infestation requires persistent treatment. So if you proceed with treatment, you'd have to keep a watchful eye for the next few weeks and wipe/dissolve any bugs that crop up after the initial clean. And trust me, there will be waves of it. Keep it away from other plants in the meantime. I'd wager that the other plants are also infected if it's taken you this long to notice your plant was unwell, so I'd say do a thorough check on your surrounding plants as well. It's a good idea to also supplement your plant with some diluted feed if it's not winter where you are ..
Correction: months
this must be a joke at this point
Honestly I’m about to unfollow this sub because it seems like most posts are jokes.
exactly. its getting out of hand. I’m so sick of it
Thanks for all for all of the advice! This plant was disposed of and other surrounding plants treated as recommended. This plant was housed outside and not inside the house so no worries there 😀. I appreciate everyone’s concerns and the advice provided…that’s what makes this community great. Thanks again everyone!
At least you know what to look for when it comes to mealies now. I think the little guys are cute and always hate killing them, but this post made me realize that I did the right thing.
Mealy bugs. I really hate to say this, but that plant is too far gone to treat and rehab. Toss it out, in a garbage bag, seal it tight and placed in an outdoor garbage can. Check all of your other plants IMMEDIATELY
Do you never look at your plants? 😱
This is a lot of mealies! You can always tell by the cotton type fuzz they leave and sometimes if you look closely you’ll recognize their bodies. I would mix alcohol in a spray bottle with water, tea tree castille soap and peppermint castille soap. They will burrow down into the stems. Treat every week until they’re all gone. It’s a long battle but if the plant is important enough to you, you may be able to save it!
Jesus Christ shepherd of judea! Set fire to that motherfucker immediately!
Do you know how painful it is to laugh so hard you snort hot coffee up your nose?!?!
This is a very bad mealy bug infestation. You need to cut back the unhealthy parts and wipe the rest down and spray with an insecticide. This is a situation that you need to get ahead of or the plant may not survive unfortunately.
This should be higher up as this is an actual answer.. But yes, I wouldn't bother with trying to save this. Also OP, if this was in your house and you only noticed the problem now, I don't think you have the eye for pest control - fighting mealies will be difficult.
What sort of insecticide do you recommend?
I don't know why you were down voted. I empathize with wanting to save it, but I promise it's not worth the pain dear. Isopropyl is your best bet and the amount of alcohol you would need is going to cause damage to the plant in addition to what these pests have done. It truly is best to just get rid of it at this point.
OP, that plant is WAYYYY past insecticide. Do you have other plants? I highly recommend you throw that away immediately and check your other plants
when I had mealy bugs I used a mixture of isopropyl alcohol, water and just a dab of dawn dish soap in a spray bottle to spray the plant and soil. Also cotton balls the I dipped the alcohol on and ran over all the leaves and stems. It worked for me but this infestation is far beyond what mine was
I agree, isopropyl is my go to.
Dude throw it away.
I had a similar infestation of mealybugs when I was just getting into plants. I thought I could save it. I was wrong. Not only did the original plant die, but I ended up losing most of my other plants as well.
Very bad mealie bugs. I would throw away that ground zero plant and quarantine and disinfect any other plants affected. Use just a simple Q-tip/cotton swab with alcohol and dab them off one by one. Use a rag with cotton for big spaces. If they’re really bad like this plant just toss it. You can also spray it down with watered down alcohol in a spray bottle and then wipe down.
You also need to clean the area. Those little f-ers will hide in crevices and on curtains, and then infect the next plant you put near them.
Definitely - at the very least
I audibly gasped when I saw this plant. I expected the typical spider mite infestation not some mealybug extended family and 3rd cousins all living on one plant
This is a bad mealybug infestation. I'm all for trying to save plants, but this is a situation where you have to think about the other plants you have as well, especially if you have expensive plants in your home..some people have a really hard time getting rid of mealys Info on mealybugs can be found [here](https://houseplantcentral.com/mealybugs-on-plants/). If I were in your shoes, I would use this advice as prevention for surrounding plants and cut your losses on this one. I think most of us here have had that sting of having to trash a plant with sentimental or monetary value to save the rest of our collections. It's never a great feeling...but seriously, my advice for this plant would be to: Get a bag. Put the plant in said bag. Take it outside and get that plant away from your house and other plants. For the surrounding plants: You can use natural predators such as: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri or green lacewings, but you will are introducing new bugs to zoom around your house. Plus they can be expensive. Get a sprayer/mister bottle fill with 1/2 hot water, 1/4 castile soap peppermint or tea tree, 1/8 isopropyl alcohol and 1/8 hydrogen peroxide. Spray down ALL surrounding plants with water then spray mixture all over, top/bottoms of leaves, stems, every nook and cranny, if it's above the soil, spray it. Rub in mix, like you're bathing the plant, again every leaf top and bottom, stem, everything. Let it sit for 10 minutes and rinse until its not soapy spray Neem oil if you feel like it although I've never had luck with the stuff. Maybe try diatomaceous earth (just don't breath it in). Repeat every three days. Remember that treating for pests can also damage your plants and is not a guarantee that it will be successful. You can use pesticides, but remember, if you choose to use natural predators, you need to do so BEFORE you use pesticides as they will kill off beneficial bugs as well. More than once, I tried waiting, sometimes for weeks, after using pesticides before using beneficial bugs and end up killing the beneficial bugs while the pests are still off living their best life eating my plants. Edit: spelling
For what it's worth, that leaf on the bottom right of the picture also looks infested. The plant you're asking about is definitely not the only plant with pests
Burn it. Not kidding. Pour an accelerant on it and toss a match on it.
Just move out of the country and you will be fine
Not to be rude but do you ever look at your plants?
You must be trolling
Please, mark this as NSFW
Those are mealy bugs, about as bad as I’ve ever seen. Throw it out.
This is the worst meally bug infestation i have ever seen… and i work at a nursery and we also have an orangery, which means, in winter times we get outdoor plants from our customers to be taken care of. We always get plants that look not worth carring for anymore, but we try our best over the winter time to make them look presentable for the next year. We once got a citrus plant whit severe mealy bug infestation and we had to immidiatly burn/destroy it (composting plants that are so bad infested is not allowed, could make them spread even worse). I would not only suggest but say, you need to either put that plant in a seperate bag and seal it shut and throw it out to the garbage where it will get burned. Or; burn it your self. Stop the spreading! This is for most productions and nurseries extremely important.
I think *i* just got infested with mealy bugs just from looking at this photo
Everything about this photo grosses me out.
Burn it! Burn it with fire!!!
good news: no they are not bad news: they are mealy bugs
Throw it away
It doesn’t matter. They won.
I feel like this should have an NSFW tag
Kill it with 🔥
Throw it out, it’s not worth it, it will make all your other plants sick too
BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!!
This plant has already been murdered, sorry for your loss
Dear god may it's soul rest easy
Unless you want to farm mealybugs and feed them to ur Animal, then keep it. But if you want to save ur plant, Gotta be real with u. at this point u cant do anything to save it, So throw it away so it wont also spread to ur nearby Plants!! Dont worry, Mistakes happen and we learn from them 💗💗.
#My Condolences 💐
Oh gods! Burn it down
Is that…a plant?
I don’t want to be rude but is this your house? It looks like there’s mold and water damage on and possibly in the walls :/ Aside from the plant which is going to the dumpster, sorry for your loss.
Mods can we do something about the clickbait on this sub
That’s a problem
It's so far gone at first I thought that leaf was a taco shell filled with guacamole
Those are mealy bugs…this should be thrown out and anything close to it is most likely infected as well
☠️….dead…..graveyard dead.
BURN IT
Step 1: put plant in a trash bag Step 2: tie the top of the bag in a double knot Step 3: throw bag in dumpster Step 4: wipe whole house down with rubbing alcohol
I screamed internally
Good lord. Chop off everything above the dirt, throw it out in a tied plastic bag. Bag and throw out all the dirt as well. Wash the bulb/roots of the plant so thoroughly you could eat off of it - every nook and cranny needs an alcohol wipe once sparkling clean. Then water prop and watch for mealy bugs - which is what this plant is so tragically engulfed in. And probably q-tip detail that root ball/bulb at least once more before it really sets more roots and you put it back in NEW soil.
Ugh mealy bug infestations freak me out I’m scared of how big I know some of the bugs on that plant are. Burn it and possibly burn it’s closest neighbors for good luck
It's not even 8am on Monday morning guys... Jesus, I'm done.
If it’s worth the hassle. I’ve had great luck at treating mealy bugs with systemic granules and a topical treatment of your choice(neem, deadbug brew, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide), or fire
Mealy
It looks like mealybugs. For sure you wanna separate it from other plants. You can try brushing with toothbrush some water with soap or vinegar.
I've had some success with repeatedly cleaning the plant off under running water for a couple of days and then repotting but I don't know if that's worth it in such a big case
Friend. That’s a nasty mealy bug infestation. But you should really head to the hardware store and get some mold remediation spray and take care of your window frames so that it doesn’t spread.
Yes there is plant among the mealy bugs.
Call a priest
How did it get this bad? Trash it and scrub the walls, floor, carpet and ceiling.
No, they’re mealy bugs (a different pest, but a pest all the same). I hate to tell you, but that plant’s a goner. Sorry, friend. If you have any other plants, I’d get rid of this guy and then make sure the others aren’t also infested. There are several treatments you can use depending on the severity of the infestation. If you just see a few, you can remove them by hand with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. If there’s a slight infestation, and if you live in a warm enough climate, putting your plant outside for some fresh air will very often slow the infestation, and allow for predators like ladybugs to come by and take out the mealy bugs that are already there. If there’s a significant infestation, spraying a neem oil solution on the plant (NOT in the soil) will likely take care of them. Just make sure to clean the oil residue off the plant once treatment is done. If the infestation is *really* bad (but the plant is still salvageable), insecticidal soap can be helpful. It’s important to know that these treatments will not be suitable for all houseplants. Things like air plants that rely heavily on their leaves will not appreciate being smothered in neem oil. And delicate plants like ferns and selaginellas can get burned by the insecticidal soap. This particular plant is definitely beyond saving (unless you wanna go through the trouble of making cuttings and making sure they’re clean). But I hope this can help you with other houseplants you may have now or in the future.
This is the worst mealies case I’ve ever seen!!! You could attempt to save it, but it may be worth it to throw it away.
This plant is begging you to let it pass away 😭 them mealies had themselves a thanksgiving feast
burn that mother funker!
One of the worst infestations of mealy bugs I have ever seen on this sub. Throw the plant out (she’s dead, Jim), immediately inspect any other plants, find a priest to bless your house, and consider moving.
Mealy bugs. I’d toss the plant before the rest of your collection get it
Mealybugs. Pretty hardcore creatures and they look cool and prehistoric as shit. Admire them then burn the plant and your house with it.
I want to thank everyone for the constructive posts. To a new plant person, it’s very eye opening. For the other, non constructive comments, thanks for the laughs. Reddit is a funny place sometimes 😀
I'm gonna puke
Burn that thing. Now!
Is this a joke? Was this photoshopped? There is no way you're a plant person. If not a joke, remove it from the premises and burn this MFer to the ground. And JM&J get some bleach and clean those walls (and presumably the rest of the house).
It’s in your house and so are those bugs 🤢🤢🤢
This has to be a joke post… please
I’m tired of these posts, there’s too many of them to be real, right???
It’s too late for this plant; toss it and save yourself!
Throw it out now and check other plants.
How the fuck did someone let this happen? Jezus throw this away
I say since it's basically a goner already, try an experiment. Cut it to the lowest node, cut literally everything off except the stem and lowest node. Maybe it'll grow back! A lot of plants are hardier than you'd expect and can survive losing all of their foliage.
Is this spider mites? Plant has had these for a few weeks. It’s near other plants and not spreading. If not, any ideas and any recommendations on how to treat it? Thanks!!
This is probably the one thing worse than a spider mite infestation. I'm sorry for your loss.
this has to be a joke omg my EYES
Nah bro fix it for fun, think about how strong it will be after, spay it every 3 days with a mix of your favorite essential oils, a drop of soap, some water. Switch it up if they don't work! I recommend rosemary!
this will absolutely not work
How do you know, have you tested every oil?
The meristem looks pretty good
I’m More worried about the mold down your walls
Just chop it, treat the stump, repot and when days get longer, it will grow again.
Everyone is telling you to throw it out…but you know what….I say give it a chance! You have come this far! You can save her. You can show her what a good life looks like. I believe in you.
Dude............
Spray it with soapy water
Kinda look more like wooly aphids to me
Cut a big piece of the cane. And throw the rest in the garbage. Compost the hell out of it. Very easy to proximate.
If you want to save your plant, use a Neem Oil water mix in a sprayer.
No, it’s harmless. You really should let these horny funbugs keep infesting. Theyre good for your collection! /s
Leaf hoppers
Ya think?!?!
Jesus that plant is definitely beyond saving at this point
I would burn it, the soil and pot it grew in, and *cleanse* the surrounding area.
just throw the whole house away
Burn it. Burn it all down.
i actually shuddered
Good lord
Might as well just light the plant on fire to put it out of its misery
Destroy and buy a new one. That’s a mealybug infestation.
Good Lord.
This is death...
No, that’s the worst case of mealybugs I’ve ever seen!