How to Kill Mealybugs

Mealybugs can be very destructive in a garden. A mealybug infestation can grow quickly if not controlled, and plants can be damaged inside and outside their systems. To detect mealybugs in a garden, look for plants that appear scrawny and unhealthy. If leaves are curling and brown, either mealybugs or aphids may be assumed to have infested the garden area. The remedy is the same for both pests.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rubbing alcohol
• Insecticidal soap
• Water
• Cotton swabs or cotton balls
• Spray bottle
• Ladybugs

1. Combine 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, 1/2 tsp. of insecticidal soap, and 1 quart water in the spray bottle. Generously spray any infested areas in the garden and on the plants with this spray mixture. Repeat every one to two days until no mealybugs remain in the garden.

2. Saturate a cotton swab or cotton ball with rubbing alcohol. Examine the garden area and each plant to find as many mealybugs as possible. When you find mealybugs, wipe them directly with the cotton swab or cotton ball.
   
   If you find a colony of mealybugs, sprinkle the rubbing alcohol directly over the entire colony to eradicate it. Try to exterminate every mealybug because the mealybugs might be able to repopulate with even one surviving mealybug.

3. Purchase ladybugs from a garden center. Wait until just before dusk in the evening and water the garden well. Release the ladybugs directly into the garden onto the infested plants. Ladybugs will consume mealybugs and the mealybug larvae and will help to control a mealybug infestation.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you discover a mealybug infestation, continue to monitor the garden and repeat the mealybug removal techniques until the mealybugs are gone.

References

• How to Control Mealybugs Without Insecticide