Mealybugs on houseplants
Common causes of mealybugs and the first things to check, summarized from 157 PlantGrail care records across 148 plants (as of ).
What causes mealybugs on houseplants?
It depends on the plant and how it is kept, so check the plant pages below. For Cactus, the records explain it like this: Areolar fuzz (pubescence) is a natural part of cactus anatomy at the base of spines. Mealybugs are sticky, cottony insects that move and excrete honeydew.
Common first steps
- Isolate infested plant immediately
- Remove visible mealybugs with cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl alcohol
- Swab the mealybug colonies on the croton stems and leaf undersides with cotton wool soaked in methylated spirits, the same alcohol treatment used for scale insects, which penetrates the waxy cottony coating and kills the insect beneath.
Plants with records for mealybugs
Most records first. Open a plant for its own causes and fixes.
- calathea Goeppertia spp.Plant care guide
- pothos Epipremnum aureumRead the guide
- jade plant Crassula ovataPlant care guide
- peace lily Spathiphyllum wallisiiPlant care guide
- monstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosaPlant care guide
- schefflera Schefflera arboricolaPlant care guide
- string of pearls Curio rowleyanusPlant care guide
- orchid Phalaenopsis spp.Read the guide
- bird of paradise Strelitzia reginaePlant care guide
- croton Codiaeum variegatumPlant care guide
- snake plant Dracaena trifasciataRead the guide
- aloe vera Aloe veraRead the guide
- cactaceae Plant care guide
- spider plant Chlorophytum comosumPlant care guide
- fiddle leaf fig Ficus lyrataRead the guide
- echeveria Echeveria spp.Read the guide
- zz plant Zamioculcas zamiifoliaRead the guide
- bromeliad Bromeliaceae spp.Plant care guide
- tillandsia Plant care guide
- dieffenbachia Dieffenbachia spp.Plant care guide
- phalaenopsis orchid Plant care guide
- asparagus fern Asparagus setaceusPlant care guide
- lipstick plant Aeschynanthus radicans
- african violet Streptocarpus sect. SaintpauliaPlant care guide
- air plant Tillandsia spp.Plant care guide
- boston fern Nephrolepis exaltataPlant care guide
- maranta Maranta leuconeuraPlant care guide
- rubber plant Ficus elasticaPlant care guide
- aglaonema AglaonemaPlant care guide
- cast iron plant Cast Iron PlantPlant care guide
- lithops LithopsPlant care guide
- scindapsus pictus Scindapsus pictusPlant care guide
- syngonium pink Syngonium podophyllum 'Pink'
- graptopetalum GraptopetalumPlant care guide
- mammillaria MammillariaPlant care guide
- rabbits foot fern Rabbits Foot FernPlant care guide
- echinocereus EchinocereusPlant care guide
- aloe AloePlant care guide
- echinopsis EchinopsisPlant care guide
- epiphyllum Epiphyllum
- epipremnum pinnatum variegated Epipremnum Pinnatum Variegated
- aeonium AeoniumPlant care guide
- cyperus alternifolius Cyperus Alternifolius
- dizygotheca elegantissima Dizygotheca Elegantissima
- hens and chicks Hens And Chicks
- oleander OleanderPlant care guide
- thai constellation Thai Constellation
- echinocereus engelmannii Echinocereus Engelmannii
- mammillaria grahamii Mammillaria Grahamii
- astrophytum asterias Astrophytum Asterias
- echinocereus coccineus Echinocereus Coccineus
- echinocereus dasyacanthus Echinocereus Dasyacanthus
- echinocereus fendleri Echinocereus Fendleri
- echinocereus pentalophus Echinocereus Pentalophus
- graptoveria Graptoveria
- pachypodium Pachypodium
- sempervivum Sempervivum
- aluminum plant Pilea cadierei
- argyroderma Argyroderma
- fenestraria Fenestraria
- greenovia Greenovia
- english ivy Hedera helixPlant care guide
- string of bananas Curio radicans
- string of hearts Ceropegia woodii / Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodiiPlant care guide
- string of turtles Peperomia prostrata
- syngonium Syngonium podophyllum / arrowheadPlant care guide
- yucca Yucca elephantipes
- philodendron micans philodendron micansPlant care guide
- zz plant raven Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'Raven'Plant care guide
- pothos manjula pothos manjulaPlant care guide
- pothos cebu blue pothos cebu blue
- hoya linearis hoya linearis
- bromeliads BromeliaceaePlant care guide
- philodendron white knight philodendron white knightPlant care guide
- ficus benghalensis ficus benghalensis
- syngonium podophyllum syngonium podophyllumPlant care guide
- philodendron sellum philodendron sellumPlant care guide
- caladium Caladium bicolorPlant care guide
- ponytail palm Beaucarnea recurvataPlant care guide
- ctenanthe Ctenanthe oppenheimianaPlant care guide
- hoya kerrii Hoya kerriiPlant care guide
- rhipsalis Rhipsalis baccifera
- ladder fern ladder fern
- hoya krimson queen hoya krimson queenPlant care guide
- philodendron spiritus sancti philodendron spiritus sancti
- philodendron pink princess philodendron pink princessPlant care guide
- syngonium neon robusta syngonium neon robusta
- dieffenbachia seguine dieffenbachia seguine
- codiaeum variegatum codiaeum variegatum
- dracaena fragrans dracaena fragrans
- beaucarnea recurvata beaucarnea recurvata
- tillandsia ionantha tillandsia ionantha
- philodendron congo philodendron congoPlant care guide
- hoya pubicalyx hoya pubicalyx
- hoya krimson princess hoya krimson princess
- hoya retusa hoya retusa
- philodendron atabapoense philodendron atabapoense
- philodendron dark lord philodendron dark lordPlant care guide
- philodendron painted lady philodendron painted ladyPlant care guide
- philodendron florida beauty philodendron florida beauty
- philodendron xanadu philodendron xanaduPlant care guide
- philodendron stenolobum philodendron stenolobum
- hoya latifolia hoya latifolia
- hoya lacunosa hoya lacunosa
- hoya sp ipps 8191 hoya sp ipps 8191
- hoya sp lawa 6616 hoya sp lawa 6616
- hoya finlaysonii p hoya finlaysonii p
- alocasia african mask alocasia african mask
- giant caladium giant caladium
- scindapsus pictus argyraeus scindapsus pictus argyraeus
- philodendron thai congo philodendron thai congo
- begonia rex shadow king begonia rex shadow king
- peperomia metallica peperomia metallica
- peperomia ferreyrae peperomia ferreyrae
- peperomia capreata emerald peperomia capreata emerald
- pothos pictus exotica splash pothos pictus exotica splash
- aglaonema sparkling sarah aglaonema sparkling sarah
- aglaonema nitidum aglaonema nitidum
- aglaonema emerald bay aglaonema emerald bay
- syngonium confetti syngonium confettiPlant care guide
- dracaena fragrans massangeana dracaena fragrans massangeana
- ctenanthe lubbersiana ctenanthe lubbersiana
- peperomia puteolata parallel peperomia puteolata parallel
- codiaeum mammy codiaeum mammy
- dieffenbachia reflector dieffenbachia reflector
- zz zamioculcas zamiifolia zz zamioculcas zamiifoliaPlant care guide
- philodendron florida ghost philodendron florida ghost
- philodendron joepii philodendron joepii
- caladium white christmas caladium white christmas
- neoregelia carolinae neoregelia carolinae
- vriesea splendens vriesea splendensPlant care guide
- billbergia nutans billbergia nutans
- hoya krimson princess splash hoya krimson princess splash
- string of dolphins string of dolphins
- gasteria batesiana gasteria batesiana
- kalanchoe blossfeldiana kalanchoe blossfeldiana
- hoya serpens hoya serpens
- peperomia puteolata peperomia puteolata
- peperomia prostrata peperomia prostrata
- aglaonema siam aurora aglaonema siam aurora
- sansevieria cylindrica sansevieria cylindrica
- sansevieria black gold sansevieria black gold
- maranta red maranta red
- codiaeum petra codiaeum petra
- ficus Ficus spp.Plant care guide
- anthurium Anthurium spp.Plant care guide
- hoya Hoya spp.Plant care guide
- philodendron Philodendron spp.Plant care guide
Questions about mealybugs
Which plants have the most records for mealybugs?
calathea, pothos, jade plant, peace lily, monstera deliciosa and 143 others.
Can mealybugs be prevented?
Inspect areoles monthly. Increase airflow and maintain low humidity (<40%) to discourage pests.
What are these records?
This page summarizes 157 PlantGrail care records on mealybugs. Records describe care topics; they are not counts of observed plants or treatment outcomes.