bugs on Coleus

[Steve Bornfeld]

First time poster here. I've got all these scaly-white buggy things on almost all my coleus plants, and they're killing the plants. Other plants in same planters or nearby appear unaffected. What are these? Are there any natural or relatively non-nasty way to get rid of them?

TIA, Steve

[Tom Randy]

Mealy bugs. I had them too this past winter and I've NEVER had them before. I tossed my plants, I tried some "organic" insecticide and it did nothing. Next time I use real bug killer.

[Steven Bornfeld]

That's what I figured. One of my wife's friends suggested a spray of dishwashing liquid. My hopes are not high...

Steve

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[alice]

Alcohol on a q-tip kills them..

alice

[Steven Bornfeld]

Thanks--worth a try. Could take some time. ;-)

Steve

[theoldgardener]

Assuming they are mealy bugs, spraying them with water containing detergent will help, but the reason most finally toss them is that a few of the insects will also be in the plant's soil and those will reinfest the plant. The cure (constant vigilance and repeated spraying) is too much trouble for a plant like coleus.

[Steven Bornfeld]

So I won't feel too guilty if I toss them. I just hope the other plants (so far unaffected) in the same planters don't become infected.

Thanks, Steve

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