One of the first houseplants I bought for my new house was this gorgeous monstera deliciosa. If you are up on trendy houseplants, you will know that monstera is an “it” plant. Everybody wants it!
I bought mine at a reputable local garden store. I think I paid $60 for it! I put it on my stairway landing, so that way, I could see it from below and up above. It thrives there with at least partial sunlight for most of the day.
The plant in the beginning.
The first winter I owned it, I noticed little balls of fluff. I did not pay too much attention and let it be. When it got really bad, I looked closely and was horrified. Those little balls of fluff were bugs.
A quick google search told me that these were indeed mealybugs, a dreaded, hard to eradicate pest that loves to live on your beautiful sheltered houseplants.
There was no way I was discarding the plant. Other than the bugs, it was happy. I started off with organic solutions.
My first try was an organic insecticide soap. It helped for a bit, but the mealybugs were winning the war. Plus, it dripped down and made my floor sticky. Thank u, next.
I tried some neem oil, also an organic attempt. My mother came over that day and asked me what smelled like cat piss. Neem oil can be helpful for lots of things, but I didn’t see a difference in the bugs after several applications. Neem oil really needs to be applied weekly, and I admit I did not do this. So thank u, next.
People reportedly have had success using isopropyl alcohol as a spray. The isopropyl alcohol kills the buggers so they can’t reproduce. I had a lot of luck with this, but they kept coming back.
Last year I got fed up and brought the plant outside. I put my hose on full blast and aimed it at the suckers. I kept the plant outside for weeks, because the little pests do not like any environment but your warm, comfy home. I ultimately repotted the plant, as I heard that the eggs can live in the soil. I then lugged the now 30 lb plant inside and put it back in its spot, after I washed the curtains and inspected every crevice for the fuzzy telltale signs.
Within weeks, they were back. I did not cry, but I felt they were winning the war. I brought it outside again. This time, I bought a non organic pesticide and sprayed every inch of the plant. Then I did it again 2 weeks later.
At this point, I made the decision to trash a nearby pothos plant that was also infected. I tried the above remedies on this plant as well, but the plant was too big and there were too many tiny crevices. I was not as attached to this pothos. I gave up on it as I knew hundreds of mealy bugs were snuggled inside.
Since then, I have noticed a few mealybugs on my monstera. Every so often, I take an alcohol wipe and wipe them off. Afterwards, I take care to wash my hands before touching any other plant. I inspect the monstera, especially the crevices and new growth, about once a week. If I see a gang of bugs, I spray them with the hard stuff. And now I am winning!
One other trick I can advise is removing any part of the plant that is heavily infested. I have cut off several old monstera stems that were covered with fluffy mealybug debris. The plant seems to like this as it responds by new growth and shiny new leaves that have no trace of bugs.
Mostly I wish I paid attention in the beginning. My situation was pretty bad but I ignored it. Now, I am alert for pests, yellow leaves, brown tips, etc. I am extra careful with the plants that live near the monstera. I have seen a few mealy bugs on a few, and I spray them or use alcohol wipes to remove them. Luckily, I got those in time.
Do you have any tricks for dealing with these buggers?
Lessons with Loll 