mealybugs on Aeonium
Quick answer
If your Aeonium has mealybugs, the most likely cause is: Aeoniums grown in humid, summer-rain climates are prone to mealybug infestations because the soft-bodied pests lodge in leaf axils and proliferate in still, damp air where new growth is tender; risk peaks in late summer when Argentine ants introduce colonies into dry rosettes and old lower leaves.
Start here:
- 1. At the first sign of fluffy white insects in leaf axils, isolate the plant, then spray leaf axils and rosette centers with a fine mist of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol — a fine, light spray does no damage to succulent leaves and kills soft-bodied insects instantly on contact.
- 2. Bag and discard severely affected plants so the pests cannot spread to neighboring succulents, then spray nearby plants preventively and recheck axils weekly for recurrence throughout late summer.
Why Aeonium gets mealybugs
Aeonium
Aeoniums grown in humid, summer-rain climates are prone to mealybug infestations because the soft-bodied pests lodge in leaf axils and proliferate in still, damp air where new growth is tender; risk peaks in late summer when Argentine ants introduce colonies into dry rosettes and old lower leaves.
How to reverse mealybugs on Aeonium
- 1
At the first sign of fluffy white insects in leaf axils, isolate the plant, then spray leaf axils and rosette centers with a fine mist of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol — a fine, light spray does no damage to succulent leaves and kills soft-bodied insects instantly on contact.
- 2
Bag and discard severely affected plants so the pests cannot spread to neighboring succulents, then spray nearby plants preventively and recheck axils weekly for recurrence throughout late summer.
Keep mealybugs off this Aeonium
Improve air circulation around aeonium rosettes during late-summer humidity and control Argentine ant trails near the plants so the ants cannot transport mealybugs into dry leaf axils, while peeling away only the most senescent lower leaves that clearly shelter ant colonies.