mealybugs on Boston Fern
Quick answer
If your Boston Fern has mealybugs, the most likely cause is: Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects that colonize Boston ferns in the protected crevices where pinnae join the rachis and along the rhizome at the soil line, where their cottony egg sacs are often mistaken for fungus. As they feed they drain plant juices from tender new growth and excrete honeydew that encourages sooty mold, and a root-feeding form attacks the fine fibrous roots that anchor the crown.
Start here:
- 1. Dab individual mealybugs with a cotton swab drenched in isopropyl alcohol to dissolve their waxy coating on contact
- 2. Apply insecticidal soap or neem oil thoroughly to both the top and bottom of the fronds, repeating the treatment until no more pests appear
Why Boston Fern gets mealybugs
Nephrolepis exaltata
Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects that colonize Boston ferns in the protected crevices where pinnae join the rachis and along the rhizome at the soil line, where their cottony egg sacs are often mistaken for fungus. As they feed they drain plant juices from tender new growth and excrete honeydew that encourages sooty mold, and a root-feeding form attacks the fine fibrous roots that anchor the crown.
How to reverse mealybugs on Boston Fern
- 1
Dab individual mealybugs with a cotton swab drenched in isopropyl alcohol to dissolve their waxy coating on contact
- 2
Apply insecticidal soap or neem oil thoroughly to both the top and bottom of the fronds, repeating the treatment until no more pests appear
- 3
For root mealybugs, unpot the plant and soak the rootball in an insecticidal soap solution for a few hours before repotting in a clean container with fresh potting material
Keep mealybugs off this Boston Fern
Inspect new Boston ferns carefully before bringing them indoors and quarantine them for at least two weeks away from the rest of the collection, since mealybugs are persistent and require constant vigilance to eliminate once introduced.