mealybugs on Caladium
Quick answer
If your Caladium has mealybugs, the most likely cause is: Caladiums are listed among the foliage houseplants susceptible to soft-bodied sap-sucking pests, and mealybugs in particular settle into the crown where petioles meet the tuber and along the leaf veins, draining sap and leaving sticky white fluff on the broad Caladium bicolor leaves during the warm, humid indoor conditions the plant prefers.
Start here:
- 1. Wipe mealybug colonies off the caladium's petioles and leaf veins with a cotton swab dipped in 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, taking care to work into the crown where the stems meet the tuber because that is where the pests hide.
- 2. Spray the entire plant, including the undersides of leaves and the petiole bases, with an insecticidal soap at the cool end of the day, and repeat the treatment every 7 to 10 days until no fresh white residue appears on the foliage.
Why Caladium gets mealybugs
Caladium bicolor
Caladiums are listed among the foliage houseplants susceptible to soft-bodied sap-sucking pests, and mealybugs in particular settle into the crown where petioles meet the tuber and along the leaf veins, draining sap and leaving sticky white fluff on the broad Caladium bicolor leaves during the warm, humid indoor conditions the plant prefers.
How to reverse mealybugs on Caladium
- 1
Wipe mealybug colonies off the caladium's petioles and leaf veins with a cotton swab dipped in 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, taking care to work into the crown where the stems meet the tuber because that is where the pests hide.
- 2
Spray the entire plant, including the undersides of leaves and the petiole bases, with an insecticidal soap at the cool end of the day, and repeat the treatment every 7 to 10 days until no fresh white residue appears on the foliage.
Keep mealybugs off this Caladium
Inspect new houseplants carefully before placing them near the caladium because mealybugs travel on tools, hands and pots, and keep the caladium's foliage clean and the surrounding air humid to discourage the dusty, stressed conditions in which mealybug outbreaks spread fastest.