Mealy Bug Control on Pepper Plants

[john gault]

I got some mealy bugs on my pepper plants, one is heavily infested so I sprayed a vinegar water solution (~4oz vinegar to 12 oz water), but it looks like it may have killed my pepper plant, no real loss since it wasn't producing. I have another plant I was going to experiment with a garlic water solution that I just made up the other day. It's pretty powerful judging by the smell, any bets if I kill that plant?

BTW, I don't apply during the heat of the day.

[john gault]

Well, I was hoping that the pepper plants I sprayed with the vinegar/water solution would recover, but they died. On my other two pepper plant I just heavily sprayed them again with a garlic/water mixture, they seem to be fairing much better, but the mealy bugs are still there. One of the peppers was really 'bushy', so I pruned it up a bit to create more airflow/sunshine to repel the bugs, that seems to have more of a positive effect.

Now I see these mealy bugs spreading

[CharlieBear]

Just for future reference, vinegar is used by many people to kill unwanted plants, weeds etc, so generally not a good idea to spray on plants you want to keep.
Organic way to control or get rid of the problem, include spraying off like you would for aphids with jets of water from a hose, repeating as needed.
Or spray with insecticidal soap or make you own, using about 1-2 t. of mild dishwashing liquid like ivory snow to 1 gallon of water, add about 1 t. canola oil. spray liberally on the plants that are infected repeat as needed.
Some people also use neem oil, but I would consider that the course of last choice, myself.

[Kisal]

Mealybugs are a type of scale insect. Adults aren't susceptible to most sprays, because they're covered with a waxy coating. Touching each one with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol will kill them, but it's rather tedious. The juveniles can be killed with a soap solution spray, but it must be repeated several times. Usually, spraying the plant every 5 to 7 days for a month or 6 weeks will kill all the juveniles as they hatch out, eventually clearing the infestation.

[john gault]

I'm starting to notice a lot of mealy bugs on my plants. I would really like to get some insect predators, but a little worried that that won't really work too well since every where there are mealy bugs there are ants and they provide protection. I'm going to try some alcohol, just to see them squirm (I hope), because I don't really see a reaction out of them with the garlic solution, which kind of supports what Kisal says.

CharlieBear: Why would you use Neem oil only as a last resort?


BTW, I guess I misread some stuff about using vinegar to control bugs. Weeds don't really bother me, except a type of grass which I've yet to ID, so maybe I'll try some vinegar on that.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'm starting to notice a lot of mealy bugs on my plants. I would really like to get some insect predators, but a little worried that that won't really work too well since every where there are mealy bugs there are ants and they provide protection. I'm going to try some alcohol, just to see them squirm (I hope), because I don't really see a reaction out of them with the garlic solution, which kind of supports what Kisal says.

Don't spray the alcohol, it's a dip and dab application.

Eric

[CharlieBear]

neem is too broad spectrum, it kills a lot of things you don't want to die, the same as pyrthrum and solutions made out of tomato leaves, they are chemicals, just ones that someone has labeled organic. I am not a fatalist, so I would resort to it to save fruit shrubs, trees etc, rather than loose them. In the vegetable garden, I haven't lost enough crop ever to resort to it. Also, it costs money a lot compaired to insecticidal soap especally the homegrown type.

[cynthia_h]

[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=142783]Here[/url] is just one of my posts about the risks of neem to some of your plants. Be quick to identify the pests and be slow to use neem!

Cynthia

[rainbowgardener]

Cynthia is very right, but note that her very informative post linked is really about the danger of non-Neem ingredients in something sold as "Bon-Neem." If you are going to use Neem oil, use pure Neem oil.

That said, I don't use it, because it is pretty broad spectrum, kills all kinds of chewing and sucking insects as well as having fungicidal properties. If I ever had a major infestation of something that was destroying my garden, maybe I would, but in a well balanced, diversified garden with lots of birds and beneficial insects, that's pretty rare. So I prefer to start with the most target specific, small scale interventions first and to tolerate some bug damage as long as it isn't destroying plants.

[john gault]

...but in a well balanced, diversified garden with lots of birds and beneficial insects, that's pretty rare. So I prefer to start with the most target specific, small scale interventions first and to tolerate some bug damage as long as it isn't destroying plants.

That's my goal, I really want to attract many different types of predators; so I'll stay away from neem oil. After a little thought, I guess it's just a case of starting with a barren environment, it seems only natural that I'll first attract the pests. Will just have to weather the storm until the predators follow.