We had a problem with mealybugs for quite a while. Our cordyline "Pink Diamond" had an infestation, as mentioned in the cordyline topic. We were able to, finally, thankfully win that battle & it has thrived ever since. It has become an extremely beautiful plant. Do think it is defeatist to just throwout infested plants as recommended by some "experts". These may well be plant retailers & want you to buy new plants rather than try to cure the old ones.

At the time the cordyline was a relatively small plant, compared to what it is now, so it wasn't hard to try & treat it. Firstly, I isolated it as much as I could & after looking for advice, used diluted dishwashing detergent. This did seem to help get rid of the mealybugs but discoloured its beautiful leaves. Turned them orange. Fortunately there weren't any mealybugs on or under the leaves. They were on, & in, the leaf stems where they join the trunk. Had to search the web to find out just what they were!!! Then we found the dreaded mealybugs in our old beaucarnea recurvata or pony tail. This is a tall plant & was perched on an elevated plant stand, so any bugs were hard to see, & treat. They were right down in where the slim leaves grow out of the crown. Difficult to get at. Sprayed it with the old dishwashing detergent mix with no real success. How these little monsters reached this plant is a mystery to me, especially, without infesting other plants.

This is not a very good pic of the beaucarnea recurvata as it doesn't show the lovely arched foliage at the top.

This is what alerted us to the infestation. Thought the poor thing was a goner. All its growth comes from the crown & I thought with the new growth being affected like this then it would surely die. We had had it for twenty years & did not want to lose it.

Well, I sprayed & sprayed it with this dishwashing stuff. All it seemed to do was give the rotten mealybugs a shower, which they apparently relished. Bought some eco-friendly, organic (blah, blah) pesticide which was supposed to be effective against mealybugs. Trouble was the pony tail was hard to spray effectively due to its height & positioning. The dishwashing spray had also marked the leaves.

Six weeks later this is what it looked like. The leaves were growing, despite all, but where the mealybugs had damaged the leaves. they were coming away. Looked terrible. You can see how this plant gave the nasty critters plenty of places to hide & do their worst.

Using both the dishwashing stuff & the eco-friendly spray, six months later it looked like this. Thought the battle was won. Yerright.

Still could not get up & see what was actually happening in the crown & if it was still infested. The poor plant now had a bouffant hairdo.

Two months later, I managed to find a spot where it could be isolated & I would be able to better see the top of it where the mealybugs cavorted & did all their damage. Finding such a spot wasn't easy as we don't have much room. I encroached onto so-called "communal grounds". When needs must, I say. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] alt="" />

As can be seen, the mealybugs had been munching away at the poor thing again. Now it has a crewcut. The bouffant hairdo has filled out & is below the crewcut.

Two months later. Had sprayed the last of the eco-spray on it, then poured the dregs, at the bottom of the container, over the top of the beaucarnea recurvata. Voila!!!! That finally seemed to do the trick. All signs of the mealybugs have gone. As can be seen, it had earlier been given another crewcut by them. Grrrrr The dishwashing detergent spray damage can be seen on the leaf facing forward in the middle of the pic.

A month later & still no signs of infestation. Starting to look like its old self, albeit with a moptop hairdo. We are very relieved.

Four months later. Really looking good.

What did I learn from this 18 month war against the dreaded mealybugs?????? Don't waste your time with these home remedies you see on the web. Some may do more harm than good. The diluted detergent spray damaged my plants' leaves by leaving unsightly marking & discoloration & did NOT get rid of the little blighters!!!!! Stick with one of the many reliable eco-friendly products, especially with something as persistent as mealybugs. They, at least, work.

It is totally worthy of a glamour shot now. That is the early morning sun shining through its, now beautiful, foliage.

Is our war with the mealybugs over?????? Nah!!! There is still the dieffenbachia, which the mealybugs won't leave, no matter what. But that is another story.

The best way I find is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Mealy bugs are brought about by ants. So, keep the ants away and you'll keep the mealy bugs away. I have a pony tail too and after years, the leaves are still touching the floor so the ants can still get to the plant via the leaves. But strangely, mealy bugs don't attack my pony tail.



For my other plants that are affected, I use an insect deterent spray to spray on the sides of the pot to deter the ants from getting to the plants and is working very well.

Thanks for that info, Greyfingers. Luckily, our beaucarnea recurvata or ponytail, is now totally free of the dreaded mealybug infestation & has been for quite some time. The ants, we have, tend to farm scale insects & are the favourite food of our resident skinks.

As for the dieffenbachia, it was kept inside & never had an ant problem. Do think the mealybug eggs were probably on it when we bought the plant. I eventually disposed of it.

Here is a recent pic of our ponytail. Its leaves, while they are long, don't reach the ground, fortunately. It has thrived since being "cured" of its mealybug problem. This plant would be more than 25 years old.

Here's mine. It's about 8-9 years old. About 4ft tall.





It's swelled trunk.





And 3 promising ones.

Your large ponytail is looking really good, Greyfingers & its base is wonderful. It, definitely, is loving where it is. The young ones are doing very well too. Thanks for the pics.

Haven't noticed ponytails, in pots, at our plant sellers but they are a popular inground planting in our area. These seem to be a different plant to the one we both have, though, & have a magnificent flower each year. The leaves are softer & shorter than the leaves on my plant which has very sharp edges on its long leaves that will cut you if you aren't careful.

The growth on ours was slowed by the protracted mealybug attack but it is now looking good. Mine probably needs repotting too.