On 17 Jan 2005 23:56:52 GMT, (Wishy13764) wrote:

I have this Bougainvillea, in a small hanging pot with just one 7" inch branch.
Its indoors here in the northeast, and weeks ago I discovered this white patch
under the leaves. I sprayed it with alcohol and pull off those white patchs.
Doesn't take long to look at and treat. Since then its bloomed again on that
one branch. A few weeks gone by and each day of those weeks I checked it out
and saw nothing resembling them..so i thought finally I got rid of the problem,
but to my dismay i saw one yesterday on one of the leaves. Pulled it off and
sprayed again. I look very closely to each node and like I said its only aabout
7 inches long. I want to keep this plant. Is there no way for me to get rid of
the mealy bug permanently? I'm concerned as it grows more branches.

What you are doing will work with periodic inspections. Mealy bug is
not too difficult to eradicate. Personally, I would not have a
problem due to the lady bugs that are finding their way into my home
(lady bugs dine on mealy bugs). The life cycle of a mealy bug is
about one month. There are two types: One has a long tail and bears
live young; the other has a short tail and lays eggs. Look especially
where the stem meets the leaf. The young have a yellow color, turning
to fuzzy white as they mature. Take your plant to the shower twice a
month and give it a forceful warm shower. As a last resort you can
use an insecticide (made for indoor use)--three treatments, spaced 14
days apart should work. Ants are notorious for spreading mealy bugs,
as they "farm" them for the sweet honeydew extract.