Repeated sprayings with water is good. As a matter of fact that is what I do
to my veggies in the summer and I never have to use chemicals on them. In
the past what I do for mealy bug indoors is examine the plant very carefully
and remove the all the little buggers with a Q-tip dipped in rubbing
alcohol. This has worked for me. I generally get rid of them the first time
around.

Bonnie

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
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.