"debbie_7155" wrote in message
...

i have a 12 year old meyer lemon tree, bought it last year, we have it
in our conservatory, south facing
at the moment we have 6 yellowish lemons & 3 green ones on it, about
150 flowers on it with dark green leafs too, though the odd dried up
curly leaf has fallen, i do the water testing with a finger,
but ive just noticed on some of the stems is what looks like very small
cotton buds? i used a cocktail stick to gently remove it & it pulls away
in long threads, its like holding cotton between your fingers &
stretching it?
ive also now noticed its also on the top of the lemons where its
attatched to the branch, what is this?
please help as i cant find anything to do with this in my books


--
debbie_7155




Most likely mealy bugs. The insects may be covered in a white
cotton wool like substance, although they can come in other
colours as well.

There are pictures of the insects on here.

http://www.biopol.nl/UK/MealyBugs.htm

The standard remedies include dabbing them with methylayted
spirit, while others claim a soapy insecticide - i.e
dilute washing up liquid can work. More info on here -

http://ipmofalaska.homestead.com/files/mealybugs.html

Mealy bugs can be a particular problem on citrus and it's most
likely your plant was already hosting eggs when you bought
it last year. They can be a real problem if allowed to get
out of hand, and so regular inspection, especially the underside
of leaves, and treatment where necessary, is advisable.


michael adams

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