09/11/2026
🌿 Seeing White, Cottony Clumps on Your Plants? It May Be Mealybugs! 🌿
Over the past few weeks, Brazoria County AgriLife Extension has received numerous calls and emails about mealybugs on houseplants, ornamentals, citrus, hibiscus, and other landscape plants.
Mealybugs are small, soft-bodied insects covered with a white, waxy coating that makes them look like bits of cotton. They feed by sucking plant sap, which can cause yellowing leaves, stunted growth, leaf drop, and reduced plant vigor. They also produce a sticky substance called honeydew that can lead to black sooty mold growth.
✅ What to look for: • White, cotton-like masses on leaves, stems, and leaf axils
• Sticky residue (honeydew) on foliage
• Black sooty mold growing on leaves
• Yellowing or distorted plant growth
✅ Treatment options: • Wipe small infestations with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.
• Thoroughly spray plants with insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or neem oil, making sure to cover stems, leaf undersides, and hiding places.
• Repeat applications every 7-10 days as needed.
• Prune heavily infested plant parts when practical.
• Inspect new plants before bringing them home and isolate infested plants to prevent spread.
Healthy plants are generally less susceptible to severe infestations, so proper watering, fertilization, and plant placement are important parts of management.
If you're unsure whether you're dealing with mealybugs, contact the Brazoria County Extension Office and we'd be happy to help identify the problem.
📞 Brazoria County Extension Office: 979-864-1558
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recommends an integrated pest management (IPM) approach using monitoring, proper plant care, and targeted control measures when necessary. Mealybugs are recognized as common houseplant and landscape pests in Extension educational materials.
