# Treating white powder on hibiscus/peppers?



## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

All of a sudden my hibiscus and ornamental peppers in pots have this stuff all over them, mostly below flowers on hibiscus and under the leaves.

How do I treat it? Thanks!


----------



## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

Mealybugs maybe? I just sprayed it with soapy water with alcohol mixed in it. 

If it is mealybugs and it doesn't kill them, at least they will be clean and drunk. :brew::doowapsta


----------



## tec (Jul 20, 2007)

White flies? Hard to get rid of. Good luck.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Two possibilities: 1) powdery mildew and/or 2) white flies. 

If its white flies, you should see them swarming around.

Powdery mildew is a fungus that can be controlled by spraying the plants with milk...yes milk in a 1:10 ratio diluted with water. 

White flies are really tough....malathion gets them but only after repeated applications. Personally, I just get rid of anything that attracts white flies.


----------



## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

Thanks. It's not white flies for sure. I'll try milk. Soap and alcohol washed it off but it came back.


----------



## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

Those are mealybugs. 

You can control easily but the biggest challenge is not creating additional sun damage due to an added soap, oil, or insecticide during the August heat. 

- safest way is to use a water hose with a nozzle and wash ( blast) them off with a strong stream of water. Only downside is repeating as needed. I would use this method first. 

- Soap and oil sprays work also. 2 tablespoons of dish soap like Dawn in a gallon of water applied to the mealybugs in a pump up sprayer. You can add two tablespoons of cooking oil for more effective control. Or you can buy a light weight horticultural oil (sun oil, not Dormant oil). 
- any number of chemical insecticides such as Orthene, or pyrethrins work. 

Good luck
RFA


----------



## castaway300 (Oct 6, 2007)

its 1 of three things,
mealy bugs, mealy bugs or mealy bugs.


----------



## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

Something to consider- bugs seek out plants that are in distress...

It's natures clean up crew....

When I was at the hibiscus show talking to some of the competitors and they all had different ways of handleing pest ...

I talked to one who used a high amount of wood cedar shavings in her soil mixture.... It helps with the bugs, adds organic material that's breaks down over time, and keeps the soil lighter for drainage....

What I'm getting at:
After you get a handle on the mealy bug white stuff, look at the soil


----------



## B-1 83 (Sep 22, 2009)

Mealy bugs/scale for sure. Tough little customers - all that fuzz is a great "armor". Try an insecticidal soap first, and be sure to nail as much of the stems and underside of the leaves as possible. The next choice will be a horticultural oil - just spray late in the afternoon/early evening to avoid leaf burn. After that, nuclear weapons come to bear - possibly malathion


----------



## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

I'm still fighting the mealybugs. I sprayed this morning with insecticide. I'm about to spray it off and hope it didn't damage the plants. Mbugs are starting to spread to another plant.

If it keeps up, pear burner and sacrifice the plants that already have them.

Thanks for the advice. I'll also treat the soil with some cedar. I've read they are attracted to some soils.


----------

