I have tried insecticides, washing, repotting. I now have a skeletal jade, trying vainly with spindly new growth that seems distorted. Formerly the manager of interpretation and plant records at The New York Botanical Garden, Bruce is an expert on a wide range of indoor and outdoor plants, insects, and pests. Melanie Menachem-Riggs is a garden designer and lecturer with a degree in horticulture and botany. She works on residential landscapes using garden structures and plants, including perennials, annuals, herbs, vines, and shrubs to create interest and enhance flowering in the garden.
Mealybugs are small, white sucking insects that are covered with a white, cottony wax.
The leaves yellow and fall, and new and remaining leaves become puckered and distorted. Curing your plant of mealybugs and getting it back to a healthy, beautiful state can take several months of diligent pest-busting and optimal growing conditions. Severely damaged plants may never recover, however. The alcohol dissolves the protective wax around the insects and egg masses, causing them to dehydrate, and subsequently kills them. Check for new mealybugs every few days and keep at them, as they reproduce rapidly and move to new locations.