Wha'chya Lookin' At

I’ve been addressing an invasion of mealybugs since my arrival. Who will take up the chore once I leave? Maybe this guy will. I just found him in the ti plants. (Click on the photo and see him larger than life.)

If not, I suspect the mealybugs will prosper and multiply. I’m most concerned about the ones on my arecas. When I arrived the leaves were covered with these white fluffy, sticky globs of bug secretion which tiny piss ants love. The underside of the leaves looked like freshly fallen snow.

Initially, I thought they were white flies. My first address involved a pesticide. A week later I hit them again. I saw no improvement. On the Internet I found out the pest was a mealybug. I spent two days wiping the leaves off with a soapy rag.

Everywhere I looked I saw mealybugs. The island is covered with them. I saw them at the library, the farmers market and at the pool. They are probably at Wal-Mart and Safeway, but by the time I bike to these places perched on the side of a steep hill, I’m panting, and sweaty. I’m not up to looking at the foliage in the parking lots. Then I discovered where my bugs were coming from. The neighbor’s tree is lousy with them. The branches hang over the fence and drop contaminated leaves and twigs on my ti and areca plants. Every morning, I clean up the infected debris. Every night, I sneak out and squirt the tree with soapy water. I’ve never met my neighbors. "Hi, My name is Valerie and your tree has mealybugs. Can I spray 'em.?"

The situation now seems under control. Spotty out breaks are handled by applying an alcohol-soaked Q-tip to the bug. This breaks through their hard protective shell and kills them.

I suppose when I return in January, I’ll sit out on the concrete and swab the leaves again. Unless this guy has a lot of friends.