Pothos has mealy bugs

[falconut]

I setup my enclosure about a month before I got my veiled chameleon. Everything seemed to look like it was going great. It's been setup about 3 months now and the other day I noticed on the dead leaves, there was a little white fuzzy stuff. Not a lot, but some down the stem, mostly at the joint.

I took a closer look and they are mealy bugs. Wasn't even aware these plants could get something like this. The problem is, I have the pot hanging in the screen cage with fishing string. I'd have to cut the string to remove it. Didn't think to make it removable.

I've read that rubbing alcohol can kill the bugs, but is it safe to rub the alcohol on the leaves and stems with my chameleon in there? I don't have another cage to relocate him. I only see them on the leaves that are close to the pot, none appear to be on the vines. I only have the 1 pothos in the cage.

Is it possible to clean it in the cage or do I need to remove it and/or possible replace it with a different one? If I replace it, how do I ensure that there's none left in the cage from this one?

 

[Chase]

I setup my enclosure about a month before I got my veiled chameleon. Everything seemed to look like it was going great. It's been setup about 3 months now and the other day I noticed on the dead leaves, there was a little white fuzzy stuff. Not a lot, but some down the stem, mostly at the joint.

I took a closer look and they are mealy bugs. Wasn't even aware these plants could get something like this. The problem is, I have the pot hanging in the screen cage with fishing string. I'd have to cut the string to remove it. Didn't think to make it removable.

I've read that rubbing alcohol can kill the bugs, but is it safe to rub the alcohol on the leaves and stems with my chameleon in there? I don't have another cage to relocate him. I only see them on the leaves that are close to the pot, none appear to be on the vines. I only have the 1 pothos in the cage.

Is it possible to clean it in the cage or do I need to remove it and/or possible replace it with a different one? If I replace it, how do I ensure that there's none left in the cage from this one?

I'd say remove it, then you can treat it with the alcohol, and then you have two plants.

What other plant do you have in the enclosure? If you're worried about them being on that plant, give it a check over. They feed more on the newer leaves, as they are softer and easier for them to eat from.

Chase

 

[falconut]

I'd say remove it, then you can treat it with the alcohol, and then you have two plants.

What other plant do you have in the enclosure? If you're worried about them being on that plant, give it a check over. They feed more on the newer leaves, as they are softer and easier for them to eat from.

Chase

I only have the one plant. I got a larger one with long vines, I ran them around a lot of the branches.

I was hoping not to stress my chameleon out, I've had him since 11/11 and he still tilts on the branch when I walk near the cage. I've gotten him on my fingers twice (never leaving the cage) and he sprints to grab the nearest branch and run away.

Do these bugs only stay on the plant or can they move to the dead branches?

 

[Chase]

I only have the one plant. I got a larger one with long vines, I ran them around a lot of the branches.

I was hoping not to stress my chameleon out, I've had him since 11/11 and he still tilts on the branch when I walk near the cage. I've gotten him on my fingers twice (never leaving the cage) and he sprints to grab the nearest branch and run away.

Do these bugs only stay on the plant or can they move to the dead branches?

In theory I guess they could, but they eat the living leaves and branches.

I don't think it will stress him too bad, you'll only be in his enclosure a few minutes

Chase

 

[sandrachameleon]

mealy bugs are very difficult to get rid of
I suggest you remove and toss/compost the afflicted plant, sterilize the cage, and put in a new plant.

 

[falconut]

mealy bugs are very difficult to get rid of
I suggest you remove and toss/compost the afflicted plant, sterilize the cage, and put in a new plant.

Alright, I had him out for a while, don't think it was too stressful for him. So, my new plan is to find/buy another one. I plan to leave it in another room for a week to make sure it's clean.

New plant: Should I
a) remove all the soil, rinse the bare roots and add new soil (thinking ecoearth) or
b) just leave the dirt and just remove the fertilizer pellets.

Once I remove the old (infected) pothos, what do I need to do to sterilize the cage? Before I put the new plant in?

 

[darcym]

hey save those plants with bugs

green lacewing to be exact i just released eggs into my viv and awaiting magic

rubbing alcool doesnt work just kills most of them and will be worse after a few weeks i would have to remove everything including my background that would get damaged or broken so my last hope are these eggs.........

 

[darcym]

Alright, I had him out for a while, don't think it was too stressful for him. So, my new plan is to find/buy another one. I plan to leave it in another room for a week to make sure it's clean.

New plant: Should I
a) remove all the soil, rinse the bare roots and add new soil (thinking ecoearth) or
b) just leave the dirt and just remove the fertilizer pellets.

Once I remove the old (infected) pothos, what do I need to do to sterilize the cage? Before I put the new plant in?

change dirt and sterlize or run risk of doing it again

 

[falconut]

I just picked up another pothos at a different HD. It looks clean, but I plan on removing the dirt, rinsing the roots & re-potting in eco-earth. I'm going to leave this one in a different room to monitor for a week or two before making the switch. Unfortunately, the vines aren't as long as my other one.

What do others use to clean the branches in their chameleon cages? I'd like to clean them before the new plant goes in.

 

[darcym]

I just picked up another pothos at a different HD. It looks clean, but I plan on removing the dirt, rinsing the roots & re-potting in eco-earth. I'm going to leave this one in a different room to monitor for a week or two before making the switch. Unfortunately, the vines aren't as long as my other one.

What do others use to clean the branches in their chameleon cages? I'd like to clean them before the new plant goes in.

i use dawn alcool mix and drown it in the shower then keep in solitaire for a bit i slipped and didnt cook my soil in the oven before i re-potted my plants and now i have fungis gnats and meley bugs
as for just cleening i use a mister with water

 

[sandrachameleon]

I don't usually remove all the dirt, but then again I am usually potting up my own plants rather than buying. Certainly cover up any access to the original dirt if your cham is a dirt eater.

my preferred cleaners are Peroxide, steam/heat, white vinegar (none of which are good for plants)

 

[falconut]

I don't usually remove all the dirt, but then again I am usually potting up my own plants rather than buying. Certainly cover up any access to the original dirt if your cham is a dirt eater.

my preferred cleaners are Peroxide, steam/heat, white vinegar (none of which are good for plants)

Yeah, I use 3/4"-1" river rocks over the soil. I have peroxide and white vinegar, is it safe for the chameleon once it's dry or would I then need to wash with water after?

 

[villanueva11]

I always wash everything off really well before adding it in my enclosure. Especially plant leaves. They drink the water dripping from the leaves so I would be afraid of any residue left behind that could make him sick. Always better to be safe....

 

[falconut]

I took the new pothos and placed it in the sink and gave it a really good soaking and rinse using the hose attachment on the faucet. Then I removed it from the pot, rinsed most of the dirt off the roots, drilled the bottom of the pot, the re-potted it with Eco-Earth. It's hanging in a separate room, which I'll keep an eye to be sure it doesn't have mealy bugs.

I plan on removing the old plant, then cleaning the branches (only thing that will remain in the cage), then I'll put the new plant in. And hopefully not see any mealy after.

 

[Panther mania]

Mealy bugs are hard to get rid of

Three cages, three chams, three Potho's! Potho's were thriving, doing great and I noticed Mealy Bugs on one of the plants. Took plant and Chameleon that happened to be a female Panther outside, put female in a Ficus tree on the patio and hosed the plant down with a houseplant insecticide. Let it sit for a period of time and then hosed it off, for 6-8 minutes with fresh water. Put pothos back in cage with the female shortly to follow. This was last August in the heat of summer. 1week or so later another Pothos in a different cage has Mealybugs and it was still warm so I did the above again. This is a big male with a thriving Pothos plant in his cage. Much more involved because the plant filled the cage.
Now in the month of January all 3 plants in all 3 cages have mealy bugs and plants are really being effected. Probably 50%-%75% leaf loss. I took one Pothos to the shower and basically hosed off most of the mealy bugs with water pressure but they all still have bugs. All three chams are thriving and doing great. Pothos look bad, thinking about switching to plastic plants. Mealy bugs are winning........

 

[falconut]

Yeah, they're a pain. I still have the original pothos in his cage and it lost a lot of leaves too. I've been picking the mealy's off when I see them and removing all dying leaves. It's way too cold to wash outside. I just spray the plant with water in the cage.

My 2nd pothos looks good, but the vines aren't as long. I'll probably just wait until they grow more before doing the switch. He doesn't seem to mind the pothos the way it is.

 

[Chameleonardo]

Mealy bugs

I just joined Chameleon Forums to ask what to do about my pothos being covered with these terrible bugs! I read about the bugs and have determined that you have to get rid of the plant and the soil and replace it all because the mealy bugs live in the soil as well. I am really concerned about my Cham because even though I can't see a lot of bugs in the cage, I've been occasionally finding these bugs on my chameleon. They don't seem harmful but I'm concerned about the bugs nesting in tiny crevices on my Cham such as his nostrils or something. Anyways, we got these bugs a while ago and we replaced the plants and cleaned the entire cage and they came back... So if anyone has any good suggestions on how to keep them away, please share! How do they get on the plant in the first place? They must originate from somewhere! Is it possible I should buy a pothos from somewhere other than our local nursery or Home Depot, etc.? The bugs have to be coming from somewhere. Does anyone know how to determine if the plant you're buying is truly healthy? I don't want to go through this a third time. I'm about to just buy a whole new cage and vines and everything because I'm so fed up with it.

 

[Panther mania]

I am not sure what can be done because an infestation in my opinion is going to be close to impossible to get rid of....if we use a strong insecticide that has a residual effect then house a Cham on that plant, there could probably be detrimental effects on the Cham. Pothos thrive in my chams environment! Rarely do I water the plant, they love the misting and I'm starting to think the mealy bugs thrive in this environment also. Not to mention most of the mealy bug problems on this forum are on a Potho's! I have had a Mealy bug infestation since August 2014. I have an adult male veiled, and a male and female ambilobe. Each Cham has its own cage and Pothos plant and each cage is infested!! I really do not think there is a problem with the chams in this environment...they eat fine and have had this issue for about 5 months now. I have reduced the mealy bug numbers considerably by spraying with insecticide and then rinsing the plant with fresh water. But, they always return.