Late this winter, my roommate, the Basil Plant, died of an infestation of Mealybugs. The Basil Plant provided much flavor to many a pasta and red sauce dish. The Basil Plant will be missed.
What was the turn of events surrounding the demise of The Basil Plant? Well, one day I noticed that there seemed to be some sort of white mold growing on The Basil Plant. At first I wasn’t that concerned with it, as The Basil Plant was lucky if I remembered to water it before it’s leaves wilted. But there gradually became more and more of these talcum-powder like spots all over The Basil Plant. I had to look very closely to notice that these spots of “mold” had legs and could move around.
I contacted David Schulz with the Biology Deparment at Brandeis University with the above photo of these questionable creatures, and he identified them as Mealybugs. Here is an excerpt of his reply:
This is a kind of insect called a “scale insect,” named because they secrete a waxy covering (that powdery white stuff) that they then hide under and feed on plants…hence they look like scales on a plant. This kind is also known as a “mealybug.” The scientific name of the family for this particular guy is Pseudococcidae. These are pretty common pests. If you don’t have too large an infestation, you can actually control them mechanically (*squish*). Some people also try dabbing running alcohol on them with a cotton swab or such. They reproduce pretty slowly, so taking them out one-by-one can be effective. For a larger infestation, you may have to ask your garden center what they recommend. Usually you can get away without using chemicals on these guys (you don’t want to be eating pesticides on your basil), something along the lines of an insecticidal soap may work well.
He was right, they were secreting a waxy coating. It was all over The Basil Plant’s leaves and it was getting on the window The Basil Plant sat next to. He was also right that I didn’t want an insecticide on The Basil Plant - because I wanted to eat it. So I tried dabbing the Mealybugs with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol, and they pretty much melted on contact. But try as I did to kill all of the Mealybugs, they just kept coming back. Eventually, there were really small, white, flies flying around The Basil Plant, too. I think those were Whiteflies.
Eventually The Basil Plant died. Here is a photo of its gruesome body.
asmosis said,
July 7, 2005 @ 11:26 am
I feel for your loss, because I know the pure pleasure and joy that comes from using fresh basil in the kitchen. The good news is that a new plant will run you less than $5. I’m going to keep an extra-close watch on my basil plant, and the other herbs I’ve got going thanks to you.
kadavy said,
July 7, 2005 @ 11:34 am
I don’t want another basil plant. I want The Basil Plant.
Thank you for your condolences. I do have a new basil plant, but I haven’t yet transported it from it’s plastic container to a more suitable pot. I guess I just have a fear of investing that much effort in a new basil plant after getting burned like that.
meghan said,
July 8, 2005 @ 11:24 am
This story is MUCH grosser than the sinus cleaning story. Did you ever find out WHY the bugs got on your plant?
kadavy said,
July 8, 2005 @ 1:13 pm
I’m surprised you find this grosser than the SinusRinse, Meghan. Apparently these pests are quite common on household plants.
James Brown said,
July 12, 2005 @ 1:39 am
Actually I thought the SinuRinse blog was funny as hell! Nice pic Dave!
Breanna Tindle said,
April 4, 2006 @ 11:53 am
My jasmine plant has these
Gosh.. well.. i used a lighter on them (hehe, fire) they sizzle up nicely… I had created a little cirle of branched in the osil aorund the plant to let ht vines grow up aorund it and they started in thel ittle center of the gathering of branches which i also thought ot be osme sort of mold. but i hope i have them under ocntrol now.
Chris in San Diego said,
May 13, 2006 @ 10:32 am
I just chopped down my basil plant from the same thing. I found your story searching for the reason
of the sappy crud on the leaves. I had grown this plant from seed so I am pretty mad about the whole thing. I noticed they are now moving on to my Thyme and Oregano plants as well. I killed three crawlers as they are called and am trying to save the other plants. I am going to try rubbing them down with an alchohol swab.
Darleen said,
July 18, 2006 @ 8:11 pm
I had white fuzzy bugs in one of my potted plant and had no idea what they were. thanks to you i found out about mealybugs ick!!!!! I just shot them with a can of hairspray. It seemed to work well. thanks
erin said,
September 15, 2006 @ 10:21 am
oh my- we have these ALL OVER our plants in the office! now that i have a happy pot of basil (from seed, currently living at my bf’s house), i am paranoid about accidentally transporting any of these buggers home to Our Basil Family.
my own pot of basil seedlings did not last, however, even though they evaded attack by some dark-mini-flies that killed my cilantro & morning glory. they finally succumbed to a growing population of spider mite-type things.
Fatima said,
January 6, 2007 @ 5:33 am
Mealy bugs are murdering my lavendar and potato plants as we speak. I have My Basil Plant in a pot nearby - what to do?! *panic*
terry said,
April 19, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
I have about 50 basil plants in the garden and they’re all sporting mealybugs. I’m hunting for a solution for this large infestation.
For a single pot: devise a system to keep soil in place–e.g. cut styrofoam plates so they cover the soil; tape in place if not snug. Put on some latex gloves to alleviate the gross-out factor. Run plant under water topside and upside-down and manually rub out the bad guys.
Emore said,
July 2, 2008 @ 7:46 am
I am currently going through with the same problem. The mealy bugs are killing my palm trees in my apartment. I’ve tried the rubbing alcohol solution, and I hope that it works!!!