What's Wrong With My Plant?

For soft-bodied insects like mealybugs, apply insecticidal soap and horticultural oil--either separately or in combination. Or rub an alcohol-soaked cotton swab deep down in the center of the plant, at the base of the leaves, to remove the white, cotton-like substance produced by the pests.

One natural predator is cryptolaemus, which is similar to the ladybug. When cryptolaemus begin to hatch, they feast on mealybug eggs and adult mealybugs.