tiny white pests

[Clint]

there are tiny white pests on one of my nepenthes that look similar to fish ich. they wipe off easily. what are they? they do not form a webby nest of fuzz or anything.

 

[herenorthere]

Mealybugs - http://www.saferbrand.com/images/mealybug.gif. They're easy to control organically with oils/soap sprays.

 

[Clint]

i guess that could be it, but there is no fuzz everywhere, individual pests peppered over the plant.

 

[scottychaos]

how big?
do they move or stay in one place?

 

[Clint]

they stay in place, and when provoked they don't move or jump.

 

[Finch]

Sounds like scale. are they hard?

 

[herenorthere]

Some mealies were on my Nep rafflesiana last year and they certainly weren't scattered across the leaves.  They were all at the bases of mature leaves or hidden inside rolled up leaves-to-be. Scale is certainly a possibility, or maybe whiteflies.

 

[Clint]

it's not scale for sure.

i sprayed the plant anyway.

 

[Capslock]

Probably whitefly. The scourge of my collection. The only way to control it is to PHYSICALLY remove them. I use a mix of 1/2 water, 1/2 rubbing alcohol, and a bit of dish soap, then use a Q-tip dipped in this to rub the bugs off. Prepare to do this a few times before you see the end of them.

Incidentally, I'm not 100% convinced that's what they are, and in fact have swung back to thinking it might be a form of scale.

Capslock

 

[Finch]

SCALE forms vary greatly. incidentaly, there are also soft scales without the hard coating. Young of some species can aloso crawl before becoming immobile.