One of my dreams is to be able to grow fresh figs in west-central Illinois. Since figs love warmth, I have always kept my fig tree in a pot. In the summer, it sits on the back patio, luxuriating in the warm summer sun. In the winter, it comes inside to keep it from freezing.

Unfortunately, fig trees are not the only thing that likes being brought inside for the winter. The very first year I brought my fig tree inside, it became infested with mealybugs. The pests almost killed my tree, but I spotted the infestation in the nick of time. The fig tree went on to live for many more years.

The mealybug infestation I suffered looked something like this, only in the soil instead of on the tree trunk. Picture courtesy of wikipedia.

Mealybug Infestation

The first symptom I noticed was a white "mold" at the base of the plant. A few days later, the leaves wilted. When I picked up the pot, a few bits of the white "mold" fell out of the drainage hole. I knew immediately that my tree was afflicted by something, but at first I thought it must be a fungus.

I took to the internet to identify the mold, and quickly realized that it was more likely to be a bug of some sort. Mealybugs, to be exact. They had infested the entire pot and laid their eggs all over the roots of my tree. The white "mold" was mealybug eggs.

Mealybugs are the bane of house plants everywhere. They feed on the soft new growth of plants - leaves, flower buds, stems. They suck out the sap, and leave behind discolored leaves. Then they lay their eggs in the soil of your pot, ensuring that you will continue to be plagued by their children.

I never caught sight of the bugs themselves (they are very small). But the Wisconsin Horticulture website describes them as:

"...pink, soft-bodied insects covered with a white, waxy, cottony material. The white “fluff” helps protect them from excessive heat and moisture loss. Unlike their relatives the scales, most species retain their legs throughout their life and can move around. Females are rounded, wingless, and about 1/16″ long."[source]

When they are outside, mealybugs will be naturally kept in check by natural predators and inclement weather. But inside, they thrive and reproduce at a fast rate. While there are male and female mealybugs, they can reproduce asexually. So you only need one mealybug in order to get an infestation.[source]

The best practice is to make sure there are no mealybugs in your plants or pots before you bring them inside. But what if you forgot, or have an infestation in spite of every precaution?

There is hope! My fig tree put on new growth after the mealybugs were removed.

How to remove Mealybugs

If your tree has mealybugs on the stems or leaves, then you can simply cut them off. But if the bugs are attacking the root system - which they probably are if you can see them - that is not really an option.

The following procedure saved my plant:

1. Empty the entire pot of its potting soil. Carefully remove the roots of the tree from the soil; try not to damage the roots.
2. Wash the roots, removing any remaining particles of dirt and mealybug eggs.
3. Heat a gallon or two of water - enough that you can submerge the roots of your plant - to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Dip the roots of your tree in the hot water. Keep submerged for a few seconds.
5. Replant your tree in a clean sterilized pot with new potting soil.

I also sprayed the whole tree (roots and branches) down with Insecticidal Soap for Organic Gardening before replanting. This might have been overkill.

My tree was stressed from the procedure, and so dropped all of its leaves. Only brown buds were left.

The fig tree lives!

A week later, the buds sprouted new green leaves. The fig tree bounced back, and flourished on the back porch for the rest of the year. The mealybugs did not kill the tree. The cleaning procedure did not kill the tree.

I have grown fig trees on and off ever since. The tree I saved from mealybugs lived for many more years. You can read more about the trials and tribulations of growing figs in west-central Illinois here.

Otherwise, I leave this story here in the hopes that someone else faced with a similar dilemma will be able to use some combination of the above methods to save their plant.