White Puff Balls on Azalea Leaves?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

June 17, 20180 found this helpful

Mealybugs. Pick off as much as possible and apply insecticide

cybergrannie
Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks

June 17, 20180 found this helpful

I agree with Judy - this looks like mealybugs and they are dangerous to your azaleas so you need to take care of this problem ASAP.

• It is good if you can cut them off but if you have too many bushes then you will need to take other measures. Actually, even if you cut them off, you should still treat bushes with insecticidal soap.
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• Be very sure to properly dispose of anything you trim from your bushes so they cannot still do damage.
• The only way that I know to do away with mealybugs is to use an insecticidal soap and even then you have to be careful as too much soap can harm your plants but you have to "hit" every mealybug to kill it. That is why it is good to cut and remove as many as possible.
• To make a soap spray for controlling mealybugs on plants, mix 2 teaspoons of mild liquid dish detergent in 1 quart of water. Be sure to use soft or distilled water as this will not work well with tap water (usually hard water).
• It may be beneficial to check/read a couple of sites to gain more information about caring for your azaleas.
• homeguides.sfgate.com/soapy-spray-rid-mealybugs-plants...
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• homeguides.sfgate.com/mealybugs-azaleas-22651.html
• Here is an additional site but it is pretty lengthy but has excellent pictures.
• scholar.lib.vt.edu/.../v62n2-gural.htm

Pghgirl40
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June 17, 20180 found this helpful

It is the mealies or its kissing cousin bark scales--families...ugh :)

Either way, the treatments are the same, as I learned from having one affected at my childhood home. The first line is to trim the diseased parts, bag up the remains and put in the trash (don't toss over the hill or into the woods as it will just spread the problem to other plants). Most times, that will do it. Watch the plant carefully for further infestations.

If the infestations persist, you can try a mix of a regular dish soap and hot water in a microwave safe plastic bottle (so it doesn't melt) and spray directly on to the poofs. It is a 4 to 1 mix (so four teaspoons for each quart of hot water). Spray at night and let it sit. Check back in the morning and reapply the next night for the next few days until they go bye bye. Keep kids and pets away from it.

If it STILL persists (these can be greedy little pests) there are a variety of chemical products you can buy (be sure to follow the instructions carefully and again, keep small children and pets away....even creating a little barricade to keep strays and outside critters away).

I hope you caught it in time! The jury is still out if we caught it in time to save the one at my childhood home. I hope so!!