Ack! Good Bug or Bad Bug?

I found these characters today on my pink polka dot coleus. What are they, besides busy laying eggs. Do I want to keep
'em or kill 'em? I am leaving Sunday on vacation and need help fast!
Thanks you all!
WIB!
SW

BAD BAD BUG! It's mealybug, SW. This site has some destruction methods - try a strong jet of water ASAP.

http://www.ehow.com/how_6935_control-mealybugs.html

The water didn't work, so we'll try the soap spray next. Sigh! : - (
Thank you,KC, I'd have come home from vacation and everything would be a drooping! Jonathan has already said he'll spray things down for me, and keep an eye out while I am gone. He's also going to take photos of the pineapple so I don't miss getting to watch it grow! : - )
Great link too! I'll make sure Jonathan sees it.
WIB,
SW

Speaking of pineapples, I was in Trader Joe's today and they had small potted pineapples with fruit! They were so cute, but I couldn't spend $14 on 'cute.'

And speaking of bugs, my epi that had the scale is looking much better. I've been treating it periodically with insecticidal soap and cut off the worst branches. It really seems to help to scrub the darn stuff off, not just spray it. Fortunately, you can do that with a strong epi!

KC,
BengalPhoto promised me he take photos often while I'm gone on vacation. My pineapple does have a pup, in the same pot as the one with the pineapple. I can't wait to see if I can propagate them by using the top of the pineapple and setting it in soil. That's what I've heard anyway from friends in Hawaii. Coconuts, they just stick in the sand along the shore.
I'm going to trim back the leggy foilage and have BP spray the soap on the remaining plants. We'll get them bad bugs!
Glad to hear about your epi's. I've moved mine back to the courtyard and am ignoring them. They seem to like that.
WIB,
SW

One thing they didn't mention on that site is to control ants. Ants farm mealybugs just like they do aphids. I've had a terrible time with mealies on my lime and lemon trees this year.
Carol

Thanks for the heads up OCCAROL. I used the soap, after I'd trimmed off the leggy growth in the affected area. Then we used the spray. Been battling ants all summer. The harvesters have been really busy! I will try to keep them little red ants out of the gh. Those are the ones that keep sneaking into the pool deck joints.
Now I'm praying I caught it before it spread further. Will have Jonathan spray rest of it while I am gone. At least what he can reach. I couldn't believe how extensive they were in there. They were on every plant for about 1/3rd of the one side of the gh. BAD BUGS!
Didn't know that, about the ants milking them, like they do with the aphids.
WIB!
SW

They kinda look like the cushiony cotton scale (hard to the touch) that I had on one of my lyonothamnus trees. I had to hand pick them off of the tree and put them in a sealed plastic bag. Are your bugs hard or soft?

Fortunately, my lyonothamnus recovered and started to grow again.

Ooooh, we have half a dozen of those trees and one of them is looking yellowish. I thought it was lack of water, but I'd better go look at it. They've been such easy growers, I've never inspected them much.

SW, I recently heard (Gardening by the Yard) that Neem or horticultural oil is the cure for mealy bug, in case yours is proving to be difficult. Surf, he did mention that mealy bug is in the scale family, which was news to me.

They are all in the same family...and the ants farm all of them!
Carol

Had both on my lime tree. It's not wise to mess with my "Corona" tree. I went on a killing spree. Insecticidal soap and a soft scrub brush, then diatomaceous (sp?) earth around the base of the tree.

Mealy bugs are scales--news to me, too. When I picked the cushiony cotton scales off the tree (with gloves), I accidentally squished some of them (some of the really stubborn ones that didn't want to let go) and they popped like a balloon into a bloody blob.

I probably didn't need to share that! Ick!

I think I heard or read somewhere that lyonothamnus can get chlorotic in heavier soils. I dunno, I think they just do the yellowing thing to some degree or another all year 'round. But that's okay, I still love the tree. I think that if and when we get rid of the last giant melaleuca we've got, I'm going to replace it with another lyonothamnus. On the one that did have the scale (it was only about 10 feet tall) it was yellowed more than the other ones I've got. Once I got rid of the scale, it took off and has been growing like a demon since.

We've only had the yellowing on the one tree and it came on suddenly. We've planted four along the fence line with Ceanothus Tassajara Blue in front/between them to provide a screen. They aren't very big yet, but they are established and I haven't been watering this summer. That might be my mistake - they deserved a little more, I think. One of C. TBs is really small, too - I think she was skipped on some early watering sessions! We love those trees.

DP, is that working? I've sprayed with everything that's not too toxic...water, neem,insecticidal soap, pyrethrin, and trimmed the tree away from structures. I have cats, so I have to be careful about putting poisons on the soil surface. I'll have to research the diatomacious earth. The tree is too big and too thorny for scrubbing. My limes are pretty much lost for the rest of this year. I'll have to get on it earlier next year.
Carol

I've sprayed them with the I.S. a few times even though I haven't seen any more sign of them. I only have one small (5 foot) lime tree, so it really isn't that big a deal for me. The D.E. isn't poison, so it won't harm your pets. If they were to roll in it or something it might cause an itch, but nothing more.

If you mix Malathion with Volk oil dormant spray and spray the tree, it will take care of the scale really fast. The oil essentially dissolves the mealy bug before your very eyes. Then repeat the application in 7 days to kill the nymphs and crawlers which may have escaped the first spraying.

Last week, I discovered my red passion vine was infested with mealybug. I used this spray combination and repeated it yesterday. Looked today and I don't see any mealybug at all.

I have cats, too...so I kept them indoors all day when I did the spraying.

Just be careful to read the directions on the Volk oil...it can't be used on certain plants.

Mike;
Where do you find Volk oil?

I would assume HD, Lowes, and any nursery would have it. I've had a bottle of it for quite a while, so I haven't bought any lately. If the bottle doesn't specifically say "Volk Oil" they may just be printing the label as "Dormant Spray". The one I have is an Ortho product.

I have an Ortho Dormant spray. I'll have to check the label.

Let me know how your lyonothamnus does. Should a "native" thread be started?

I'm really excited about one of my bush snapdragons...oh, here I go on another tangent!

I think we would be the only two there (for natives), surf, but sure, start one up. :-)

That'd be a good place for me to learn about CA natives. You know I'm new to the state as well as DG.

Oh, goody, another victim! LOL

Am using Neem. Seems to have been helping, but won't know for sure until I get home. I also trimmed off most of the leggy growth that had them white scaley bugs on them and fed them to the chickens. The chickens were happy. Let you know what I come home to. LOL!
WIB!
SW