Mealybugs
Little tufts of white, cotton-like fuzz tucked into leaf joints and along stems are mealybugs.
Diagnosis
Mealybugs
What's happening
Mealybugs are soft, sap-sucking insects that hide in the protected crevices where leaves meet the stem on a Chinese Evergreen's dense crown. They feed on plant juices, leaving sticky honeydew behind, and they breed quickly, so a small cluster can spread across the whole plant and to neighbors if it's left alone.
How to fix it
Isolate the plant from your others right away. Dab each visible mealybug with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to kill it on contact, then spray the whole plant — tops and undersides of leaves and into every joint — with neem oil. Repeat every 7 days for at least three rounds to catch newly hatched bugs, and check nearby plants since mealybugs travel.
What fixes it
- Neem oil for pests — Neem oil smothers mealybugs and disrupts their breeding cycle when sprayed every week for a few rounds.
If that doesn't fix it
This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.
Read the full Chinese Evergreen care guide →
Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this