Question
I have rubber plant somebody over the phone said it sounded like a mealy bug. Plant hight 45 inches a 10 inch wide pot. There are ca 1 mm  white and brown oval shaped bugsalong the stem, under & on the leaves & flaky longish 1-2 mm white shapes on and under the leaves. The plant is dripping some sap for some time.Took it outside and washed it off. Now gettin worse and the leaves still same color are starting to coil. If I repot do I throw out some of the present soil? Is there a home rememdy or what do you suggest? My first rubber plant appreciate some help. Thank you so much.
Appreciate your help are there any home remedies or  

Answer
Hello Uli,

There is an easy home remedy using alcohol and soap that will fix your mealy bug problem.

First, make sure you have 70% Isopropyl Alcohol which is just rubbing alcohol.

For large infestations you can make a spray out of alcohol and water. Using straight undiluted alcohol in large amounts can cause plant damage so make sure it抯 diluted.
Mix about 1 quart of water for every cup of alcohol.

For smaller infestations you can simply take a cotton swab dipped in alcohol and coat the individual bugs that you see on the plant. They're good at hiding so check all the little nooks and crannies

Insecticidal soaps or dish soap can also be used with the alcohol treatments to insure the pest is totally gone. The soaps can break down the waxy protective covering of the bugs making the alcohol treatments more effective.

The key here is that these treatments are done more than once over a period of time because you most likely won抰 get all the eggs in one treatment. So give it a wash in some of the soap then give it an alcohol treatment with whichever of the above methods you prefer. Now check it every one or two days and give it an alcohol treatment if needed. If after a week you still have the bugs give it another wash and start the treatments over.

If there aren't any pests in the soil you shouldn't need to repot just yet.

I hope this helped. If you have any questions feel free to contact me again.

Good Luck,
Justin