young rue

My two small rue plants are still not completely well. They've put out new foliage, but the leaves curl down and some are yellowing. I thought it was due to cold- we've had several nights below 20°- but I looked close and found tiny bits of white fluff where leaf nodes join the stem. Got out the loop and found tiny tiny bugs, some with fuzz on their backs. Mealybugs, I think. Soap/oil spray didn't do the trick, or I didn't repeat it often enough.

This time around I got a cotton swab, dipped it in rubbing alcohol and used it to wipe the bugs off the plants. Looking thru the loop to try and get them all. It will probably need a repeat treatment. Hard to find a brightly lit spot in the house away from any other plants, so these can be in isolation- I finally settled them on a windowsill by the front door- where all the shoes are kept.

The stevia is now the only plant in the basement sun area- its leaves look unhappy too, but I can't tell if that's from the chill or insects. I looked all over it with the loop and didn't find any bugs. I had my husband drop a small wolf spider he caught in the bathroom on the stevia plant- if there's something there, maybe it will find them.