- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell

(Credit: M. Lewis, CISR)
[This post has been modified from the article originally published in the Fall 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
Citrus trees remain a popular choice for home gardeners in California, largely due to their ease of care, beauty, and functionality for food and shade. However, backyard citrus can also be plagued by pests such as psyllids, leafminers, cottony cushion scale, and mealybugs.
Longtime readers of this blog will know that we have covered the
/span>- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell
- Editor: Elaine Lander

[This post has been modified from the article originally published in the Fall 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
As a home gardener, you may find big white bugs clinging to the twigs and leaves of your citrus trees and need help with identifying and managing these pests. At first glance, they may look similar but in order to have effective pest management, it's important to first determine what they are. Mealybugs and cottony cushion scale are...
/span>![Mealybug colony. [Jack Kelly Clark]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/35122small.jpg)
Have you ever had an infestation of mealybugs on your houseplants or outside on your landscape plants? You may have wondered, “Where did these insects come from?” Mealybugs are often introduced into landscapes and indoors from plant material brought home on other plants, tools, or pots.
What are Mealybugs?
Mealybugs are small, wingless, oval-shaped insects that congregate in large numbers on plants. They form white, cottony masses and are often confused with other pests that produce waxy coatings like cottony cushion...