Question
I have three little violet plants that have been doing quite well.  I just noticed today that there is a white cottony material mainly where the leaves are attached to the stem.  If it is mealy bugs, how could I treat this w/o damaging the leaves.  I was told by my mother not to get the leaves of violets wet.  Please help, I am not very good at growing indoor plants and I was so happy when the violets were doing so well.  Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Answer
Hello:

This sound very much like foliar mealy bugs.  Take a Q-Tip, dip it in rubbing alcohol and scrape off the little nests of bugs.  These sometimes turn a pinkish color.

If you use a lot of alcohol, rince the plant with warm water.

Cold water will make spots on the leaves but you can even wash your plant with warm to hot water.  Let the plant dry with no sunlight which tends to burn when plants are wet.

Nancy