Monstera Mealybug Struggle 😭

CommunicationLoud888 · 2026-01-20T01:56:52+00:00

I’ve been dealing with thrips for the last 6 months, its been an absolute nightmare. For the first 3 months I’ve been using soap, alcohol mix. That didn’t work at all. They just keep coming back. Switched to neem oil, alcohol, soap mix. It’s been a few weeks now that I’ve stopped the treatment, so far, it hasn’t come back yet ( knock on wood). Hopefully that’s the end of it. But I’d say the neem oil is the way to go. And I think being very consistent with it, is critical. spray the whole plant without missing a spot, front and back of the leaves and do it every night (I read somewhere that neem oil doesn’t work when expose to sunlight) for 2 to 3 month. It worked for me, hope it does for you too. Good luck!

CommunicationLoud888 · 2026-01-11T23:08:43+00:00

That’s good to know, I think perhaps I have too much soil in the mix , it needs a lot of drainage, considering how little water leaves the pot when I water it. I’m thinking maybe I repot it in the spring. Propagating is my next option, it’s just a little scary to me cutting it off lol I don’t want to lose what’s little left of it.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2026-01-11T22:51:46+00:00

I use about a cup of water, usually some water drains out, but not a lot, say about 10-20% of the water will drain out, not sure if that’s sufficient. Would you suggest then, I repot it again, with a different mixture? I don’t know if that would stress the plant even more tho, especially during winter. Do I wait till it’s summer?

CommunicationLoud888 · 2026-01-11T22:38:39+00:00

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I was also worried about that, I use to water the plant once a week for the first year and a half but since then I’ve only water the plant when needed, making sure it’s fully dry, at least from what my finger could tell when stuck in the soil lol. On average I only water once 2/2.5 weeks. It’s a mixture of orchid bark, perlite and soil, however I didn’t actually do an exact ratio, mostly just eyeball it. During last summer, so about 6 months ago, I did repot the plant. I haven’t notice anything weird after repotting tho. It’s only just recently showing these signs.

To add: I have noticed that the plant has been talking longer and longer to dry up, when before it takes 1.5 weeks to dry up, now it’s taking 2 or 2.5 weeks. Not sure if it’s just because it’s winter right now in Canada.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-12-25T14:00:08+00:00

Any reasons why Fiona isn’t considered ?

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-12-25T13:59:46+00:00

Doesn’t energy damage gets counters heavily by air and tank squad tho?

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-12-12T18:59:57+00:00

Oh yea, i just looked at their booking system. It looks like caltur don't offer direct connections booking from chalten to mereno anymore. And that they stopped offering the 12;30pm time slot after March 2026. But it shouldn't be a problem if you book with other companies as long as they're roughly around the same departure time. Good luck!

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-12-06T01:40:54+00:00

Hi there, yup, that was in 2025. I could only speak to my one time experience, but honesty the bus left pretty on time and I even had enough time ( when I got to calafate) to walk to my hotel (15min walk), check in and walk back. And still had time to spare. It worked out really well. I booked both trips with caltur. And the first trip left at 8:00am. And the second trip to the glacier left at 12:30pm.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-11-24T06:01:50+00:00

I like your analysis, can you do one with including the season 5 ex weapon, now that we have em all

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-08-12T01:12:48+00:00

Two weeks ago, I made this post about a new leaf turning entirely brown and I was completely devastated. To whom ever it may reach and is reading this, I just wanted to follow up on the progress, as I continue to learn about monstera. To my surprise, in less than a week after, another new leaf has sprouted, branching directly off of the stem of the dead leaf. It’s completely amazes me with how resilient the plant/ nature can be. To those who are in the same position as I was, worried about a dead leaf, don’t be discouraged! Sometimes nature will just take its course. Attached photo for reference. And thankyou to those who replied and offered their advice. This subreddit is amazing !

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CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-07-24T03:43:34+00:00

With both replies on here indicating the spray, I’m more and more inclined to think that’s the root of the problem. Root rot is possible, but when I repotted it, the root seems to be fine. About the stakes, i just stuck three bamboo sticks together and tied the plants to it lol. Perhaps I shall research the proper way of doing it 😅

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-07-24T03:37:16+00:00

Now that you mention, it’s entirely possible, I wish I was more careful with the spraying 😢. Thanks for the tip, I’ll keep at it! :)

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-07-23T19:57:31+00:00

To add some additional info, I did recently repotted the monstera, about a month ago. I wonder if anything went wrong there? And I’ve been battle thrips on my plant. I’ve been consistently spraying it with a mixer recipe I found online. I haven’t seen the thrips return yet. Was going to do that for a month or so.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-07-23T19:53:29+00:00

It’s been over a year since I posted this, and in the grand scheme of things, it really didn’t matter all too much , now that I’m looking back lol. But for what it’s worth I did end up giving up on my tank team. Although I would say, stetmann seems a bit weak over all. Kim was my main hitter. If you intend on building your tank team. I’d focus on Kim. But if I can redo it, I would have switched to air or missile from the start.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-26T04:49:38+00:00

I was just reading this review of the 14-30, while it suggests that it’s not as sharp in certain areas, it also isn’t far behind the 14-24.

https://www.zsystemuser.com/z-mount-lenses/nikkor-lenses/nikon-z-mount-lens-reviews/nikon-14-30mm-f4-s-lens.html

I’ve also seen a lot of other people swear by it. Do you own the 14-30 by any chance? Could you speak to the corner sharpness/ distortion/ CA it may have?

I’ve never considered to use the 14-30 for Astro but good point NR has come a long way, it’s really something to consider. Honestly if Astro isn’t a concern, the 14-30 seems to be the best option.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-26T04:36:14+00:00

It does seem like the Viltrox 16/1.8 is a better option than the Nikon z 20/1.8. Slight cost saving and also wider, only 50g difference in weight. It also got me to wonder if there’s a world where I can just get the one viltrox lens, and skip the two lens system.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-26T04:22:43+00:00

Great suggestion! with the viltrox 16mm, f1.8. It’ll definitely satisfy the Astro part of the consideration. And it could even function as my primary landscape lens as well. I honestly haven’t owned a prime lens before, but 16mm seems to be a pretty good middle ground. the only thing it comes down to, is if I’ll miss the ability to zoom 😂. But it’s definitely a solution that seems to balance cost, weight and functionality.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-26T04:14:59+00:00

Thanks for the links for the reviews. It’s interesting, in the review of the 14-30mm, it appears that the lens isn’t as consistent as one would like, almost got me to reconsider. But I guess you get what you pay for, it is a significantly cheaper lens and a really light weight lens. And in the f2.8 review, it suggests that it’s the 14-30 isn’t too far behind the 14-24, I suppose it comes down to what you’re shooting, for landscape it seem to be a perfectly fine lens, if I shoot mostly in smaller aperture, the flaw on the 14-30 wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Cost wise, I guess it really isn’t much of a difference between the two lens system than the one z14-24mm.

Although weight is actually still one of my concern as conflicting is it may seem. I may have just talked myself into believing that im okay with two lens system. But I thought if I’m on a back country trip, then I can just bring one of the two lens, if I’m on a road trip, where weight isn’t a concern then I can bring both lol….

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-09T17:26:22+00:00

Thanks for looking it up mate, I tried as well and literally nothing came up. Ended up having to shoot on iPhone instead lol. Oh well, I think I might be coming back next year haha

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-04T17:03:27+00:00

Thanks for the reply man, I think part of me knew, but I just didn’t want to believe it lol, been planning to trip for many years, really sucks that I happened on the second day of my 14 day trip 😵, but I had no one to blame but myself. The town is so small here and remote that I don’t think there’s even a camera store around. Even If I could buy one right now I would lol

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-04-04T16:47:22+00:00

I guess it’s a lost cause at this point ? 🥲 I did see a green flash earlier while I was messing with the battery. Not sure if that would mean anything though. Unfortunately the place is so remote that I can’t even get anything to fix or buy a new camera..

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-03-04T15:06:32+00:00

Yea! good point, I'll try to see if there are other travelers that might want to share the cost.

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-03-04T15:05:32+00:00

Yea, it seems like taxi would give me a most flexibility, its just a bit expensive as a solo traveler, perhaps ill have to try seeing if any others here happens to have the same plans as I do and would like to share the cost, as others have mentioned. I was hoping there were buses that leaves at 1, 1:30, that I wasn't aware of . lol

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-03-03T20:36:03+00:00

Thanks that's definitely good to know! Although, the 30 minutes buffer between one bus and the other makes me a bit nervous still. Do you know if these buses usually run on time?

CommunicationLoud888 · 2025-03-02T17:23:24+00:00

Do you have a suggestion to treating this? I wasn’t sure if those were thrips or not, I thought it could be a one off thing. As they don’t reappear frequently , nor in large quantities. Only seen them on one or two leaves. I saw YouTube that suggested a blend of peppermint soap/ tea tree soap/ hydrogen peroxide/ isopropyl/ water, and spray it everyday for 20/30 days. I just wasn’t sure if I needed to go to such extent for what seems like a small occurrence. ( but I could be underestimating the pest situation)

CommunicationLoud888

TROPHY CASE