Mealies, fungus? and heartbreak

[lkg1323]

I made the novice mistake of not inspecting plants just because they came from the most loved vendor.

Long story short - I put plants apparently infested with mealies in a grouping of all my other chids. I've been super busy and not giving the orchids my 100% attention. MEALIES EVERYWHERE. Awesome! Kicking myself.

What is the best way to treat an entire orchid collection? Chemical dunks? (and which chemical is best suited for this?)

I've heard of water/alcohol mix being sprayed for weeks - what about peroxide? I only ask because I have an abundance. I've never had to do this - and I'm having trouble finding if there is an "upper limit" to this sort of thing - I definitely don't want to kill all my chids by going overboard.

(I also have small black depressed circles on the leaves of my banfieldara gilded tower, is this most likely fungal?)

Treating all these the best I know how, buying some small fans and a humidifier as well. Wish me luck. I seriously need it, Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly welcomed. Treating the whole group seems super daunting

[rangiku]

Hi lkg,

Don't be discouraged: it's happened to all of us. I've had excellent success with Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 which you can get at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It is a systemic so drench the plant with it, and repeat every two weeks for 3 total applications.

Bayer also has a Rose and Flower Insect Killer that is premixed with similar ingredients, but I haven't used it.

You can use alcohol to nail any mealys you see, but it doesn't take care of eggs.

Good luck! You WILL conquer them.

[silken]

I think we all make that mistake at first. How could such professional growers ever have bugs-right?? I think rangiku's suggestion is good. I wish we could get that Bayer stuff in Canada but we can't that I know of. Since it is a systemic, it will eventually get into the plant's system and then kill any bugs that linger after the first few weeks. It will also kill on contact when you apply it. This will be a good way to get control of them in a group of plants. Spray the spotting media too.