My cattleya has scales or is this newly bugs?

[Irisha99]

Hi.
I was away for 2 weeks and my mom was taking care of my plants. When I came back I noticed this whitish stuff on stems and some on leaves. My plants are all kept at home so not sure where these came from, other plants don’t seem to have any of this. This cattleya lost all its roots but it has new growth and I felt very positive about it getting back on track but now with this I am not sure. Looking at the pics can you identify the little buggers and tell me please how to iradicate it? Rubbing alcohol? Thank you!

[Ray]

You have two problems there: mealie bugs and no roots.

Alcohol may kill the adults, but will do nothing about eggs and immature insects, but as that's desperate for repotting in fresh medium and a lot of TLC, that may be sufficient.

Then your work will really be cut out for you, rehabilitating the plant.

I would go about it by:

1. Remove the dead roots.
2. Soak the plant overnight in a KelpMax solution.
3. Pot it up normally, watering it in with the soaking solution.
4. Invert a clear plastic bag over the plant and pot, trapping the humidity.
5. Keep it very warm and shady.

In a few weeks it should grown new roots, and you can move it back to normal conditions.

[dounoharm]

rubbing alcohol will kill some, no doubt.....but that is likely why this plant is in such sad shape.....ISOLATE IT! but its probly too late, looks like it has spread and multiplied and all your orchids have been bit.....

you can use the baby way, putting on alcohol and whatever 'gentle' ways to combat it, but you will not eradicate it that way. the only way to eradicate it is to use a systemic insecticide...oh no it might kill bees!! say the people afraid to read the directions on the bottle.....

if you are serious, you can either buck up and use the insecticide as per the instruction, or just throw away the entire mess and start fresh after totally cleaned and sprayed the surrounding areas....

spray systemic every 2 weeks religiously, for a 3 treatment plan. if you are worried about using it on a houseplant, think.....do I have orchid munchers in my house? do I keep honeybees in my house? can I follow directions written on the bottle?

if you are worried about these things, get a big leaf bag, put your orchid in the bag and spray away....leave the plants to dry in a shaded area....like a garage.


throw away all the media, or sterilize it in the oven.....use a toothbrush to scub the debris off the plants....do not leave a spec of papery stuff on the plants for a bug to hide.....


do it or don't do it.....but that's how you get rid of scale or mealies......

[Irisha99]

Originally Posted by Ray

You have two problems there: mealie bugs and no roots.

Alcohol may kill the adults, but will do nothing about eggs and immature insects, but as that's desperate for repotting in fresh medium and a lot of TLC, that may be sufficient.

Then your work will really be cut out for you, rehabilitating the plant.

I would go about it by:

1. Remove the dead roots.
2. Soak the plant overnight in a KelpMax solution.
3. Pot it up normally, watering it in with the soaking solution.
4. Invert a clear plastic bag over the plant and pot, trapping the humidity.
5. Keep it very warm and shady.

In a few weeks it should grown new roots, and you can move it back to normal conditions.

Thank you, Ray. Rubbed it off with alcohol and set it to dry out overnight. Next step is to soak it in KelpMax. Then pot it up. Hopefully it works

[fishmom]

Irish, please realize that alcohol is a contact killer. You will need to keep careful watch and repeat the process periodically as needed. Also inspect other plants carefully. Only a systemic will have a lasting effect.

[Irisha99]

I found insecticidal soap at home and sprayed it over the plant. Let it stand for a few minutes and washed it off. Then will do KelpMax and so on. Thank you!

[Nexogen]

If this plant connects you sentimentally to something, it's worth saving it, if not, it's cheaper to throw it and buy another healthy one.

[Irisha99]

It was beautiful when my husband bought it last year. I will give a try. Thank you, all.

[Nexogen]

I did not say you can not save her. You have to do what dounoharm has indicated to you (ie to use systemic insecticides such as Imidacloprid - Bayer All-in-One Rose and Flower Care), but you will not see flowers in the next year.

[aliceinwl]

I don’t have a lot of orchids so repeated treatments aren’t a problem. That said, I’ve had good luck with insecticidal soaps and oil sprays that kill by suffocation. I don’t want to use anything nasty on my out door orchids that could cause issues for the caterpillars and other critters on the nearby plants.

If you can figure out exactly what you’re dealing with, researching the life cycle can help. The contact soaps and sprays typically don’t kill eggs so knowing how long it takes a new generation to hatch out is a good way to gauge when you’ll need to retreat.