Scale problem

[Daethen]

My friend and I bought a large group of Catt and the alliance plants from someone cutting down their collection. The plants were in very rough shape when they arrived.

We removed all the old medium. We soaked them in thrive for about 20 minutes. We also soaked them in Malathion for 5 to 10 minutes completely submerged. They were then potted in new presoaked medium in brand new pots. This was about a month ago. They have been perking up nicely and show some good new root growth.

Today, I was going to take some of them back to my home and noticed what I think is scale on them. They were small round and flat. They flicked of really easy with a finger nail. I am wondering if this is a new infestation or if they may just be old ones that were killed when they were first dipped and are just now starting to come loose. I'm sorry, I do not have a picture.

Should I just go ahead and retreat with Malathion? Is there a better solution? How often should they be treated? And, no I didn't bring any home to my collection. Will have to wait until I am sure they are scale free. There are over 40 of them!

[tucker85]

That sounds like hard scale. At least that's what I've always called it. I'm sure the plants already had it. Those scale are in a different form when they first get on the plant. Unfortunately with hard scale you will probably have to take a tooth brush or something like it and scrape off all the scale by hand. I've taken wet paper towels and rubbed them off but a good stiff brush is probably best. After they're all off, spray with an insecticide. Wait a week and spray again. Then just keep an eye out for any strays you missed. As the plants get healthier they will be more resistant. I eradicated a pretty bad scale infestation a couple of years ago and haven't seen a single one since. Good luck.

[lepanthes89]

If they came off easily,they were prob.dead.However,they protect their young with their dead bodies,so I would keep an eye out for new ones.I have had good results with horticultural oil / "sun oil",applied 3 times in 3 weeks.
Its safe for most orchids,(esp.Catts),is virtually non toxic,and scale cannot develop resistance to it.

[Daethen]

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like one way or another I have a big job ahead of me.

[Orchidflowerchild]

you should be reapplying the malathion every 2-3 weeks for a couple months, anyway.

Gotta get those eggs andlarvae.

-Cj

[smweaver]

I've used the horticultural oil also with good results (although it does seem to attract dust particles and isn't such a great product to use if your plants are getting a lot of sun). You can also try a product called 1600 X-Clude (sold on EBay or several online horticultural sites), which comes in a spray can and is a micro-encapsulated form of pyrethrum (meaning that the chemical is released over a long period of time, allowing it to do more damage to the insects rather than breaking down rapidly, as un-encapsulated pyrethrum would decay). I've found it to be especially effective against scale. I have a couple of ornamental citrus trees that are "wonderful" scale and mealybug magnets. Using the spray every couple of months is enough to keep the nasties under control. Good luck with your project.

[Daethen]

I am taking ALL this advice to heart. I so much appreciate it all.