Using alcohol as an insecticide on orchids

[heatherk]

A big Hello to all you orchid growers!!! I am new to the website and new to orchid growing as well. My big question is spraying orchids with alcohol as a pest control. My eyesite is poor and it is difficult to see tiny bugs even with magnifying glass. Can I just routinely spray my orchids? If so how often? Do you coat the leaves or just the base of the plants? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[whygreenberg]

Howdy, and welcome to the OB, Heather!

I personally don't know about a regular, preventative application of rubbing alcohol. I have, however, successfully used a recipe of rubbing alcohol, Ivory dish soap, and warm water in a spray bottle to battle some false spider mites and mealybugs.

While you wait for others' responses, try this link to a past thread: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...adication.html

[cb977]

To get rid of pests, I use a 50/50 mix of alcohol and 409 Cleaner but I don't think it would be a good idea to use it as a preventative spray.

Add a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid to some water in a sprayer and use that. A good thing to have available to see the tiny little annoying pests we sometimes encounter is a magnifying glass, it comes in very handy

[fieldsofgold]

hi Heather! welcome

I haven't tried alcohol to control/rid of pests but I have read through the forums about its use.

[cabbo]

Originally Posted by cb977

To get rid of pests, I use a 50/50 mix of alcohol and 409 Cleaner but I don't think it would be a good idea to use it as a preventative spray.

Add a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid to some water in a sprayer and use that. A good thing to have available to see the tiny little annoying pests we sometimes encounter is a magnifying glass, it comes in very handy

Do you still use listerine?

[cb977]

Originally Posted by cabbo

Do you still use listerine?

Yes, the Listerine is more of an antiseptic. I use the above mix for bugs

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

Hello Heather and welcome to Orchid Board I've never used alcohol on my 'chids, so can't give any input there. I use Safer's Soap when I do notice buggies, but I don't really have a preventative that I use regularly. I just try to keep things clean and give everyone a good inspection about weekly.

[JackiBlu]

Welcome aboard!

I'm a little unorthodox in my orchid care if you compare me to most others, and novice to boot, but I do use alcohol just not as a stand alone product.

I found a formula using it and I've had success with it. In a pint spray bottle I put about 10 - 15 drops of dish soap, about a 1/4 cup of alcohol and about 1 table spoon of cinnamon extract. If you can't find the extract then I use cinnamon powder*, Fill the rest of the spray bottle with water.

There are many variation of this formula around, this is the one I use and it doesn't have to be so exact.

*If you use the cinnamon powder, make sure you keep it shaken so you do not clog the sprayer. I also try to keep the spray to a minimum from any roots, I read that cinnamon acts as a drying agent, but it burns the bugs mouths and they leave your plant/s.