Help getting rid of mealybugs without hurting birds

[marcmaubert]

I think I got rid of the mealybugs in my orchids. I only noticed them in my Cattleya and I have been thoroughly checking in every nook and cranny in my orchids ever since). I thoroughly sprayed my Catt 4 times, once every 2 weeks with Ortho Plant care plus (Bifenthrin) and a Pesticide I bought in an orchid show (it's just diluted Potassium hydroxide). Just to be safe I sprayed every orchid once.

So, the questions about the mealybugs are: do you think that was enough to eradicate the problem in my orchids? And, my main concern: How do I get rid of them outside without hurting the birds that come to my feeders? I noticed them in my Ficus and a couple of other really leafy plants, so I can't really check every leaf and remove them by hand. And is it really worth it to spray everything if my neighbors are infected too? My patio is really small and I have two neighbors with small, neglected yards. I'm pretty sure most of my pests come form my neighbors. Thoughts?

[Lucille]

When I had my house I would sometimes use imadacloprid on some of my susceptible plants.

[estación seca]

You can't get rid of them permanently if they are in the environment. Your choices are to use a systemic insecticide, to spray regularly with non-systemic insecticides in rotation, or to be very vigilant and treat when you see them.

[AnonYMouse]

Outdoors? That's an expensive and losing battle. Like ES said in his first sentence:

Originally Posted by estación seca

You can't get rid of them permanently if they are in the environment. Your choices are to use a systemic insecticide, to spray regularly with non-systemic insecticides in rotation, or to be very vigilant and treat when you see them.

Look into predatory insects?

[marcmaubert]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Outdoors? That's an expensive and losing battle. Like ES said in his first sentence:



Look into predatory insects?

I have tried to buy predatory insects in the past but I couldn't find any vendor that would sell the tiny amount I needed. I don't think there's a big market for predatory insects in Mexico City. I'll try systemics and evaluate the results.

[Lucille]

Originally Posted by marcmaubert

I'll try systemics and evaluate the results.

You might check out Dominion on Amazon, the quart container is reasonably priced and lasts quite a while.

[marcmaubert]

I think I'm gonna try systemic for the first time. After a quick search, I found someone selling Bayer's Confidor and New Leverage (Imidacloprid + Deltametrin). Are these safe for orchids? Are they bird safe too?

[rbarata]

As far as I know those products are only toxic to bees.

[marcmaubert]

Originally Posted by rbarata

As far as I know those products are only toxic to bees.

That sucks, but I have almost nothing in flower this time of the year, so hopefully they won't be around to get killed by me.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by marcmaubert

That sucks, but I have almost nothing in flower this time of the year, so hopefully they won't be around to get killed by me.

During the warm months, I grow my orchids outside. I can't recall ever seeing bees visit my orchids, though bees regularly visit clover, sunflowers, etc in other parts of my yard.

Mealybugs are sucking insects, so systemic insecticides (like Confidor) generally will work best. Bifenthrin is non-systemic, but could have some effect (keep far away from aquatic life). I have never heard of using potassium hydroxide as an insecticide.