Thinking of quitting the orchid hobby

[Arne]

Can you get hold of Insect Growth Regulators?

Have a look at this (about halfway down):
Culture Tips & Pest Control

[estación seca]

Steam will certainly kill them. Home steaming devices are available. But, as a microbiologist, you know you can't autoclave your entire living room, and that would be needed. One missed egg case would be like one spore on a plate.

A clothes dryer will kill the eggs if it's hot enough. I work with rescue dogs. When I bring in dogs with fleas I wash their bedding, then put it into the dryer at high heat. It kills fleas and eggs, which often survive washing. This might work for your curtains.

It's too cold outside now, but a black enclosure, like a lidded trash barrel, might get hot enough on a sunny day. It certainly would here. I don't know how many sunny days you get, but you could put a thermometer into a lidded trash container and see how hot it gets. This also might work for your curtains.

I did have another thought. Only male mealybugs of some species can fly. Females must crawl onto plants. If you were able to keep plants from touching walls or drapes, you could stand plants above moats of water with some soap added. That would prevent females from crawling into the plants. There's a reason European cities and castles were once surrounded by walls and moats. I could envision a tray filled with water on a table, and plants standing above it on inverted pots.

I would like to mention again my method of drowning insects by soaking plants in water with a tiny amount of soap or detergent, to decrease surface tension. It really does work, and it kills eggs. I have successfully treated many plants this way, including a friend's collection of several dozen Cattleyas covered with scale. I bare rooted them, and used a livestock tank for an overnight soak.

It could be done in a bathtub or sink if you don't mind soaking plants together. I generally soak them individually in a pitcher or bucket. I put weights on them to keep them submerged.

It needs to be done during warmer and less humid periods so the plants dry out quickly after the soak.

I usually don't soak plants with heavy infestations, because the insects have made holes, and if a lot of solution leaks into the plants, it can kill them. For heavily infested plants I first treat with alcohol. In a week or so, when there aren't many insects left, I perform the soak.

I last used the soak just this week. I bought a cactus in July and found mealybug egg cases on the spines. That is a sign of root mealies.

[realoldbeachbum]

Oh no, Camille. I regret what has happened to your collection! As a new orchid addict I have followed your guidance over the last few years and appreciate your advice greatly. Please don't quit. Yet! I still need help.

[Dimples]

Camille, would a professional pest control company be able to help you? Phals. are also my favorite. I hope you can keep them.

ES, much easier to put the legs of the plant table into small dishes of soapy water (or on a riser sitting in the water, to keep the table legs dry). Less water, less mess potential, just as effective.

[smweaver]

Hello, Camille. Here's my advice (and Rbarata kind of already hinted at what I'm going to suggest). Cull whatever you can't live without. That will minimize what you have to take care, which will help you to better control the pests on those plants that you save. I like phalaenopsis species also. Do you have a particular species that you're very fond of?

I remember reading about your long-term efforts to grow Phalaenopsis gigantea. If you still have these, perhaps limiting your collection (at least temporarily) to this species, or to those phals that like the same general conditions (e.g. bellina and violacea), or (maybe a harder thing to do) getting rid of all but a few plants of this species, will possibly decrease your level of anxiety about their health and make for an easier task of keeping them free of the mealies. Moving them to another room might help also (I think someone else mentioned this also), especially if you can provide them with an environment where there are limited areas for the mealies to hide (no fabric curtains, no other plants--the palm, for example--that attract them, etc.). Then just discard every other plant in your home (and not just the orchids) and concentrate on A) ridding the house of mealies, and B) growing the survivors to the best of your abilities.

I do hope that you don't give up the hobby. Whenever I get discouraged it's usually because I've acquired something that is ridiculously outside of what I can provide (draculas, odontoglossums, etc.), or I've collected far too many plants, making my hobby more of a job than something enjoyable. I can say from experience that it can be quite therapeutic to "thin the herd" (while repeatedly quoting aloud Mies van der Rohe's dictum "less is more" like a Buddhist chant) every once in awhile (and the goats that are the beneficiaries of this therapy are appreciative also).

Good luck with your efforts!

[Blueszz]

Sorry that I didn't see this topic before today.

As you probably know, systemic pesticides aren't allowed in NL for the home grower. But in Belgium they are still for sale. At least until may 25th.

A while ago I bought a bottle of KB Multisect. KB Multisect - 200ml

You might be able to combat mealies on the plants with this pesticide. But mealies and egg sacs in the environment will remain a problem.

I feel sorry for you, I totally get why you want to give up or probably already did.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Blueszz

Sorry that I didn't see this topic before today.

As you probably know, systemic pesticides aren't allowed in NL for the home grower. But in Belgium they are still for sale. At least until may 25th.

A while ago I bought a bottle of KB Multisect. KB Multisect - 200ml

You might be able to combat mealies on the plants with this pesticide. But mealies and egg sacs in the environment will remain a problem.

I feel sorry for you, I totally get why you want to give up or probably already did.

Thanks for the moral support!! That helps a bit.

Thank you for the link, it could be an option. Though after so many years of having imidacloprid in the treatment rotation they've gotten somewhat to resistant, and I'm afraid other neonicotinoid products will be less effective.

I haven't done much to tackle the problem since I originally posted, I'm lacking the mental bandwidth for it now. I started a new job in January that I really like so far, but the first months are busy and tiring, and my commute is quite terrible in the evening (it includes the very famous traffic jams on the A1 at Hoevelakken)...

I'm slowly getting into a routine, and then will think about what to do with the plants since I'll be able to chuck everything outside in the spring to treat them (If I go that route again).

[Blueszz]

I've been thinking. Is at an option to spray the house (curtains and all other horizontal/vertical spaces) with an insecticide with Insect Grow Regulator (IGR)?

Do you have pets?


There are alternatives that allow you to leave the room while the room is treated. The groomer I visit with one of the dogs calls it a "bomb" but I don't know it's exact name. I can ask. It might be only available in Germany but maybe you can order online?

But... these sprays aren't allowed in rooms where food is prepared and you have to wipe down everything afterwards.

While spraying with an insecticide you can use an FFP2 mask to protect yourself. Maybe you can spray the house before you leave for a vacation and keep everything shut for days you are absent?

[aihpcfl]

FWIW so far as I know the informal names for the treatments @Blueszz referred to are Bug Bombs or Insect Foggers. There, of course, may be other names or terms, but that is a place to start a search.

To add to the safety measures, it may be necessary to turn off pilot lights in the areas where the fogger is used. I remember a newspaper article years ago about a case where the homeowner did not do that. At any rate, it goes without saying to read the instructions carefully.