Treatments against Mealybugs

[monivik]

This is as a continuation to this story:
OH NO! Bugs...

So a week ago I washed the entire Schilleriana (my baby one, cause it's so small) with water and a bit of soap and I tried to get everything off that was visible. I then repotted it. Of course I'm also keeping it separate from my other plants.

But then three days ago I saw another one. Oh yeah, these pesky bugs aren't gone yet. I didn't suspect they would be, the thing is I noticed it seems like there's a tiny white dot right in the crown. I mean it's so deep in there it's impossible to get it. These little bugs really know how to hide well.

Anyway I've researched online, and I saw this neem oil thing. And I was prepared to make a "mixture" myself with it, "recipes" can be found online too... So as I was looking to order online, I found this bottle of mixture on Amazon it said against insects like mealybugs. So I decided to give it a try.

So one of the ingredients is neem oil, but it seems like this thing does not need to be mixed with anything else, it seems like it can just be sprayed on. Has anyone seen this before? So I tried it Wednesday for the first time. I hope it works.

So the thing is called Garten Gluck, Leaf Spots and it's German I believe. On the top of the ingredients list it says water and then Polysorbate 20, neem oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid.

Another thing I was thinking, maybe I shouldn't have repotted it right away? There may still be bugs hiding on the roots.

By the way I noticed that one of the leaves on the Schilleriana is starting to dry up, and it's not the bottom leaf.

I hope this poor baby plant will make it. (I say it's a baby, because it's so small.)

The thing is, I keep on checking all my other plants and so far I haven't seen any bugs on any other plants. Not even on the two that I bought at the same time as the Schilleriana.

[Dollythehun]

When you washed it off, did you also wash the roots and give it fresh medium? They can hide in the roots.

I'm not familiar with that product. I would spray it thoroughly, even into the crown. Repeat per label instructions. Let it set awhile and then either turn it sideways or blot it with tissue to get out the excess. Rot requires other elements too. Think about plants in the wild, they get water in the crown regularly.

My stuartiana was a tiny baby when it came. I can understand your concern but, you're learning to be a better grower through this trial.

[Ray]

There are lots of remedies that work, but not all of them work that well.

Personally, because mealybugs can be so persistent and so damaging, I go with a good systemic or translaminar insecticide like acephate or imidacloprid and treat plants and media thoroughly 3 times at one-week itervals.

[SouthPark]

Imidacloprid is generally super effective on mealybugs and things like boisduval scale. It definitely works, and works very well. Just watch it if there's bees around though. Deadly to bees.

[Dollythehun]

Ray is correct, however, imidacloprid products are now hard to get in some areas, if not banned outright. I, for instance, am no longer able to find them locally.

[SouthPark]

It's true dolly. I think some regions banned that substance, and some stores took them off the shelves due to the bee thing.

[MJG]

Mealybugs took out my entire phal collection. They are the worst and most persistent pest I have ever experienced.

I used Safer Soap on them. I used it every 3 days for 2 weeks. I drenched leaves, roots, I repotted. Nothing worked. Curiously none of my other orchids developed mealybugs even though they had been sitting side by side.

My phals are gone, but for future use I brought in the big guns. It's a product on Amazon called BioAdvanced 701290B Insecticide Fungicide Miticide 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control, 24 oz.

As you can see it is more than an insecticide. Maybe overkill. But it is a systematic insecticide. And it does not require mixing if you buy the small bottle. I used it on my catasetum spider mites and it worked great.

On the Amazon site for this product, they offer several options. It's a little confusing. There's the kind you attach a hose to and some other types of applications. I bought the small, hand held spray bottle.

I live in NY state. This product is banned in certain states because it kills bees. At first, when I tried to buy a couple of the larger sizes Amazon told me that I couldn't buy it because it's banned in NY. However I discovered that when I tried to buy the small (24 oz) premixed hand spray bottle, it shipped!!! Maybe because they recognize that you're not spraying an entire garden, but just individual plants. Who knows.

I like this product a lot. If you buy it, use it in a bee free zone. I set my plants on my driveway to apply it.

[rbarata]

I had great sucess against mealy bugs and scale (and similar pests) with imidacloprid. As it's systemic, never had the need to repot.
Note that imidacloprid is the chemical active molecule in the product and not the product/brand name.
Now, imidacloprid was discontinued and replaced by thiacloprid. Both are on the verge of being banned in the EU because it's a bee killer.

[MJG]

The active ingredient in the BioAdvanced 701290B Insecticide Fungicide Miticide 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control, 24 oz that I mentioned in my earlier post is imidacloprid.

[rbarata]

If it has imidacloprid, then it will work.
Apply a small amount over a leaf tip to see if the plant doesn't get damaged. If not, apply on the plant and top of the medium after watering (3 applications, once a week).