Mealy bugs

[Shadeflower]

I thought I had eliminated all the mealy bugs on my maxillaria. I was wrong so they are back again loving the nice weather.
Every time I thought I was done I kept finding new little "nests" as you can see on the picture. Horrible little things, had to wipe down every single leaf but better than having to deal with it again next year so fingers crossed I got them all.

[estación seca]

They crawl away from plants and lay eggs everywhere - furniture, books, shelves. Eggs can remain viable for two years.

[camille1585]

I've been battling them for 13 years.... There's no way to permanently get rid of them without getting rid of every single plant and sterilizing the entire growing area. Battling them without systemic pesticides is nearly impossible. I even found them in my sewing box, for some reason they found a rolled up zipper super attractive and it was coated in egg clusters!

[rbarata]

Imidacloprid (or its successor Thiacloprid) is the way to go. Unpot, get rid of the old medium, pot again with fresh medium and apply (all over the medium too) every 5 days for a month, especially under the leaves and small crevices where they may hide.

[SundayGardener]

This is disheartening. I came to this thread because I recently discovered mealybugs. I disposed of that plant and treated the whole remaining lot, first round of some old Bayer (not sure that it worked, as the mix kept separating into some gluey substance). Yesterday I found more.

The cloprids are a problem for me. I don't have a good place (away from pets, outside of kitchen and bath, and away from my beloved pollinators and other insects outside) to apply it. And they are toxic and I'll have a heat stroke if I wear the protective gear and gloves lol. I've done the dunking in the past (bark gets everywhere in the buckets). I've already done a lot of repotting but it seems somewhat futile if the mealbugs are going to be an ongoing menace.

Right now I am spot treating with rubbing alcohol and wishing I had a nice enclosed space where I could unleash some mealybug-eating beneficials.

Bumper crop of problem bugs this summer! I even have fungus gnats which I usually only have in the winter. And wooly aphids outside--first time ever. On the plus side, so many spiders and even a praying mantis.

[Leafmite]

I feel for you. I replaced a few plants that were infested with mealy bugs this spring. I cannot use systemics on many of my plants because they either produce fruit or have leaves or flowers that can be used in tea. I am thinking of treating the other plants with a granular systemic and spraying the 'edibles' with Neem Oil or insecticidal soap.

[Ray]

Treat EVERYTHING THOROUGHLY, wetting all plant surfaces and drenching the potting media.

Repeat 3 times at one-week intervals.

If, in a month, you see more, use a pesticide with a different MOA.

[Leafmite]

I agree with you, Ray. It is important to get rid of ALL of them before they become resistant.

This past winter was the worst. We had many long, warm periods when the ants were active and came inside to farm the plants. I am going to need to be mere diligent.

[Ironwood]

It could also be white scale which is more difficult to control and damages the plant as it poisons the plant around the site of attachment.
I have had very good results with a spray mixture of Neem Oil, Dish Soap and Alcohol. I do see the odd plant that becomes mildly infected because I forget to carry out treatments long enough. The Neem Oil treatment would work on both the Mealy Bug or White Scale.

[Leafmite]

Thanks! I am going to try that. I have pure cold-pressed Neem Oil. How much alcohol and dish soap do you add? I really hate the little sap-suckers.