On Dendrobium Leaf? Disease or Pest?

[c123anderson]

I’ve been dealing with what I believe is “white fuzzy” stuff on some of my Dendrobiums. I found this on a newer growth leaf. This looks less like “white fuzzy” stuff, but I cannot tell if it’s a pest or just advanced white fuzzy stuff.

Any ideas? I’m feeling extremely discouraged with what’s going on this. Thank you!

[Paphluvr]

You're looking at mealy bugs. I don't know what the latest and greatest treatment for them is, I fortunately haven't had to deal with them in a long time. As a stopgap measure you can remove them using a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol and swab them off with it, but generally the whole plant needs to be treated. Is this a newly aquired plant? I'm sure someone will chime in with the latest recommended insecticide.

[KatieM]

That sure looks like the dreaded mealy bug. Take all the affected plants and separate them from your others. There are several options and everyone has differing levels of success treating them. Rubbing alcohol can help but you need to make sure you wipe them off with it and don't let the sun hit your leaves after until they dry. People also use Neem oil o insecticidal soap. If you search mealy bugs in the forum you'll find tons of posts with various remedies.

They can get in the mix too so treat that as well.

My orchids are mostly outside and they can get pretty bad here so I moved from at home organic to a systemic preventative.

They can transfer to other plants by air movement. You'll want to be diligent in retreating to make sure you get them all. They're resilient sneaky little....well you know.

[c123anderson]

Okay. Sad but hopeful! Explains a lot!

Thank you!

[estación seca]

Mealybugs crawl far from your growing are to lay eggs, which remain viable for up to two years. You need to be very vigilant.

[WaterWitchin]

I extend my sympathy... Indeed, vigilance is key.

[PuiPuiMolcar]

KILL

[c123anderson]

Hi all, and thank you for your various advice and tips. I did feel a lot murderous as I went through and sprayed and doused with pesticide and insecticide soap.

Now, I am assuming that the little flying whatnots I am seeing from time to time are fungus gnats, but I suspect they may be male mealybugs.

Feeling my murderous rage at these bugs eating and destroying my plants, I am trying to determine the best way to kill the flying ones that are not already on leaves or on soil, getting a treatment.

My husband, the non-orchidist, says bug bomb. Just grab one at Lowe's and let it off. Somehow, though, it seems like it may do more damage to what I'm trying to keep alive that damage to what I'm trying to kill.

Does anyone use a bug bomb? If so, anything that you recommend? If not, what should I do about the little flying guys. There's not many, but, now that I see a problem, I am wanting to completely remove all the nasty mealys.

[Roberta]

That indiscriminate bug bomb not only could damage plants (read label carefully) but could also be very bad for you and your family and pets. First, is this in a greenhouse or in the house? As for the flying things... instead of killing things that you haven't identified (and could be harmless or even beneficial) take the time to observe whether the problem comes back or not. And if you treated your plants once, one is NOT done - you need to be treating once a week for at least 3 weeks to get multiple generations. Pest treatments need to be done surgically. You don't want to kill your plants, yourself or family or beneficial/harmless insects that the environment needs, you don't want to generate resistance in the target.

[c123anderson]

Hi Roberta, well, these are plants inside and not in a greenhouse, so, yes, the potential harm to humans/animals is definitely a concern.

As for treating them, oh, you bet I'll be treating for several weeks!

After seeing the very mature mealybugs on a couple of leafs and seeing evidence of infestation in several plants, everyone got treated.

But, noticing one or two flying bugs, I suspect these are the male mealys looking for females and not another random bug that could be beneficial. They're too small to identify as potentially safe, and, well, they're going to have to go due to guilt by association. Tiny little bug was likely a mature male mealy or a fungus gnat and not readily identifiable as a "friend".

What I did do, since I had my insecticide soap spray in my hand, is I just sprayed the insect as it flew by. That seemed to knock it down and, I suspect from what I've seen of mealys, that the spray likely killed it.

Is there a way to treat the area in general as well without harming the plants? And, honestly, the only thing a bug bomb, in my mind, would do would give me a small amount of peace of mind, not feeling creeped out by my realization of an infestation.

I hate to be squeamish, but, I am.