What killing my Phal? - Orchid Board

flhiker · #1 06-02-2009, 05:34 PM

Hi all, this is my first time having problems with any kind of bug, other then ants. I noticed this phal turning black in the center a couple weeks ago

and thought it was the start of crown rot due to all the rain we have been getting. But today I found these brown things attached to the leaf.

Any one know what they are and how to treat for them.

Thanks

camille1585 · #2 06-02-2009, 05:38 PM

Those things are armored/hard brown scale. A friend's phal had some, and I took care of it by picking all of them off and then spraying and wiping down the leaves with rubbing alcohol to kill any babies which don't have a hard shell yet. I told her to repeat the treatment every few days and it seemed to have worked. Or else you might have to get an insecticide. For scale you need something that has oils added to it, so that it sticks to the scale's waxy shell. You'll see when you pick them off that there's white cottony stuff under them. That's the eggs and larvae.

flhiker · #3 06-02-2009, 05:50 PM

Thanks Camille, I noticed they were easy to remove. This plant is near many others so i think I will spray every thing with Listerine too.

camille1585 · #4 06-02-2009, 06:00 PM

Good luck, these things can be a PITA to permanently eradicate. They have a tendency to pop up again every few weeks. You may want to add a few drops of soap/ dish washing detergent to it, so the spray sticks to the baby scale better.