Phals and mealy bugs

[sassylady2]

I am frustrated beyond frustration!!! I have 20-25 phals plus other various orchids. Am overwhelmed with mealy bugs. I have used insecticidal soap, washed plants with detergent mixed with water plus wiping with alcohol. I cannot keep these dratted bugs from returning. I grow under lights and windowsill. Have plenty of air circulation and reasonable humidity. Most plants are in spike ready for winter blooming. Does anyone have a suggestion that I haven't tried? Thanks, sassylady

[lepetitmartien]

Soap only is not 100% effective, soap+alcohol and cinnamon decoction are against insects.

Note that it may not stop the whole shebang, but you can drop to a few visible bugs/weeks. Even a few every 2 weeks. So it's an effective way to control the invasion.

Whatever you do, like using a systemic insecticide (which in itself is very very very bad: neonicotinoïd like imidacloprid, bad for insects, including bees, degradable only to UVs, toxic, and unkown toxicity for us at low level) they will come back sooner or later.

How bad is your invasion? Have you repot the most severe cases?

[sassylady2]

Thanks. I found other replies tat suggested Merit or Bonide. I know this is a systemic but if used on a small collection would it be damaging to the environment? What measurements would you use if you were to use soap, alcohol and cinnamon extract plus water?

[silken]

I would suggest Malathion if it is a bad infestation. Kills on contact and you would use it in a week or so again whenever any eggs hatch. It stinks, but it is quite effective and is not too harmful in the environment although it kills most bugs so you could apply it in an area where good insects will not be harmed. It's quite easy to find, often in Walmart or other garden stores.

[NYCorchidman]

Since you mentioned most of your phals are spiking, I would be very reluctant to using anything with alcohol or cinnamon extract (which also has alcohol in it).
It is so strongly recommended so I tried myself to treat thrips earlier this year.
Well, I lost every single flowers and buds. I used fairly dilute solution as well. I will never ever use it again.

I don't have problem with mealy bugs, but have bought one phal from supermarket that had a few mealy bugs at the back of two flowers.
I just took those two flowers and threw away for the sake of saving all other plants.
I did find one or two more on the same phal (on the spike). I simply got rid of it with my fingers.

You said the infestation is overwhelming on 20 something phals you have. Mealy bugs are good sized bugs that are easy to spot and slow moving, so I would take time to manually get them off.
They are slow but highly mobile, so make sure what you take off your phals do not drop on the pot or plants as then they will crawl back up on the plants eventually.

Remove all the bugs you can spot. Check the area near the crown where it's harder to find but they can easily hide.
Keeping up with this tidious routine will help busting their numbers I believe.

[cbuchman]

Just one caution... Use all safety precautions when using Malathion. Wear protective clothing (gloves, masks etc) and safety glasses, and, if at all possible, use outdoors. It does stink, but it goes away (and becomes inert) relatively quickly. It is effective. I have had it cause spotting on leaves on non- phals. best option is to submerge the entire plant and pot. Those little buggers can get into the tiniest of crevices.

I agree with NYCOrchidman that manual removal is best. You will need to inspect and remove daily for it to be effective. Use a Q-Tip with alcohol for the nooks and crannies where your finger won't reach. I call this going on "bug patrol" and do it regularly looking for potential outbreaks.

Good Luck!

[nenella]

I too agree that manual removal is better especially if you have spikes.
Just make sure you look everywhere and not only on the plants! I have found mealies in incredible places in the past when I had a big infestation, some examples: a bookcase behind a sofa where some phals grow .. I found a mealie 'nest' behind the sofa between it & the bookcase! also look under the rim of the pots; I had a fern near some other orchids and discovered the mealies were 'nesting ' there too... ended up chucking out the fern...
Good Luck!

[orchidsarefun]

I have also been frustrated.
I now use Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap. I have tried just about everything else.
It does mean that I end up using it as a preventive as well. The mealies seems to pop up everywhere and one spray per plant only works if done every 2 weeks for about 2 months !!!

[JKostell]

We had a citrus grove behind us and citrus bugs and scale have given me ongoing problems. Malathion, Merit, rubbing alcohol, and Dawn detergent caused me extensive plant loss in the past. Safers soap is effective but needs to be applied frequently and doesn't eliminate the infestation. Neem oil is more effective but cannot be applied to any plant exposed to natural sunlight or it will burn the leaves. I've quarantined plants in shaded areas after applying it. While I agree that imidacloprid is an environmental concern, it has become the only way of effectively treating devastating infestations of spiraling white flies which we in central and south Florida have been recently experiencing. I have been adding imidacloprid/Dominion to the water of my orchids in very, very minute quantities with excellent success. In the past I applied it as a spray which was too concentrated and damaged my plants. So far so good with the systemic treatment. But it should be a last resort because of the environmental concerns.

[Stray59]

Hello everyone -
Have you tried dry ice? I posted this earlier in Advanced Disc. area and what I like about it is it kills all bugs, larva and eggs, leave no residue, and gives the plant a boost.
I picked this tidbit up from the Terrarium discussion area;
Place the plant in an airtight container and place a small container of water in one corner. Place a chunk of dry ice in the water and wait. The CO2 will slowly fill the container. Take the container of water and dry ice out before it cools the container too much and continue to 'pour' the carbon dioxide 'fog' into the container until it is completely full of the fog. close the lid and leave overnight. The following morning remove the lid and take the plant out. The CO2 will replace all the oxygen and all the bugs and eggs will smother, even in all the tiny cracks that alcohol, soap and water will not get to. The plant will LOVE the CO2 treatment and will not be harmed in any way; in fact it they say the plant will respond very positively to this treatment.
No harmful chem's, no residue to worry about and the plant loves it - what more do you want.
We can buy Dry Ice from Walmart, but most ice cream stores will have it for their ice cream shipment and will sell it buy the pound. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH IT -
don't handle the dry ice without gloves on and don't place it on or in anything that it will harm. I just put mine in a cheap Styrofoam cooler, wrapped heavily in newsprint; it will crack plastic coolers, so be careful.
Hope this helps - it is a great tip for me!
Have a Happy New Year (can you believe it is going to be 2013 in a few days?)
Steve