Help....I have Mealybugs

[Happiness1967]

How do I get run of these $&€#% bugs. I was told alcohol sprays, three time a week and then I was told H2O2 sprays once a week for 4 weeks. Anything else I can do? I have Phals and one LadySlipper. Most of my orchids have them and I have tried to separate the ones that do to try to discourage the buggers from spreading. My hubby is beginning to think I am nuts for trying all these sprays. I also looked up about getting rid of them and I read about an insect growth inhibitor...$125 a bottle! Then about some kind of 'killer' Beatles. My orchids are in my living room so I can't let a swarm of Beatles go in there (but I thought about it) Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Bud]

This is the mix I use:

10 drops dish soap ( any brand )
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract (don't use the powder) = you can find this on the baking aisle of the supermarket.
2 cups tepid water from the sink

spray the plant soaking wet make sure the nooks and crannies get wet.
make some more to soak the pot for 5 minutes to kill the eggs in the media.

repeat weekly

* this mix also kills flies, roaches and mosquitos upon contact or upon being sprayed

---------- Post added at 01:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 PM ----------

this mix is not harmful to mammals (humans or pets)....only to insects

[Silje]

If you want you can also add a bit of garlic to that recipe Bud gave you. It makes it a bit more (too?) stinky for the living room, perhaps...cinnamon extract sounds quite nice as an air freshener/bug killer.

What I'm doing with mealybugs most of the time though, is to give the whole plant a thorough shower with the garden hose or the shower head in the bathroom and I just make sure I wash/flush the whole plant, under all the leaves and in places where bugs can hide. My water pressure is pretty lousy so I'm doing this with taps open all the way to make sure the pressure is high enough to flush away the bad guys.

I've not yet had any crown rot problems or mechanical damage to the plants from this and it's chemical free. Afterwards I look over one final time with a cotton bud and some alcohol if it's needed.

[tucker85]

I use an insecticide soap from Home Depot or Lowes, and a tooth brush to brush under all the leaves and along the pseudobulbs. Insecticide soap isn't a poison. It kills bugs by destroying the waxy coating on their bodies. Whatever you use, repeat the treatment in 7 to 10 days to kill any hatching eggs.