Persistent Mealybug Problem

[Tindomul]

I have been known to boil semi hydro for half an hour or more when I find pests on the plant. First I take the plant out of the pot, throw the leca/primeagra etc.. into a pot of boiling water, then I manually inspect and clean all the leaves and roots, all pest get destroyed. Roots are often infested with mealies and other scale. So I cut off the roots that were not brand new. Then I cleaned the entire plant with neem oil/safer's soap solution. Stopped boiling the semi hydro and replanted once cooled. Its been over three weeks, haven't seen the return of the mealy. The plant is kept away from the others.

[Daemos]

I am a great fan of synthetic perethroids. But you need some connections or knowledge to get your hands on stuff like that. If you look in the store try to find something that contains stuff like Deltamethrin or Permethrine. In principle these compounds (I researched them for years) do not do major damage on the human body and no adduct formation was found even to bloodsamples of humans subjected to high dosage levels for more then 6 months.
I combined lots of spraying with systemic poison (imidacloprid does very well). And also picked the adult bugs of by hand. Repotted the plants and dipped the roots in warm water to kill everything else. That did the trick over here after 5 years of battle against those pestlings. Just took me 3 days to get rid of those horrible creatures using pyrethroids.

These biologicly friendly poisons somehow only seem to work on the "normal" pests. Ive tried biological stuff and have given up on that.

[BikerDoc5968]

Here is a link for the Bayer Advanced 3in1 product. It is wonderful and it works. You should be able to purchase this product at any big box store like HomeDepot or Lowe's or WalMart as well as any reasonable garden center. They may not have it stocked now because of seasonal stuff but should have it soon. I use it as above by spray and soak for a systemic. When you spary you got to SPRAY because the cottony wool stuff protects the insect from getting wet with the insecticide. The link: Bayer Advanced ™ 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control Concentrate

[savor]

Hi everyone,
Mealybugs are the most mentioned pest that I hear about. Having dealt with them, our efforts may have been effective removing all that were present. Finding them again could be new ones that have found their way to our orchids. Mealybugs ar always 'cruisin' looking for a scrumptious orchid! We can help prevent them from stopping at our orchids. However the best way is to stay vigilant and check our orchids often. When first noticed, it is best to deal with them right then and there. Call in to work that the 'kids' are sick. Cancel your appointments and take care of it now. :~) They multiply very quickly.
Not to scare anyone but there is a vital secondary reason to be proactive. Mealybugs very easily transfer virus from one orchid to another. If a bug 'bites' one orchid having a virus, the next is almost assuredly infected. There is no cure for a virus and an infected plant should be discarded or kept entirely separate from other plants. Viruses are another topic that are probably discussed in another thread.
Whatever method we use, the goal is to remove active mealybugs that we can see, stop those we don't see, catch any eggs as they hatch and treat the growing area.
What works for me is to spray the orchid where it is sitting. Moving it first may drop mealybugs along the way to where I want to work on the plant. I can place, pour, dab or spray alcohol, a soap solution, an oil or a chemical product. All of these basically suffocate the bug on contact. If you see them on the foliage, most likely they are in the media and roots. Spraying the foliage only is half the battle. I then take the orchid to where I can soak it. I use 'total immersion'. This can be enough of any of the above solutions to cover the entire plant in a bucket. Sometimes a large orchid goes in head first and then the other half second. I place the pot, media and orchid in the bucket soaking everything for at least a few minutes making sure it is saturated. Taking the potted or other mounted orchid out, I discard that solution and don't reuse it on another orchid. It might transfer bugs or virus as well! The most effective way to eradicate the mealybugs is to repot the orchid. However just soaking MAY be effective. Avoid repotting if the orchid is one that does not tolerate repotting. Spray the roots and plant with as much water flow as the plant will tolerate washing away the bugs. Be more gentle with new growths. You can also use a toothbrush or other tool to remove visible bugs. Rinse thoroughly. This 'squeaky clean' orchid can be repotted in fresh media. If you are considering changing the media be careful that it is the right time for the orchid, i.e. new roots in order to pot it into semi hydro. It is important to spray or pour through soaking that plant again in 7 days watching for any re-emergence perhaps from eggs. We also have to closely inspect any adjacent orchids or other plants. We need to spray the area where the orchid sits, bench, floor, walls, ceiling. Then I treat the orchids and media with a preventative containing a systemic such as Imidacloprid (found in Bayer and other products) but only twice per year.
I don't pretend to win against pests. They are just doing what comes naturally. If all goes well when the first mealybug sucks a drink of my orchid's fluids with a shot of Imidacloprid, it dies or goes away. << applause >> If not, I'll throw a 'pool party' for them in the bucket.
Lee
lee at classicorchid com
www classicorchidtours com

[Ross]

Originally Posted by BikerDoc5968

Here is a link for the Bayer Advanced 3in1 product. It is wonderful and it works. You should be able to purchase this product at any big box store like HomeDepot or Lowe's or WalMart as well as any reasonable garden center. They may not have it stocked now because of seasonal stuff but should have it soon. I use it as above by spray and soak for a systemic. When you spary you got to SPRAY because the cottony wool stuff protects the insect from getting wet with the insecticide. The link: Bayer Advanced ™ 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control Concentrate

Home Depot stocks Schultz Garden Safe Houseplant and Garden spray year around. It contains 1% Canola Oil plus 0.01% Synthetic Pyrethrins. 2-3 hits with this stuff over a three week period nails all creepies to be sure. It's cheap enough you can run it through the potting mix itself to get the roots. I drench the whole plant and the roots. It is advertized to kill bugs (including mealies) on contact. I've also used the Bayer 3 in 1 but find it a bit less effective in some cases, so I have gone just to this product. Keep it off orchid flower spikes as it leads to distorted or blasted buds. But sometimes, one needs to do what one needs to do to save the plant

[BikerDoc5968]

Just worht....many growers will use multiple insecticides...they rotate what they use so as not to get any kind of rsistance or, as Ross has said, do harm to the plants....like I said

[Taceas]

Well after a couple of weeks of trying the Safer Houseplant Insect Killer Aerosol, it seems to be working. Hallelujah!

I peeled off the old membranes from old leaves long gone from around the base and found a haven of the little buggers all snug like bugs in a rug.

I've been spraying the plant down every 3 days, really drenching it and getting in all of the nooks and crannies. I only found one small mealybug on my last inspection yesterday, which is an improvement. After each time I would spray initially, when the plant would dry out after a day or two I'd find little colonies on the underside of the leaves.

And best of all, the plant doesn't seem to be suffering from the treatment, which is something I worry about after killing another Phal years ago with all sorts of chemicals with the same problem.

[Leisurely]

Am I correct to believe that it is not necessary to rotate what you use for insect control if the control happens to be an oil spray such as Ultra Fine that works by suffocating the insect. I don't think it possible for an insect to build up a resistance to suffocation unless they were capable of growing a coat of armor. I use 2 1/2 tbsp. of Ultra Fine per gal. and find it works great with no harm to plants or flowers

[Jerry Delaney]

A few quick comments here. Mealybug may is one of the more difficult pest to control for a number of reasons. It stays quite mobile through its entire life span. Once established, it can produce up to 12 generations/year (depending upon temperature and other factors). To my knowledge, which is limited, it has never been proved that they transmit orchid virus. Some experts say yes, others no. Of course an expert in this case may well mean that they are over 50 miles away from home. Not ALL mealybugs reproduce by laying eggs. The long tailed mealybug (which is a major problem on orchids) bears live young and reproduces parthanogeneticly. Indeed, they have never discovered a male long tailed mealy. All these critters have only a 3 stage life cycle and unfortunately most control measures are most effective while they are in the crawler stage. The key to good control is to identify the type of mealy causing the problem and to determine the number of "degree days" necessary for them to go from one stage to another. Summed up, they mature strictly according to the environment temperature. Also, mealys, unlike others of the scale family, love to burrow down into the potting mix and feed on the roots. Just when you think you have got them under control, just remember that old song, "Here We Come Again". Between that and overlapping cycles once they are established, they are tough to get rid of. What ever measure you choose, be sure to repeat spray at 10-14 day cycles for a minimum of 3 times. If you need to continue spraying after 3 applications, CHANGE YOUR CONTROL AGENT if it is a chemical insecticide. Perhaps the most effective agent available is a growth regulator called "Enstar" (I'm not sure of the spelling). It's active ingredient is kinoprene. There is no reported resistance buildup and it is supposedly "safe" for humans & animals. If is also quite expensive! Also remember my favorite saying about orchid growers and insects - "there's those that have them and those that are going to get them". Good luck!!!

[savor]

Jerry, Your post inspired me to check the info I've passed on. I have yet to find a study that proves the transmission of virus in orchids. I'm looking. One article, see below. Here's a project for a grad student or other researcher. That aside, many insects are known to be vectors for virus transmission.
However it is a secondary concern. We want to prevent and remove insects for the otherwise general health of our orchids.
I'll probably try Enstar. I like that it helps prevent resistance in the pests.
Lee

From an article in 'Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science' April 2005... "Vector transmission processes are usually complex, even for the seemingly simple mechanical transfer of plant viruses to plants on the tips of vectors stylet-like mouthparts (similar to a hypodermic needle) during feeding. In many other cases, the plant parasites transmitted by insect vectors must multiply and circulate throughout the body of the vector to be transmitted."