Mealy bugs

[caleb316]

I discover this about 2 months ago and immediately tried a Malathion and Ferti Loam triple action and they are just spreading. Now infecting about 15 plants. Please help.

[Silje]

I normally wash away mealy bugs with the shower head or the garden hose, actually. Most orchids can take some water pressure. I'm not talking about pressure cleaner blast, but just enough to hit the leaves and the crevices enough to flush out the fluffy buggers. I manage to keep my plants fairly clean that way. I also use my finger tips and cotton buds or bamboo skewers or anything thin and pointy to pick them out when I see them on plants. I've never sprayed anything, but how about some garlic? That does repel a lot of things.

[dounoharm]

mealy bugs and scale...the worst of the worst! trying to kill/repel them with organic home brewed methods and picking them off by hand just doesn't work! the little babies are like GLUED to the plant, and you can never get them all, so they just come back over and over and infect more plants....bite the bullet, and step up to the real world....you need BIG GUNS to eradicate them! and eradication/total destruction is the ONLY CURE! you must get some systemic insecticide, and apply it according to directions, MULTIPLE TIMES! I know this is a pain, but you just need to do it with orchids, that is part of the game...its easier in a contained environment like a greenhouse or sunroom, but orchids in the house must have it too! you do this by placing your infected plant/plants inside a very large plastic leaf bag, spraying them thoroughly, and drying them out in the shade...it must be done to control these deadly boogers! its awful I know when your collection gets infected, but by postponing the inevitable, you are making a real monster out of a molehill....just think, orchids are very long lived plants...you can keep a plant for your entire lifetime! the little sucking devils get down in the base of the plants and just go to town on them...there is NO WAY to pick them all off! a regular program of insecticides, fungicides, and bacterial agents is just part of the FUN of growing orchids! the challenge is to keep them growing for your entire lifetime, lol....and that is a real joy! good luck!

[jeremyinsf]

If the infestation is bad, you can dunk the entire plant (plants) into your systemic. Then you don't have to worry about "did I spray the right place" and "did I get that part of the underside of the leaf" and "did I get into those old sheaths" etc. It will also (obviously) get the media, roots, and every part of the plant. It might seem extreme, but it's actually not. It's just effective coverage.

Wear gloves and take other precautions of course, as you don't want to be dunking your own hands into chemicals like that, or breathing in the "fumes".

[cbuchman]

And isolate the infected plants and those near them. Treat them all. I suspect you have infected plants that you haven't noticed yet.

[caleb316]

What is a proven systematic? Yes I just looked more closely and now found 5 more infected.

[jeremyinsf]

Look at this thread: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...pesticide.html

[cbuchman]

In conjunction with the systemic. Remove all the sheaths and look for Stealth bugs as well as remove all the visible one. In other words, a multi-front attack is called for.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I'll re-post something I posted a few months ago regarding mealies:

I use the Bayer dual action rose & flower formula (same ingredient for insects as the 3-in-1). If you want to kill the mealies, you need to treat all parts of the plant aggressively. Do this with all plants known or suspected to have mealies (if you miss one, you will likely need to start over again with all of them).

First, take the plant out of the pot, remove all media. Discard the media (it will have eggs, etc. in the media).

Wash the plant thoroughly, dilute mild dish soap (the kind you use in the sink), use a small paint brush to work dilute soap down into nooks and crannies of the plant. After a few minutes, rinse well.

Spray the entide plant, roots and all, with the Bayer 3-in-1 (or Bayer R and F).

Get ready to re-pot in new medium. Spray the new medium with the Bayer product. Then, re-pot as usual.

Note directions on the Bayer container. Using directions for houseplants, repeat spraying the leaves at the frequency recommended. DO NOT DILUTE. You will need to keep repeating sprays of leaves until you are sure every plant remains mealybug free. Lifespan of mealybug species vary but can be up to 80+ days. With some luck, the systemic effects of the Bayer products will kick in after a few weeks, but I would monitor all plants for 90 days.

[Vanda lover]

I am just very persistent with mine. Each week when I water, I check them over and spray with rhubarb, alcohol and dish soap if they need it. In between, I keep checking and pick off any bugs I find.