Dendrobium with bugs or mites

[thyla_seen]

Hey all,

This morning I noticed that my new Dendrobium seems to be doing poorly, I don't think it's been receiving enough water as the canes were pretty shrivled. Upon further inspection I discover this white substance in one of the crowns along with white bugs of some sort. How should I proceed?

Thank you in advance!



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[MrHappyRotter]

It's mealy bugs.

Isolate the plant, and keep a close eye on any other plants that were nearby.

You can remove the fuzz and the adults with rubbing alcohol. Be vigilant. Dip some cotton swabs or cotton balls in the alcohol and generously wipe the leaves down. You can splash alcohol into the crown, and you can even spray the whole plant with it.

You have to repeat this at least once a week for a few weeks.

If you know you don't have time for that, or you fear multiple plants are infested, then use a synthetic pesticide. These are feeding on your plants so you can use contact sprays or systemics.

I prefer to stick with organic treatments (alcohol, cinnamon, Neem oil, etc), but when I do use synthetics I tend to prefer contact sprays. They kill things that systemics won't (like fungus gnats), and also many of them are actually pretty safe for indoor use.

If you use a synthetic spray, be sure to follow the directions closely. If you use a contact spray, you will still need to treat the plant a few times (once a week) to ensure you've killed all adults and given the eggs time to hatch so you can kill the babies.

[estación seca]

How long have you had it? There is a good chance the bugs arrived on the plant. They may already have spread to your other plants. You need to be very vigilant for a while with all your plants.

[bil]

Organic is a nice idea, but I really don't rate it. In your shoes I would hit it with Imacloporid, which is a systemic, so if you miss any, they will die later.

Give it another hit in two weeks.

Imacloporid also acts as a contact insecticide. Be aware that some of these nasties hide in the medium, so make up enough solution so that each time you can well water the plant till the pesticide runs out the bottom.

[thyla_seen]

Thank you all for the advice. I seem to have caught this at early stages. I've had the orchid a week or two and it's been kept at a safe distance from my other plants. I examined the plant further today and found no evidence of them on any other shoots. I've already wiped the plant down and will begin spraying with rubbing alcohol. I also intend in repotting very soon. I'm curious if anyone has ever had success using Dr.Bronner's?

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