Suspiciously mealy-looking bug
 

I got a cute little Paph from tonight's OS raffle. It's attached to a large, dead-looking rhizome, but also has nice leaves and a bunch of root nubs.

http://i.imgur.com/WdqOdkE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6IglR1x.jpg

I saw a tiny white bug (probably about a millimeter or two, I dunno) crawling around at the base, and thought it might be a mealy, but the guy I asked was sure it wasn't, but he didn't know what it was. Then I thought maybe it could be a baby pillbug or something like that, since it was mainly hanging around the old dead tissue on the rhizome. But on the way home, I still kept it away from the other two plants I won.

Then after I got home and was able to examine closer, take pictures (very difficult because my camera doesn't deal well with white subjects, and also the bug kept moving around and trying to hide), and compare with Google image searches, it looks exactly like a long-tailed mealy! Aaaaaaargh!

http://i.imgur.com/yLFYyxP.png

I stabbed it with the pointy end of the tag and wiped the plant down with alcohol, but now I have that conflict of whether or not I should even keep this plant, and I really really hate this feeling.

Argh I hate mealies! The only thing that works for me is spraying the plant with a mixture of listerine (the non-flavoured one) and peroxide - last time I only sprayed the plant for two or three days and the suckers were gone.
I'd definitely keep the plant in a separate room from your other chids.

Interesting treatment suggestion. Do you mix the Listerine and peroxide before spraying, or spray separately? What proportions do you use? If you mix before spraying, does the peroxide react with the Listerine?

They hide down in the media, so don't think that just because it's clear up top that they are actually gone. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with these pests.

Well, I mix the two together before spraying, about 1:1, I use, as I said, the orange non-flavoured Listerine and 3% peroxide and quite frankly I just eye it, no exact measurements.
I haven't noticed any strange reactions of peroxide with Listerine, it seems to do it's own thing (the regular sizzle) once sprayed. I usually apply it once a day, for a few days. The whole room stinks of Listerine, but hey, if it works, it works! :D

You should only use Original Listerine. I use a mix 1:1 of isopropyl alcohol ( the kid from the drug store) and water; and add a few drops of peppermint soap as a surfactant. Kills on contact. you must continue the treatment about 4-6 days until you have at least 10 days symptom free.

Oh, so it does have its own name, I call it the orange/yellow Listerine (at least that's its colour down here) :) I just bought it once, it was cheap, but it's just so unpleasant for our use (the taste, eww), so the orchids inherited it.

Interesting. How long ago was last time?

Thanks. I was planning on throwing out the media; if there's bugs, it's probably nasty anyway.

I don't have peppermint soap, but I do have alcohol and water. Might try this one.

I'm going to have to remember to go get a new spray bottle, though, when I can get a ride; I lost the only spray bottle I would've been able to use for this. But they're only a dollar, if Dollar Tree has them.

Last time was when I went nuts at a nursery and brought 15 plants home - almost 4 months ago. One plant had them and they managed to spread on one of our phals, then I sprayed them and that was it.

To answer your first question, it is, without any doubt, a mealy bug. They tend not to be loners, so do something now.

I don't know how to deal with mealies on rootless paphs, so listen to people smarter than I. To kill mealies on most of my plants I spray 70% isopropyl alcohol, sold in US pharmacies and supermarkets as "rubbing alcohol." It doesn't kill the eggs, so treatment needs to be repeated several times. With plants I know will tolerate it, I submerge them in water with a little dish soap for 4-6 hours, then rinse in water and dry. This drowns the bugs and eggs, but I have no experience doing this with paphs.