Here’s my disclaimer!!!! – It works for me in my area but it may be of no use to you. Also, I grow outdoors so my method may need some adaption to suit green house or indoors.
My inspiration – Grape growers using rose bushes at the end of each row, to give early detection of disease and certain infestations; and my knowledge that in my area, mealy bugs love hibiscus.
My method – My orchid collection is grown in between el-cheapo hibiscus trees, with hibiscus at a distance of about 8 metres either side of the orchids. The mealy bugs nearly always go for the hibiscus first, I then go hard core
with the spray and mealy bugs are pretty much decimated leaving my orchids alone.
I went a large spacing as I didn’t necessarily want to attract the mealy to the orchids but I still needed the hibiscus close enough to be a distraction away from them.
Does it work? - Of course it does otherwise I wouldn’t be posting. Mealy bugs before the hibiscus was reasonably frequent. After the hibiscus, nearly zero attacks. Again, refer to my disclaimer.
The Challenge - Maybe there are other trees or bushes in your respective areas that can be used in a similar fashion for early detection and control of diseases/pests?
Use of Sacrificial Trees for Early Detection and Control of Mealy Bugs
Threaded Mode