Just wondering what to do on a couple of accounts. A Paph of mine has had scale for quite some time, but I can't seem to get it all with alcohol and a Q-tip, any suggestions? Should I put some in a spray bottle and mist the plant?

Also, on a second note, a Phal of mine also has some problems with little bugs that appear to be small snails on the plant, yesterday the ate through its new bud and are taking bites from its stem. What shall I do?

Thanks a ton,

Zat

I would make a mixture of water, a few drops of alcohol and mild dishwashing liquid detergent and spray the plants.

Hi Zat. I have had both of those problems. For snails you need snail bait. It is really the only thing that will kill them other than direct pressure of your shoe sole. The tiny snails attack in numbers and will devistate your plant in a short time.

For scale, how bad an infestation are we talking about? If it is just a few then you can get rid of them with the alcohol method. If you have more than a few the chances that you will get them all with the alcohol are slim. The problem is that one application only kills the adult ones you can see. Weeks later the eggs and pupa that were left by the adults will hatch and you'll have scale again. I have had some pretty nasty infestations and I had to resort to pesticides. Even with pesticides you need 3 treatments a week apart.

I have used the following treatments with success:

Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower, and Ortho Rose and Flower. These both come prepared in a spray bottle and are about $5 a bottle. I usually alternate these two pesticides.

yes snail bait is the way to go.

For scale I clean the plant with an alcohol spray and cotton swab and then I spray with a fine horticultural oil. A second treatment may be necessary 2 weeks down the road.
I believe The Bayer tree and shrub is a systemic and I use that at times also

Where would be a good place to get snail bait? And should I use in any special way with my plants?

Snail bait can be found at HD, Lowes, Wal-mart...pretty much any garden center. It comes in pellet form. You sprinkle a few pellets around the plant area. You can put a couple in the actual pots if you want.

I've sprayed straight alchohol on some of my plants that had scale, mostly the Cattleya types, without any problem to the plant. I've not tried it on Paphs.

As far as my scale problem goes, its not huge; there are a few spots on the plant that have it, the main problem is that the scale keeps comming back. But I'll try spraying with a water alcohol mix and see what happens from there. Thanks,

Zat

If it keeps coming back then most likely you just aren't getting all 3 stages of the scale: egg, nymph (crawler), and adult. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the adults lay their eggs under the hard coating of their bodies. When you spray the hard bodies it is difficult to penetrate and get to the egg. The only way is to scrape off the hard body. Alcohol and soap mixtures soften the body and allow you to penetrate, scrape it off easily, and kill the eggs. If you don't kill the eggs then you'll have scale again soon. Me, I'm not a scraper...especially if I have hundreds of scale. I prefer to treat with pesticides again than spend hours scraping scale. I usually don't realize I have scale until it's pretty bad. But if you only have a few it won't take hours. Keep in mind that the scale can hide in the potting mix, stems and the roots too.

Hi Zat

There are 3 articles on the web about this topic. You should check them out.(the author even explains about which alcohol to be used & which is not to be used) I could copy it into this reply, but I do not know how to copy the pictures
(There is no copyright include in the articles, so it must be for general audience)
Maybe Peter or Teresa would know how to import it into the SOF forum reply:(

Scale Insects on OrchidsDo not use other alcohols, such as ethanol or methanol, that can penetrate ... A common alternative to the swab and daub method is to spray alcohol with a ...
LINK (http://nathist.sdstate.edu/orchids/pests/scales.htm) - 28k - Cached - Similar pages


Mealybugs on OrchidsDo not use other alcohols, such as ethanol or methanol, ... One recipe for a 1.5 liter spray bottle is to mix a 50:50 solution of isopropyl and water, ...
LINK (http://nathist.sdstate.edu/orchids/pests/mealybugs.htm) - 24k - Cached - Similar pages


Most commonly either two-spotted spider mites or red spider mites ...Home orchid keepers that need to apply miticides during inclement weather need special care for applications. If you cannot spray out of doors, ...
LINK (http://nathist.sdstate.edu/orchids/Pests/mites.htm) - 41k - Cached - Similar pages

Hien:p

Great links, thanks! I edited your post so that the links are active and you can just click on it and see the article.:cool:

For snails, I just picked up some Ortho Bug-Geta Snail and Slug Killer, will that do the trick?

For snails, I just picked up some Ortho Bug-Geta Snail and Slug Killer, will that do the trick?

That's the stuff!:mean:

Thanks for the links Hien!

Oh hi Mang

Actually, the thanks belong to Peter & Teresa. They are the ones who make the links work.

Hien:notlooking:

Oh hi Mang

Actually, the thanks belong to Peter & Teresa. They are the ones who make the links work.

Hien:notlooking:


Thank you Peter & Teresa!:urock:

Oh hi Mang

Actually, the thanks belong to Peter & Teresa. They are the ones who make the links work.

Hien:notlooking:

Thank you Peter & Teresa!:urock:

You're both welcome, Mang and Hien!:D and also, thanks Teresa!

Malathion for scale! Two applications a week apart should wipe out the scale. It smells horrible, though...

--Stephen

probably too late to be useful, but there's a slug bait that's non-toxic to humans. it's called sluggo. good stuff....

Thanks for the links Peter and Teresa. I saved the links.

Thanks again. Grandma