Hi y'all! I would like to go on record now as stating that mealybugs are officially the most annoying pest IN THE WORLD!!!! I can't get them off of my catts!!!!!! I have used oil, soap/detergent, Bayer products, and am ready to start using fire. Or sulfuric acid. I'm torn.

So, does anyone have any other suggestions for keeping these little mother$#()rs from returning? I can knock down the initial population, but they always come back. A little help here?

I still use alcohol and neem oil to small populations since I have them in my room. If it more serious once I would use a systemic insecticide. But be sure to follow directions

Hope this helps.

Ramon:D

I've tried my heart out with them! I oficially am in Mealybug Hell too! I got rid of them on one of my 30 year old palms with this one organic mealy killer, but I don't know what it is called!

I like to use listerine.. either use Q-tip with listerine, or just spray/pour it undiluted. The plants don't seem to mind, and mealies are gone usually after 1 treatment. The best thing is the grow area smells sssoooo minty and fresh aftewards.. :p

I have had success with Orthenex and Ortho Rose and Flower. HATE mealies! Ugly fuzzy nasty wierd little freakshows! :mean:

Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower spray is best for mealies.

Mites are a billion times worse. i am thinking about buying some predator mites as a pre-emptive measure this summer. Anyone try this?

J.

Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower spray is best for mealies.

Mites are a billion times worse. i am thinking about buying some predator mites as a pre-emptive measure this summer. Anyone try this?

J.
I haven't had a problem with mites as yet. I haven't tried the predator mites, but I tried mealybug destroyers (2 times) and lacewings. Neither stuck around in the GH long enough to do well.

I am also having good luck with Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower. But for massive infections on catts you have to drench the plant and the potting mix.

:iagree: they are the most annoying the pest and I HATE mealies! You get rid of them and then suddenly they just reappear out of nowhere.

I use Bayer but I also keep a spray bottle of alcohol close by so I can just give it a squirt if I find a stray one.
I do alternate with Orthenex, when necessary, to prevent the little buggers from becoming immune to the Bayer.

I imagine the mealy bugs are appearing from eggs, if they seem to appear out of no where.

Snails are like that. I'll put bait out for them and have maybe a couple weeks without any and them it's time to treat the garden again. They also have a migratory habit.

I don't know about mealybugs though...maybe those suckers...hide thier eggs in the medium or under benches?:confused:

I think mealies lay their eggs in the medium "underground". Yuck!

Ahhhh...that would explain their persistant return! I remember reading somewhere that treatment should be continued for a number of days or weeks? Of course it depends on what you are using. Maybe that would catch the little ones before they start "partying" and making more babies?

I haven't seen any mealy bugs on my orhcids yet...there are some in the backyard on the citrus trees. I'm thinking it is only a matter of time before I have to learn to handle them on my orchids.

Ahhhh...that would explain their persistant return! I remember reading somewhere that treatment should be continued for a number of days or weeks? Of course it depends on what you are using. Maybe that would catch the little ones before they start "partying" and making more babies?

I haven't seen any mealy bugs on my orhcids yet...there are some in the backyard on the citrus trees. I'm thinking it is only a matter of time before I have to learn to handle them on my orchids.

Outdoors mealies have natural predators, so they generally don't become a problem. I know some will disagree with me - BUT - I don't chase off ANTS in my GH. I think they are one of the best predators & they will go after the eggs as well. They lay eggs in ANY crack, crevice or potting media as far as I'm concerned. Personally once you have them, I don't think you ever get rid of them. The trick is to keep them in check!

several things to consider:
are they long-tailed mealybugs or citrus mealybugs. root mealybugs are not as common but there are a few new species of mealies that have been recently introduced. the citrus lay their eggs in cottony masses, long-tailed have long tails and give birth to live young...well, their eggs hatch so quickly that they are basically live young.
if you have citrus, there is a parasitiod out there that does a great job. long-tailed can be taken care of if lacewing are repeated introduced...

If you have a problem with only a few plants, you may want to unpot them, wash them off, and put them in fresh media. There will be eggs and babies in the media, and just top-soaking the pot will always leave a few in the air pockets in the mix. You could dip the whole pot, to insure that all the air pockets are touched by the insecticide. I had them last year, on phals, and unpotted about 10 of them, washed them, and left them bare-root for about a week, misting, and keeping them shady. They needed to be sprayed -- Bayer Rose & Floral -- a couple of times to get rid of the newly hatched. I haven't had a problem -- that i can find -- since then. I like the systemic, it seems to provide protection after the initial infestation is gone.

The best way I have found in controlling mealies is to seperate the infected plants from the uninfected and look between the leaves for those suckers and kill them. I noticed that the plant tags work great at getting into those hard to reach places. I also examine each plant at least once a week for those bastards.

I used to have mealy bug infestations at times and like most of the others here I tried everything on them. I finally hit on a combination of Merit (powder form at least 60%), Enstar 2 and Tetrasan (miticide). One application of this and no more mealies for many months. I use the merit at 1/4 tsp/gal; the Enstar at 1 tsp/gal and the Tetrasan at 1/4 tsp/gal. I mix them all together after initially mixing each one seperately in a smaller vessel so that I can make sure it all dissolves. I have not had an resistance develop with this mixture after several years of use probably due to the inclusion of Enstar in the mixture. The miticide is a good thing to include because there is published evidence that Merit increases the egg laying of mites in the area sprayed. For me mealies are not even a problem. It is mites that I constantly have to be on guard for. Please follow all recommended safety protocols and adhere to manufactures instructions for all insecticides/miticides.
Dean

I had chronic mealy bug problems for years. Tried everything. Nothing worked. Sprays would kill mealy bugs on contact but those hidden away would survive and quickly breed up. And these were supposedly systemic pesticides. A popular one here is Confidor but that was useless. I had all but given up. But then I tried ROGOR (100g/L dimethoate) combined with white oil. The white oil makes the ROGOR more systemic. I sprayed this 3 weeks in a row. I haven't seen a mealy bug for over a year. 100% guaranteed to work.

David

Actually ROGOR is already systemic. The white oil helps the plant absorb the ROGOR which then spreads throughout the plant. Without white oil, little ROGOR is taken up by the plant. It just sits on the leaves. I think white oil should be used with any systemic spray.

David

Actually ROGOR is already systemic. The white oil helps the plant absorb the ROGOR which then spreads throughout the plant. Without white oil, little ROGOR is taken up by the plant. It just sits on the leaves. I think white oil should be used with any systemic spray.

David

What if the absorbtion of oil kills the leaves?

What if the absorbtion of oil kills the leaves?

Well I haven't had any problems with my Paphs using white oil. Someone will hopefully correct me if I'm wrong but I thought white oil was a pretty harmless pesticide to plants. I guess to be safe try it on a couple of plants first.

David

What if the absorbtion of oil kills the leaves?

then it's called phytotoxic...

I'm thinking of spraying all my plants with some sort of systematic (I can't find some at any big box stores...) since scale and mealies is driving me crazy, both keep coming back after sprays and since I have so many plants isolation is difficult. I can blame Zephyrus for the mealies on paph maudiaes (I assumed they were healthy and then they were all infested), but the scales on the phals have been around for years.

Actually ROGOR is already systemic. The white oil helps the plant absorb the ROGOR which then spreads throughout the plant. Without white oil, little ROGOR is taken up by the plant. It just sits on the leaves. I think white oil should be used with any systemic spray.

David

Am I the only one who has not heard of white oil? What is it?

Am I the only one who has not heard of white oil? What is it?

I've never haerd of it either!!! :p

Am I the only one who has not heard of white oil? What is it?

That is always the problem. Insecticides used in one country seem to be marketed under different names in others. It contains 820g/L petroleum oil. It is a broad insecticide that is widely used in Australia. It even kills mealy bugs itself. Here is a website address

http://www.yates.com.au/Products/PestControl/InsectsConcentrates/WhiteOilInsecticide.asp

I noticed there were a few websites that tell you how to make your own white oil.

I assume ROGOR is under another name as well. The combination of white oil and ROGOR is successively used by many Australian orchid growers to treat mealy bug.

David

it's horticultural oil, like ultra-fine label PDF (http://www.wmmg.com/pdf/label/UFO_Spec.pdf), at least, i think it is...

THANKS guys! I like the sounds of the white oil rather than the ultra fine. I'm going to check in to making my own!

I'm thinking of spraying all my plants with some sort of systematic (I can't find some at any big box stores...) since scale and mealies is driving me crazy, both keep coming back after sprays and since I have so many plants isolation is difficult. I can blame Zephyrus for the mealies on paph maudiaes (I assumed they were healthy and then they were all infested), but the scales on the phals have been around for years.

They seem to love Maudiae plants (this is the same case with my two Maudiae that came from Florida)

They aren't on my orchids THANKFULLY! They are just on my houseplants.

They aren't on my orchids THANKFULLY! They are just on my houseplants.

just you wait....
(sorry, but...)

just you wait....
(sorry, but...)
sorry :iagree:
Well I haven't had any problems with my Paphs using white oil. Someone will hopefully correct me if I'm wrong but I thought white oil was a pretty harmless pesticide to plants. I guess to be safe try it on a couple of plants first.

David

Read the warning label, it's concerning me & I don't know that I'd want to try making my own. Certainly trying it on inexpensive plants are a good idea, regardless of which route one chooses!

More orchid plants have been killed with "horticultual oil" treatment than have ever been killed by mealies. I know at least 3 growers that have lost hundreds of plants at one time from using light (white) oil as an insecticide. If you read my post about using Merit and didn't pay attention, you should. This treatment completely eleminates mealies and scale as a greenhouse pest. You never have to use it more than a couple of times a year on a large collection and used with Enstar there is no build up of resistance. You use a very small amount of insecticide and the risk to humans and most mammalian and avian species is much less than most conventional insecticides. This is lthe way out; try it!!!!
Dean

THANK YOU ALBERT!!!! After reading the labels, there' was no way I was going there - I'll chase them!

Dr. Stock,

Have you noticed any problems with leaf discoloration on phrags after using Merit? I am almost 100% sure it causes problems with mine. The discoloration doesn't seem to do any harm to the plants but it is unsightly so I am hesitant to use it.

e-spice

a speaker at our o.s. gave me a plant for inviting him to speak. unfortunately, he also gave me mealies and scale. gotta bring my plants into work. gonna do a tank mix of marathon ii and talus. hope it kicks their little butts....

By "leaf dicoloration" do you mean white spots? That happened to a phal I have after sprayin with bayer advanced rose and flower. Seemed purely cosmetic though.

I don't believe that I have ever sprayed the phrags with Merit so I can't answer your question. I have sprayed about everything else; lots of phals, BLCs, Dendrobium, etc but never have had mealies on the side of the greenhouse where the phrags are located.
Are you seeing leaf cell death in spots on the Phrags after Merit use?? Are you using anything else with the Merit? I don't go above 1/4 tsp/gal in concentration and seldom use more than 1/8 tsp/gal for mealies.
Dean

Hi Dr. Stock,

I am not experiencing any cell death - it appears to be more of a lack of chlorophyll. It doesn't seem to do the plant any harm - just unsightly. I use about 1/8 tsp. gallon. I have also seen the problem with paphs that have light green leaves similar to phrags.

e-spice

Justin - Yes it can look like spots and it is just cosmetic. I have never seen this on a phal though - only phrags and some paphs.

e-spice

It is important that you don't over-use the Merit, or products containing the same ingredient as Merit. I had a bad infestation and sprayed several plants with Bayer Rose and Flower which contains the same ingredient as Merit. I experienced the white blanching that you are talking about on just about every plant I sprayed (paphs and phrags). Like you said it didn't seem to cause any problems other than cosmetic.

However...the directions on the Bayer said for heavy infestiations that I could spray more often, and so I did spray a couple of my plants more, and the leaves were damaged. This was probably compounded by the fact that I used other chemicals (physan, ortho) around the same time. The plants have recovered but the damage is quite unsightly. Now I use chemicals as a last resort and I use them at the lowest recommended dosage and WAIT to see what happens before I take other action.

HERE (http://www.slipperorchidforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7110&highlight=merit) is an old thread when I was trying to figure out why my plants were discolored.

HERE (http://www.slipperorchidforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7211&highlight=merit) is another thread where I damaged my plants by applying too many chemicals.

Please follow directions on all chemicals and keep in mind that many chemicals listed as safe for "flowers" were not tested on orchids specifically. The Merit chemical that I used was already mixed together and I had no control over the concentration of chemical in one application.

I think that it is very important not to mix a lot chemical in trying to treat disease symptoms or insect/mite infestations. I only use a combination of chemicals (Enstar and Tetrasan) that I have tested together on a few plants before using on the general greenhous population. It is also important to use the conentrated powder form of Merit at 1/8 tsp/gal and not the liquid already prepared form. I have seen white spots on one phal that eventually disappeared. This sounds a lot like the bleaching and spots mentioned above. The plant is normal in appearance now and shows no other problems. It is wise to use Merit and other chemical as little as possible and to allow at least a month, and preferably longer, between treatments.
Dean

what he said!
sometimes the label states that a period longer than a month pass between uses. always remember to read and follow the label instructions on the specific pesticides you use.