# Little white fuzzy bugs



## bwester (Jun 14, 2006)

Title says it all.... I have little white fuzzy looking things on my orchids. Any idea as to what they might be?


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## Marco (Jun 14, 2006)

bwester said:


> Title says it all.... I have little white fuzzy looking things on my orchids. Any idea as to what they might be?



uh oh... mealys? never seen little white fuzzy bugs but I've seen pictures of pests and it sounds like a mealy.

I'm not sure though. I'm sure someone that knows more on this will put in their 2 cents


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## couscous74 (Jun 14, 2006)

There's some pics of mealy bugs here. I recently threw out a hibiscus that was infested with these.
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/mealybug/mealybug.htm


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## Heather (Jun 14, 2006)

I'd bet they're mealies. Mealies suck (literally!) but they aren't as bad as some things and if it isn't too bad an infestation they are easy peasy to erradicate. I prefer the alcohol saturated q-tip or cotton pad method myself. You do need to really make sure you get them all and keep checking.


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## couscous74 (Jun 14, 2006)

I'm a bit too lazy to do the spot eradication method with q-tips and cotton pads. I put my suspect plants in the shower and grab my bottle of Safer's Soap and just spray everything down. That way the stuff gets into the little nooks and crannies. Rinse and repeat every week for 3 weeks just to safe.


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## Heather (Jun 14, 2006)

okay, but I had Safer's issues. 
(they get you by putting "safer" in the name!)
I almost killed three plants w/ "Safer's" I still contend this is what set back my dianthum which hasn't bloomed in two years. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to officially nominate Brian (likespaphs) as our resident "bug guy". (May I do that? I hope so.) He's a genius when it comes to killing bugs nicely. He runs the integrative pest management program at a prominant northeastern conservatory. Yippee! 
Go Brian!


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## couscous74 (Jun 14, 2006)

Heather said:


> okay, but I had Safer's issues.
> (they get you by putting "safer" in the name!)
> I almost killed three plants w/ "Safer's" I still contend this is what set back my dianthum which hasn't bloomed in two years.



This is from someone who thinks Superthrive is bad for plants...oke:


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## Heather (Jun 14, 2006)

couscous74 said:


> This is from someone who thinks Superthrive is bad for plants...oke:



Who, me?  I use ST, I don't think it is bad at all if used in moderation....helps to down pH if you have that issue (I do!!!)


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## Marco (Jun 14, 2006)

Heather said:


> okay, but I had Safer's issues.
> (they get you by putting "safer" in the name!)
> I almost killed three plants w/ "Safer's" I still contend this is what set back my dianthum which hasn't bloomed in two years.
> 
> ...




I second the nomination for Brian.


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## Jmoney (Jun 14, 2006)

how little and how fuzzy? I get springtails from time to time, and the larvae look like maggots...but only 1 mm in length.


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## likespaphs (Jun 15, 2006)

howdy, folks.
white and fuzzy is often citrus mealybugs. long tailled mealies don't make the cottony sacks, which are the eggs sacks. in a large enough area, one can use either citrus mealybug parasitiods (parasitiods are like parasites, but parasites don't kill their hosts, parasitiods do...) or a beetle called, appropriately, mealybug destroyers (Cryptolamous montrezeri, or a similar spelling). also, lacewing larvae are effective, actually, more so than crypts as crypts often take off before all the mealybugs are gone.


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## likespaphs (Jun 15, 2006)

couscous74 said:


> There's some pics of mealy bugs here. I recently threw out a hibiscus that was infested with these.
> http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/mealybug/mealybug.htm



were they really pink hibiscus mealies? they're fairly new 'round here.
i'd say consider yourself lucky, but...


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## couscous74 (Jun 15, 2006)

Sorry, I didn't know what kind of mealies I had. They all look the same to me...
I just picked that page coz there were decent shots of what mealies looked like


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## bwester (Jun 15, 2006)

I dont know what they are, they left a cotton like substance behind when they were killed.... weird


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## likespaphs (Jun 15, 2006)

did they look like these:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107300511.html


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## bwester (Jun 15, 2006)

YES!!! Exactly like that. GRRRRR. I've been spraying Isotox and pyrethrins to try to kill it. Thanks for the ID.


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