Darned false spider mites... *grumbles*

[Happypaphy7]

That's good news at least. That's the one I started with; Natria Pyrsol - active ingredient is pyrethrine, and I have been using till now. I suspected that I should've had kept the treatment up since these are not spider mites but false spider mites and they seem to have a longer/slower life cycle. The only thing about it is that it's NOT plant friendly. My orchids get really ugly after they've been treated with it.

Oh well, better to have ugly orchids than infested and/or dead ones. As I've said to others; dead orchids are really hard to flower...

I've read about predatory mites and Floramite and none of them are effective against false spider mites. It really is typical.

Thanks for returning my hope of saving my collection though.

I have used sprays with pyrethrine in the past with good results.
It breaks down fast in the sun light.
The important thing is you have to spray where the bugs are to be most effective and you have to keep all the windows and doors shut for at least 20 min.
You want to leave the area or the apartment or house. Take your pets and especially little ones like fish (these will be badly affected if left in the treated room) with you if possible.
Return to the room and open the window and ventilate.
It is quit safe for both humans and plants otherwise and it at least took care of thrips.

Also, because there is no long-lasting effect due to the short halflife of pyrethrine, you might have to repeat the spraying often.
For mites, probably multiple times for a couple of days interval I would say.
Also, you would have to spray consistently until you are sure the bugs are gone, otherwise any survivors will not going to be affect by future application of pyrethrine.

 

[myxodex]

You should be able to get Savona, an insecticidal soap which I think comes from the Netherlands. I live in the UK and I got mine through amazon. I use this with some cinnamon oil (0.5%) added and it seems to kill quite a range of pests and it doesn't smell (except if you add the cinnamon oil that is. I dissolve the cinnamon oil in some isopropanol first and then add it to the savona mixture.

 

[TyroneGenade]

I see there are some alternatives for the amazon.com users:
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Safe-I...r=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=Savona+Insecticidal+Soap

http://www.amazon.com/Safer-Brand-I...r=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=Savona+Insecticidal+Soap

Hooray.

 

[Justin]

i don't find soaps to be effective for a medium size collection. go with the pyrethrin or somethign stronger if you can find it.

i use decathlon + enstar II for all my insect killing needs and never have chronic problems any more.

 

[myxodex]

i don't find soaps to be effective for a medium size collection. go with the pyrethrin or somethign stronger if you can find it.

i use decathlon + enstar II for all my insect killing needs and never have chronic problems any more.

I haven't checked for the availability of those here in the UK, but it does seem to me that you folk over in the US can get your hands on some effective chemistry, whereas it seems to me that here in Europe most of us have to deal with the "nanny state" approach. OK I'm being a bit cynical here but, it does seem that if it works, it's either banned or only available to registered green keepers. On the other hand the "nanny state" has a point, ... I grow indoors and I wouldn't want some of those effective chemistries going on in my living space.

 

[The Mutant]

I haven't checked for the availability of those here in the UK, but it does seem to me that you folk over in the US can get your hands on some effective chemistry, whereas it seems to me that here in Europe most of us have to deal with the "nanny state" approach. OK I'm being a bit cynical here but, it does seem that if it works, it's either banned or only available to registered green keepers. On the other hand the "nanny state" has a point, ... I grow indoors and I wouldn't want some of those effective chemistries going on in my living space.

I couldn't agree more with your post. I like that Sweden is trying to environmentally friendly (I wonder how those chemicals with pyrethrin managed to sneak through? They'll probably be discontinued soon I guess), but sometimes you have to be unfriendly to get the job done.

 

[Shiva]

one pound of nuclear soap please.....

They probably would thrive on this. :evil:

 

[Ozpaph]

They probably would thrive on this. :evil:

or mutate to the size of a cat and suck out all your blood while you're asleep.:rollhappy:

 

[Ozpaph]

I haven't checked for the availability of those here in the UK, but it does seem to me that you folk over in the US can get your hands on some effective chemistry, whereas it seems to me that here in Europe most of us have to deal with the "nanny state" approach. OK I'm being a bit cynical here but, it does seem that if it works, it's either banned or only available to registered green keepers. On the other hand the "nanny state" has a point, ... I grow indoors and I wouldn't want some of those effective chemistries going on in my living space.

Same in Oz - so I import them from the USA. Simple. Effective. Problem gone (though Id never use them inside)

 

[bullsie]

I've also decided not to sell, trade or give away any plants to anyone. I really don't want anyone else to get these pests, especially from me, since they seem very difficult to get rid of. I had planned to sell most of my Phals during spring since I'm more interested in Pahps/Phrags now and I need the space. Because of the mite problem I've instead tossed the ones I had planned to sell and now I'm 14 plants shorter. I really don't want to think about how much money I threw away when I did this.

Oh No! Plants and bugs are a part of our planet. You want one, you got to take the other with it. We work to keep our plants clean but I doubt anyone here has been bug free their entire growing life (for some of us a single day would be appreciated). When you sell or trade, make it known up front you have 'livestock'. Serious orchid growers know it happens because it happens to them. Just one of the evils of orchid growing. We all put bug- free on our wish list right up there with that high $$ orchid that is out of our reach.

 

[Paul]

Hi

Neoseiulus californicus is your friend to kill them... no toxicity, and they live as long as they have something to eat (pollen + spider mites)

Sold in France as SPICAL +50 :wink:

 

[TyroneGenade]

Well, my insecticidal soap arrived in the post today (http://www.amazon.com/Safer-Brand-I...r=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=Savona+Insecticidal+Soap ). Any advice? Is it suitable for indoor use? Any incompatibilities with SH growing?

Death to mealybugs!

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

Safers is pretty laid back stuff you can definitely use it in the house. I use it often. I've never had any issues with plants when using it, but I only grow phrags s/h.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

 

[TyroneGenade]

Thanks, Paph_LdyMacBeth.

I sprayed this morning and drenched everything. I wish I had been more careful with my ebay purchases and avoided this issue all together.

Oddly, most of the bugs are focused on a single complex plant---not the plant that carried the parasite into the collection. I don't know why they love that plant to death...

 

[TyroneGenade]

Sprayed twice with http://www.amazon.com/Safer-Brand-I...r=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=Savona+Insecticidal+Soap and am very impressed. All bugs dead, even those hiding in the bracts of the plants.