Mealy bugs and Scale. End of me I Quit

[Bjorn]

For those of you that complain about smell. Most insecticides do not smell. Most of the unpleasant odor that we notice when we spray, is something the manufacturer has added as a security precaution to warn for spills/use etc. So, if the smell gets too bad, then try a different brand (with the same active ingredient e.g. acephate or imidacloprid) and see if the smell improves.
One word on acephate (aka Orthene) Its not poisonus for the insects unless they feed on it. The insectial metabolism supposedly transform the acephate into poison. So, no effect on non-feeding insects. Makes several applications necessary.

 

[Lordoftheswarms]

I just used a systemic insecticide, all my scale and mealy bug are gone. Easiest solution ever.

 

[mrhappyrotter]

Yeah, some guy drank a glass of the stuff to prove to people that it was safe to spray on suburban areas to kill mosquitoes (West Nile paranoia I think). I must dig up the article... Anyway, he lived.

The bottle I had advised not eating fruits off a sprayed tree for 30 days... I can't image why. If a glass won't kill you, a trace wouldn't.

The difference between acute poisoning (drinking a glass of it) versus chronic exposure (long term, but smaller doses from eating fruit treated with a chemical) can be pretty significant.

When chemicals and pesticides go through government review, the entity/entities developing/registering them must submit an extensive amount of study data regarding the safety of the ingredients. In the case of pesticides, there are typically numerous studies done on a range of animals detailing the effects of both chronic and acute exposure. This is because the effects can be vastly different.

You're thinking of it in terms of eating a single fruit, which is probably safe enough, even if it's been recently sprayed.

But if a large enough percentage of growers are using it (or similar products) then additional precautions are necessary to limit your chronic exposure. Sure, it's just one apple today. A slice of tomato tomorrow. A salad on the next, and so on. It doesn't take long before you risk chronic exposure.

 

[Stella]

I just had a cleaning of my gh, meaning 600 plants out, high-pressure cleaner, and plants back.. but most of them had to be checked for mealies and similar! For me the best remedy is still a solid tooth-brush when you have mature plants...!!! Jean

What do you mean by toothbrush Jean ???

 

[bullsie]

Orthene 97% WP as a DRENCH will take care of just about any critter
around. Don't spray! Just drench the potting medium outside and then
wait an hour or so and take the plants back inside.

Thanks so very much!!!!!:clap::clap::clap::clap:

Will one application work? I'm looking forward to a bug free winter.

 

[likespaphs]

one application probably will not lead you to a bug-free winter
orthene is a dangerous pesticide so be careful when you use it and make sure people, animals, and anything else you don't want to kill are out of the area

I don't beleive in biological control. It is impossible for a predator to eliminate all prey, and in nature it is conterproductif to do. Population tend to balance and there will always be some bugs left with biological control.

There is a greenhouse here advertising a chimical free environment and biololical control only. Well I went there and many of their plants were infested with mealbugs and other insects. As a result many of the orchid leaves were full of black spots and in poor condition.

I battled mealbugs for 2 years in some of my orchids and finally got rid of them with washing, brushing, etc... but if I had a large collection infested I would take out the strong products. Easy to get rid of? I did not think so.

i have had a different experience with beneficial insects and have used them effectively in greenhouses (and in my home) for years
it depends upon the insect and the environment as to whether or not they will eat everything
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (mealybug destroyers) typically will not eat all of the population of mealies
Lacewing larvae on the other hand will eat everything they can fit into their mouths, and they'll take a bite out of things that are too big
depending on the greenhouse, some of the mealies (and probably aphids too, if they were present) may have been parasitized (stung by a wasp that lays its egg in the varmit. the egg hatches and the larva consumes the host from the inside out, then cuts itself out of the varmint and moves on to the next pest)
if the greenhouse you visited had aphids, did you notice if they were bronze or goldish colored?

 

[TyroneGenade]

The difference between acute poisoning (drinking a glass of it) versus chronic exposure (long term, but smaller doses from eating fruit treated with a chemical) can be pretty significant.

A good point.

For the record: this worked for me as a one-off application so I don't think there is any risk of chronic exposure.

 

[likespaphs]

Orthene 97% WP...wait an hour or so and take the plants back inside.

actually, orthene has a 24 hour restricted entry interval (the amount of time that needs to pass before it is safe to enter the area or touch the plants without personal protective equipment)

http://www.amvac-chemical.com/products/documents/orthene97_specimenlabel.pdf

 

[bullsie]

actually, orthene has a 24 hour restricted entry interval (the amount of time that needs to pass before it is safe to enter the area or touch the plants without personal protective equipment)

http://www.amvac-chemical.com/products/documents/orthene97_specimenlabel.pdf

Is that for drench or spraying or both?

 

[Paph_LdyMacBeth]

There are predatory mites that you can purchase which feed on the pests. Seems kinda weird to introduce them into your home, but they aren't interested in anything other than their food source. Non toxic! Just creepy!

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

 

[abax]

Susan, I'd wait out the 24 hours if the plants are taken into your home
after drenching. If your plants have been outside all summer, I'd drench
a couple of times with one teaspoon per gallon of water. I keep a two
gallon pump sprayer in the greenhouse and drench every plant no matter
how clean it looks before the plant settles into my collection. I haven't
had any kind of infestation in years. *knock knock*

 

[bullsie]

Susan, I'd wait out the 24 hours if the plants are taken into your home
after drenching. If your plants have been outside all summer, I'd drench
a couple of times with one teaspoon per gallon of water. I keep a two
gallon pump sprayer in the greenhouse and drench every plant no matter
how clean it looks before the plant settles into my collection. I haven't
had any kind of infestation in years. *knock knock*

Sounds good! I can do that. Right now our temps are going to be in the 40's and I've brought everyone in for the winter, but I have them on carts so a trip outside on the cart will be easy. We get another warm spell and they will get a good 'foot bath'!

 

[JeanLux]

What do you mean by toothbrush Jean ???

I spent quite some time yesterday cleaning a large Ansellia growth from mealies with a toothbrush..., and I do the same for my catts, laelias and similar ..!! Jean

Sorry, maybe this helps => οδοντόβουρτσα (I hope the translator-result is shown correctly here)

 

[cnycharles]

Yeah, some guy drank a glass of the stuff to prove to people that it was safe to spray on suburban areas to kill mosquitoes (West Nile paranoia I think). I must dig up the article... Anyway, he lived.

The bottle I had advised not eating fruits off a sprayed tree for 30 days... I can't image why. If a glass won't kill you, a trace wouldn't.

Yes a ny legislator or something like that, long time ago. It was a publicity stunt, and it's not as benign as that

Do a google search for malathion msds

 

[Erythrone]

Yes a ny legislator or something like that, long time ago. It was a publicity stunt, and it's not as benign as that

Do a google search for malathion msds

And we must always remember that adjuvant are often added to pesticides. Are all adjuvants harmless to humain?

 

[PaphMadMan]

Yeah, some guy drank a glass of the stuff to prove to people that it was safe to spray on suburban areas to kill mosquitoes (West Nile paranoia I think). I must dig up the article... Anyway, he lived.

The bottle I had advised not eating fruits off a sprayed tree for 30 days... I can't image why. If a glass won't kill you, a trace wouldn't.

35 years ago I had a horticulture professor who was often heard to say that you could use a spoonful of malathion to sweeten your coffee and it wouldn't hurt you. And it is an approved treatment for lice and fleas on humans and pets. Mammallian toxicity is pretty low. But it is highly toxic to bees and amphibians.

 

[daniella3d]

It's impossible to have predators without preys or they would die probably before they manage to eliminate every single pests or their eggs. If you only control with predators, then you surely have preys still in your plants.

The greenhouse I visited have mealy bugs, some plants pretty badly infested. I did not look for aphids, so not sure about them.

I also saw thripps on some. Sure enough the predators cannot possibly eliminate all the bugs.

I tried biological control in my reef aquarium for aiptasias, a real pest. The creature that eats them multiplied a lot but populations tend to reach a balance and stay there. I did have less of the pest but of course if they would eat all of them they would simply die. So the predator simply multiplied less when the food was going scarse and I still had the pest anyway. Not good as I wanted them out of my aquarium for good.

This is the greenhouse I visited which advertise biological control:

http://www.leparadisdesorchidees.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.entreprise&pano=1

There was about 30 plants put aside as well for they were infested with mealybugs. I bought two plants from them and one of them does have mealy bugs that I found yesterday.

The use of beneficial insects limits the proliferation of a pest and regulates the population in a natural and constant manner, but does not eliminate them.

i have had a different experience with beneficial insects and have used them effectively in greenhouses (and in my home) for years
it depends upon the insect and the environment as to whether or not they will eat everything
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (mealybug destroyers) typically will not eat all of the population of mealies
Lacewing larvae on the other hand will eat everything they can fit into their mouths, and they'll take a bite out of things that are too big
depending on the greenhouse, some of the mealies (and probably aphids too, if they were present) may have been parasitized (stung by a wasp that lays its egg in the varmit. the egg hatches and the larva consumes the host from the inside out, then cuts itself out of the varmint and moves on to the next pest)
if the greenhouse you visited had aphids, did you notice if they were bronze or goldish colored?

 

[Erythrone]

The use of beneficial insects limits the proliferation of a pest and regulates the population in a natural and constant manner, but does not eliminate them.

That's why it is biological control, not biological elimination (Although I have a few success stories about aphids and spider mites).

I use biolocical control since 2008 or 2009. You are right. Auxilliaries usually cannot eliminate pests. That is why we must monitor the pest population and add auxillaries frequently. Sometimes we can find how to raise auxilliaries without pest. Some of them can be raised on pollen (cucumeris is an example). I raised Orius insidiosus (a thrips predator) on flowering basil plants, but they need warm temperatures to breed well (my growing room is too cold for many auxillaries many months of the year). But I must admit I now spray botanigard every 2 or 3 weeks for control of mealies and thrips. And it works very well. I only saw a few thrips for the last year. And no more mealies.

So I use a similar strategy than the one of Le Paradis des Orchidées (Laurent and I often discuss about pest control). But I think the grower cannot spray Botanigard as often than I because their greenhouses are to warm in summer.

 

[Bjorn]

And when we buy these orchids and get them home-voila-an eruption of pests unless we spray diligently. One reason to stay with flasks, every time I get some plants i also get mealies:evil:

 

[Ozpaph]

I still have the bottle I bought many years ago. I don't need to use it much. Is it no longer available?

Whatever you use you need something systemic. A lot of people recommend Confidor. It kills mealy bugs that are directly sprayed on but does nothing on the majority you can't see.

I cant find Rogor here anymore. Condifor works reasonable well but need to rotate chemicals to minimise resistance.