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Originally Posted by posha10  I just recieved about 1,000 worth of infested orchids from my father, who is an avid colllector. He said they have "scale" and "mealy bugs"??? Im not real sure what either are, or how to get rid of. I read somewhere to make a mixture (1pt.) of 1/2 water 1/2 rubbing alcohol, and 1tsp. of dish soap. Is this the correct procedure? What can I do to salvage these beautys? Please help! I dont have a lot of money to spend on them, I sure would like to bring them back though>? Is it possible. New orchid owner.......... |
Hello, and welcome!
Mealybugs look like tiny wads of greyish spiderweb or cotton to me. Scale looks like brown bumps. Both are bugs that can harm your orchids.
In my opinion, you'll need more time and attention than money to try and get rid of these bugs -- so yes, you have a good chance, if you want to! It's time consuming because they're really good at hiding and you'll often have to retreat in case eggs survive after the adults are dead.
If you have any other orchids or houseplants that are not infested, I'd immediately separate them from these so they don't get infested.
I used brooken's recipe in this thread when I had a mealybug infestation (that's actually how I found this forum!). I watered the plants, took them out of their potting mix, and put them in large tupperwares with some of the recipe and shook them around until I was sure the mixture got everywhere. Then I rinsed them off really really well. I had to repeat this a couple more times with a week or so in between. If I'd had more patience, I probably could have retreated with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, as long as I was very careful to check every nook and cranny. (This wasn't particularly gentle on the orchids, but my infestation was bad and none of them were in bloom. All seem to have survived the process so far.)
Here's a thread on mealy bugs, if you want more information.
And here's a thread on scale.
A Google image search should bring up lots of pictures to help you identify which is which.
Good luck! It will probably take a while to solve, but if you keep at it you can succeed.