Bug and Fungus treatment

[Milk]

Hi everyone.
We've had some trouble getting rid of what appears to be gnats or white flys.
They are so small and fast I can't see them well enough to ID them.
After trying just about every trick I could find on this forum, without using a commercial product or poison, I think I finally see some results.
So we thought it would be a good idea to share seeing as we've gotten so much help from you all!
We tried worm tea, brookn's best stuff ever, hydrogen peroxide, a venus fly trap and a sundew.
No good. They were still buzzing.
About 2 weeks ago I had enough. I poured about 1 cup of alcohol into about a gallon of water. and soaked each plant for about 5 minutes.
Just to within about 1/4 inch below the body of the plant.
A couple of flies escaped, but the ones that hadn't sprouted wings yet were running to the surface and climbing the leaves as fast as they could.
So I put some more of the alcohol/water mix into a spray bottle.
Just before I misted the leaves one of the flies landed so I sprayed him.
Instant death! No wiggle, No twitch, Nothin'.
I then wiped the leaves with water and let the baskets drip out.
A couple of hours later I rinsed with water and haven't seen a bug since.
It's been almost 2 weeks now and the plants don't seem to be hurt by it.
Have any of you tried this or something similar?
If so, what results did you get?
If you have some tuff bugs this may be an alternative to using poisons.

[Milk]

Oh I forgot about the fungus!
One of the plants had a little white fuzzy fungus on the basket and the alcohol/water soak killed it.
Other spots started to show up about a week later so I've been hitting them with a mix of alcohol, cinnamon, and dish soap.
I figure the alcohol will kill it now, the cinnamon might prevent it from coming back, and the dish soap is to thicken it a little so it stays where I put it.
The spot were small and near roots so I applied with a Qtip.

[digitalgate]

white fuzzy stuff might be mold. Use natural Sunlight to kill them. 15 min is all it need.
Remember direct sun will burn most orchid. But morning direct is a lot mild. Good for plant too.

[dtje2000]

Milk, I use nearly the same that you mixed up... 16 oz rubbing alcohol, 16 oz 409, and 32 oz water. I keep a jug of it handy and spray it liberally. There were quite a few spider webs in our pool/patio area and I sprayed them...no more. The fuzzy white things on my chinese evergreens....gone. It may not work as well as the good ol' chemicals like orthene, but I'm not as afraid of this stuff. Orthene scares me silly...if the instructions recommend suiting up into something akin to a hazmat suit, well, maybe I should just stay away from it!

[Milk]

Digitalgate, your right. I meant mold instead of fungus.
I've been afraid to bring them into direct sunlight.
If it only takes 15 minutes, I'll give it shot.
They get very late day sun. Pretty much just the hour or so before sunset.
Maybe morning is better.

dtje2000 I used to live in Key Largo so I'm pretty familiar with south Florida spiders.
I still have family down there.
I'm going to send these recipes down to my parents.
Some of the warnings on the insecticides were pretty scary.
If it's that bad, I don't think I want it around me.
But then I don't like scorpions either.
Have you tried your mix on scorpions?

[dtje2000]

Amazingly, I've yet to run across a scorpion, and we've been here for five years now. Everyone tried to scare me silly with the notion of fire ants and roaches, too...we don't seem to have an issue with either one. Oh, sure, we have the occasional palmetto bug, but nothing I can't ride down to the corner Publix when I need groceries. If we are just lucky, I'll take that luck!

Let me know if your folks use the 409/alcohol mix. I sure hope it works for them.

[11Orchid126]

The white fuzzy things can also be mealy bugs. Alcohol on a cotton swab will dissolve them.

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by Milk

Digitalgate, your right. I meant mold instead of fungus.
I've been afraid to bring them into direct sunlight.
If it only takes 15 minutes, I'll give it shot.
They get very late day sun. Pretty much just the hour or so before sunset.
Maybe morning is better.

an hour before sunset? that will not be a problem.