Mealy bugs just discovered!!

[dkelly]

Have a variety of healthy blooming orchids and just discovered a mealy bug nest on one, and located additional mealy bugs on another two plants.

Need some help on best way to treat . . . from prior experience (before purchasing our first orchids about 3 years ago) I treated mealy bugs about 25 years ago by spraying rubbing alcohol on the bugs / leaves of the plant. Right or wrong, I've just sprayed the two suspect plants and inspected the rest. Is there anything else, or something I should have done instead of alcohol? Actually the first insect issue in over 25 years. I believe the culprit is a new plant (not an orchid) that arrived via a gift about 3 weeks ago. Anyway, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Doug

[syndywindy]

I would first make sure your infected orchids are removed from the ones without mealies. You can wipe the leaves with rubbing alcohol or you can use Bayers 3 in 1 spray or Neem oil. I would also check the root system as mealies invade the roots inderneath. They can reproduce quickly so this is probably going to be an ongoing issue until you get it under control. I would be treating your plants at least once a week until you are sure they are gone.

[dkelly]

Thanks for the response. I've just moved the infected ones downstairs and understand I'll need to keep a daily watch on all my plants so I can treat them immediately. Any comments on spraying the alcohol? I'm being careful not to over spray, but want to make sure I get in the crevices etc.

[orchidlover55]

I have mixed up a dawn dishwashing liquid and alcohol mixture and sprayed them and it worked. I take a small spray bottle put a little bit of dawn to a little bit more of 90% alcohol and spray every other day for about a week. But I take a Qtip and wipe off the bugs with pure alcohol first. I had this problem about two months ago and I haven't seen anymore in a while. I hope it works for you.

[dkelly]

Thanks for the tips, literally! I like the idea of using the Qtip to wipe in the tighter areas. Curious, when you sprayed the plants, did you spray all of the leaves or just where you were seeing a problem? I'm spraying all areas of the plant and just hoping I don't have negative affects from the alcohol, though this would certainly be better than letting the problem spread.
Thanks again!

[mehitabel]

"just discovered"? Not to be mean about it, but if you just discovered what I saw in Picture 1-- a really serious infestation-- the plant looks completely overrun-- your orchids need a little more attention than they have been getting.

I personally would not use alcohol in this case. Alcohol will kill the ones you can see, but when there's that many, they are bound to be everywhere, including crevices you can't get into or can't see. What I saw is clearly a case for bigger guns.

Use a pesticide that offers some systemic protection -- ie is absorbed by the plant and continues to kill the bugs for a period of time afterward. Bayers pesticides for roses are safe for orchids, and the ones I've seen have 30 days of systemic protection.

As Syndy noted, check the roots as well. And be sure to respray at least once more, in one week. Spray the whole plant, especially the underside of the leaves.

You can protect your plants from the kind of result you show in picture 1 by picking up the plant to reading distance and inspecting it all over, under the leaves, and on the backs of the flowers, at least once a month. They actually seem to prefer flowers to leaves in my experience.

The best prevention is inspecting your plants at least once a month.

[dounoharm]

i agree with mehitabel, a systemic is in order for such a serious infestation....and i would spray ALL the orchids and plants in the house with it too.....use the systemic once a week for 4 weeks then once a month thereafter to insure the little buggers dont return....

[dkelly]

I need to make sure you understand picture 1. I just went downstairs and measured how much of the plant is showing in the photo. The total distance from top to bottom on the plant measures 1-3/4 inches. This is a very small, new growth plant. The only other mealy bugs on all plants show in the other photos. If you recognized this was an extreme closeup on a new plant I'll purchase and apply the systemic protection. Please advise your thoughts as this was the only cotton area on all plants.

[mehitabel]

Hi, DKelly. Even if it's an extreme closeup, it's still more than 5 or 6 mealies.

On the plants where you have only one or two, the alcohol-soap solution on a Q-tip remedy is more than adequate. But on the one plant with a large infestation, even if it's a tight closeup of a tiny plant, it's still a big outbreak of mealies. My guess would be dozens, maybe hundreds. It covers the entire leaf area, which even on the tiniest plant would be two inches wide.

When I have seen a big smear of mealies (usually under a leaf near the stem where it was hard to find), there were usually at least some on the stem lower down, and on one horrible occasion they were all over the roots and medium below. I just don't think spraying alcohol will deal with that kind of thing.

If you have an extreme reluctance to use a pesticide, then I would say, unpot the plant and wash the whole plant thoroughly in soapy water. Soapy water by itself is enough to kill mealies *if it can reach them all*. And that's the rub-- reaching the ones that are hiding in tiny crevices. If you don't get those, you'll never get rid of them.

After washing the whole plant with soapy water, wipe the leaves and then repot into fresh medium. Alternatively, try to find the "Best stuff on earth" thread for a cinnamon solution that does a really good job. I think it's a sticky.

Otherwise, I would use a systemic pesticide on that kind of problem. I have several times found "mealie factories" in the nodes of a flower stem, or in the leaf/stem junction of a phal that just kept reinfecting the plant, over and over and over even after I thought I had cleaned it up thoroughly with the alcohol-Q tip. Once it went on for over 4 months before I located the factory. A systemic will get every last one, no matter how completely hidden from view.

Mealies just hide extremely well, and with that kind of infestation it's really quite likely they've established a factory somewhere that will keep re-infecting the plant. And it's unlikely that you can get all of them by spraying with a bottle of alcohol solution.

That's been my experience with mealies-- if there are a lot of them, I think you need a systemic to clear them out.

[dkelly]

Many thanks for clarifying what is considered a major outbreak. Greatly appreciate your taking the time to do so and share your expertise. I'll stop at the nursery on the way home tomorrow so I can treat them tomorrow night. Thanks again!

[digitalgate]

if you can find lady bug they like to munch on mealy bug. Problem is you have to enclose it in container with the plant. That way lady bug will be busy laying egg and munch on the mealy bug.

[R-Kid Kelly]

lady beetles can cause infestations also if you have the Asian lady beetle,(not bug),Whom are reported to be more aggressive and do not die, they hibernate, unlike the American 2 spotted lady bugs(not beetle) that die each winter..so be careful fighting bugs with beetles or you might end up with more beetles than bugs didn't mean to bug you

[OrchidGardener]

Hi all, I had an infestation similar to this. After trying a number of remedies to rid myself of these pests, I found that I had to repot my orchid. Turns out that the little buggers were partying it up in my mix. I removed the mix, washed down the roots and then repotted the Phal. This really helped.