Cynthia's Timely Pest Post

[Anton]

How timely Cynthia !

I just checked my house bound Phal and low and behold I found a tiny hairy catapillar..... On further inspection I then noticed these tiny red mites coming out of the medium, again....

This explains tiny marks like munch marks on the leaves which only just go down half the thickness of the leaves.(see attachment)

I took it outside and put it in a bucket of diluted fertilizer (killing 2 birds with one drink) To my surprise a snail the size of 2 pin heads also popped up.

Referring to "The Pest Laws According to Cynthia", recently posted, I noticed web like coverings on the leaves as well.

HOW can this be ? It doesn't leave the lounge room unless I take it outside to water and or feed it and it is taken inside straight away without leaving my hands.

Can these little bugs jump that high ??????

Needless to say, it has been sprayed with Pest Oil.

Open for suggestions/comments, it has got me beat.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Hmm. Walked in on clothing? Dormant eggs? Blown in thru screen door? Cal Orchids had a problem with mites thru a ventilator from a neighbor. Last time I was there, I saw a very sofisticated filter/blower arrangement, in place of their screened vent on that wall. How about bugs coming in on kitchen vegetables. I regularly had herbs on a kitchen window that always got bad bug infestations. I figured I bought these plants with dormant bug eggs.

[Anton]

Oh.

None of these thingies : snail, catapilla, red mite could have come through our filtered ducted R/C Aircon system, and it is quite aways from the kitchen area to where "my darling" resides.

Dang !

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The snail probably came with the plant originally. Bush snails live in the pot and munch on root tips (bad business). They don't normally come up to make themselves evident. The catapillar probably came from a moth that got in the house. The rest could come in on clothing.

[Anton]

Cynthia, just gotten home from work, had another look at the Phal and there are STILL little red mites running around and there are thin strands of web like material glistening when you take the plant out in the sun to look at it.

All this after I submerged the pot in water yesterday, AND sprayed the leaves with Pest Oil.

Any other solutions (ideas) that you can suggest ? Or, will it take a few days for the effects of the pesticide to work ?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Don't know what is in your pest oil. We use neem oil, and that particulr oil kills mites. I don't know how effective other oils are. The neem tree is native to India, not that far removed from Australia, I would think it can be found in nurseries in your area. There is pure neem oil and hydrophillic extract. Both are supposed to work, but it is the hydrophillic one I have used. Soaking in water is not going to do anything. When you spray, you have to be very thorough. How about a macro shot of the mites? Got a lens that could get that close? Don't need to see detail of arms and legs, but a grouping with some web mite be identifiable in a photo. Would be worth a try.

[Anton]

I'll see what I can do. Catching the little bliters running around is the problem.

Must invest in a microscope. Had a high power one from salvage here at work and loaned it to a friend, needless to say he has since died and it has diappeared.

There are probably many eggs in the medium, and when they hatch you'll have a fresh invasion. You must keep after them and be diligent and regular. Don't miss any treatments or the whole process will start over again.

[Anton]

Had a thought !

Maybe if I nuke the potting mix in the microwave, that might do the trick !

They SHOULDN'T survive that !

As Apple says...."Think outside of the square".!

Nuking the medium might--I say might--kill the pests in it, but what will you do about the roots and leaves? They may still be carriers of invisible eggs. Neem oil, or horticultural oil, smothers them. But you must do it more than once as each new generation of eggs hatch. A systemic insecticide will kill them, and even that should be used more than once.

[Anton]

The medium is TAKEN OUT OF THE POT FIRST !!!!!!!!!!!! Doh.