Little white things !

[d.zaher]

Hi everyone!
I've been visiting some family, and my mother in law has an orchid that didn't look very fresh !
Let me explain , first a lot of the roots where dead, and as I was removing them I've noticed that a lot of very small white balls were present on the bark and the roots. When I say small is really small, as big a the head of a needle ! No animals were present so I don't think it is eggs, and it does look like a fungus.
Some new roots have been developing which is encouraging and the leaves look good, but I was wondering; first, what are they ? Second, if they could harm to the roots , and finally how do I get rid of them ?
cheers

[dennis]

mealy bugs look like small white things you can use neem oil or bayer rose & flower insect killer when i had them the neem oil seemed to dry up my areial roots plus you need to applying it. when i used the bayer it took one spraying and wiped them out it is god up to 28 days. you can use a q-tip with alcohol on it and wipe them off, but this is only temporary as you could have quite a few, that is if this is the problem. pictures could help more

Many insects leave eggs in the medium. You said a lot of the roots are dead. You should treat the plant with a systemic insecticide.

[d.zaher]

Thank you for the info ! So it sounds like the time has come to detroy some stuff ! lol
I'll keep you up to date with my progress