Darned false spider mites... *grumbles*

[Secundino]

:rollhappy: I'll try: Kärntvål.:sob:

I've found that K or Na based soaps are used because of insecticid properties. I suppose it is just the wettening and wax-disolving ability soap has. As K-soap is something like a paste, it dissolves readily.

 

[The Mutant]

Ok, don't know if this will help, found this in notes of an orchid meeting some place at some time - might have been published in Orchids - that I've kept. Here is the recipe:

Red Spider Mites:
Mix equal parts buttermilk and water. Add few drops dishwasher soap. Blend for 15 seconds and spray plants.

Hope it helps!

The other recipe I have, maybe from someone here, for mites:

1 tablespoon liquid dish soap
1 tablespoon Wesson oil
32 oz water
combine, shake well and spray. Repeat in 7 -10 days.

Thank you!

i would use a lot smaller concentration of the dish soap but the vegetable oil will help smother them. be sure to get the undersides of the leaves and apply every 7 days.

There is another insecticide I'm considering on getting and using for preventative measures. It seems to consist of only vegetable oil (canola oil). It says it's effective against mites, and it seems less stressful on the orchids compared to the one I'm using right now.

Would this be a good idea or does the insecticide need something more than oil to be effective against insects?

:rollhappy: I'll try: Kärntvål.:sob:

I've found that K or Na based soaps are used because of insecticid properties. I suppose it is just the wettening and wax-disolving ability soap has. As K-soap is something like a paste, it dissolves readily.

My guess is it's available in Sweden, I just need to figure out what to look for.

 

[ALToronto]

In English, they would be called lye soap and potash soap. In most European languages, sodium and potassium are called Natrium and Kalium (hence the Na and K symbols). Hope this helps you with your search.

 

[The Mutant]

In English, they would be called lye soap and potash soap. In most European languages, sodium and potassium are called Natrium and Kalium (hence the Na and K symbols). Hope this helps you with your search.

I've searched on kaliumtvål/såpa and the result was an article on wikipedia about how to make soap...

 

[Bjorn]

In norwegian potassium soap is grønnsåpe. Sodium soap is the "normal" soaps.

 

[Secundino]

We met at the same article :rollhappy: but imagine when I did a quick back-translation, the soap was a 'nuclear soap'!!!:drool::drool:

From german I also knew the word 'Grünseife', which is the same, too. Just tried to buy one - and the sales assistant didn't even know what I was talking about. But most normal soaps should do as long as they do not content parfumes, essential oils and sintetic surfactants that might have a negative effect on the plant.

 

[The Mutant]

In norwegian potassium soap is grønnsåpe. Sodium soap is the "normal" soaps.

I knew it... As I said, as long as you know what you're looking for. Thank you Bjorn! It's great that our languages are so similar. So it's just simple grönsåpa, which is available pretty much anywhere. :rollhappy:

We met at the same article :rollhappy: but imagine when I did a quick back-translation, the soap was a 'nuclear soap'!!!:drool::drool:

From german I also knew the word 'Grünseife', which is the same, too. Just tried to buy one - and the sales assistant didn't even know what I was talking about. But most normal soaps should do as long as they do not content parfumes, essential oils and sintetic surfactants that might have a negative effect on the plant.

Nuclear soap! Well, should be able to deal with pretty much any pests that could afflict our plants. :rollhappy:

Bjorn told me what it was. It was too simple really...

 

[Bjorn]

one pound of nuclear soap please.....

 

[Secundino]

...but mind the 'best before' date. :evil:

 

[Erythrone]

one pound of nuclear soap please.....

:rollhappy:

 

[Happypaphy7]

I not sure how to go about washing the leaves of paphs with so many crevices to cover, but when I had mites (no idea what kind) on my dendrobiums, frequent washing down with or without soap worked well.
With soap probably works better in detaching the bugs off the plant surface.

I also do not like to use harsh chemicals as I grow my plants indoor.
Fortunately, I rarely have pest problems, but getting rid of mites on my dendrobiums was rather a easy task. Just washing the plants every few days, and do this a few times and you won't see them again.

 

[The Mutant]

I not sure how to go about washing the leaves of paphs with so many crevices to cover, but when I had mites (no idea what kind) on my dendrobiums, frequent washing down with or without soap worked well.
With soap probably works better in detaching the bugs off the plant surface.

I also do not like to use harsh chemicals as I grow my plants indoor.
Fortunately, I rarely have pest problems, but getting rid of mites on my dendrobiums was rather a easy task. Just washing the plants every few days, and do this a few times and you won't see them again.

The chemical I used is really not nice on the plants; they all develop ugly spots, cell collapse, etc. some time after application. This is why I never gave them the full treatment earlier, but did now. So far, it seems to have worked (blemishes and all). I thought I had new mites on my lowii a few days ago, but it looks like the mite damage might be from before I treated them. I used a moist paper and wiped the underside of the leaves and only found a couple of dead mites. Dead mites = good mites. I'm keeping an eye on it, just to make sure the damage doesn't increase.

I've gotten neem oil that I'll try to use as a preventative/leaf gloss twice a year. We'll see how it works.

Washing the plants during winter is not an option, I'm afraid. It's too risky.

 

[daniella3d]

I used floramite on my orchids and none were affected by it, quite the opposite. They all grew much better after, and no more spotting. I treated them with imidaclophrid for mealy bugs and floramite for spider mite. I tried insecticide soap and it did not work for me.

I ordered a small bottle of floramite from ebay. They ship worldwide. The stuff is quite expensive, like 25$ for 2 ounce or something like that, but it's very effective and a small bottle last a long time.

The chemical I used is really not nice on the plants; they all develop ugly spots, cell collapse, etc. some time after application. This is why I never gave them the full treatment earlier, but did now. So far, it seems to have worked (blemishes and all). I thought I had new mites on my lowii a few days ago, but it looks like the mite damage might be from before I treated them. I used a moist paper and wiped the underside of the leaves and only found a couple of dead mites. Dead mites = good mites. I'm keeping an eye on it, just to make sure the damage doesn't increase.

I've gotten neem oil that I'll try to use as a preventative/leaf gloss twice a year. We'll see how it works.

Washing the plants during winter is not an option, I'm afraid. It's too risky.

 

[The Mutant]

I used floramite on my orchids and none were affected by it, quite the opposite. They all grew much better after, and no more spotting. I treated them with imidaclophrid for mealy bugs and floramite for spider mite. I tried insecticide soap and it did not work for me.

I ordered a small bottle of floramite from ebay. They ship worldwide. The stuff is quite expensive, like 25$ for 2 ounce or something like that, but it's very effective and a small bottle last a long time.

I'll check it out. Something that works and doesn't damage the orchids would be great to have. Thank you.

 

[The Mutant]

Aaaand they're back...

Or rather, they never left...

I thought the tip of one of the leaves on my Neo looked a bit strange so I decided to check. Found a bunch of these creeps happily munching/slurping away at the Neo. I also did the "wipe the leaves with a moist paper"-check and it came away with a yellow/brownish/beige smear on it and now I finally know what that looks like.

I have no Neo any longer, the mites won that round.

I've now realized that the mites are probably here to stay so I've decided that since I can't get rid of them, at least try to keep their numbers down and the damage to a minimum. I will do this with preventative measures like spraying with horticultural oils/leaf gloss twice a year, regular showers (not during winter though, need to come up with a solution to this), keep the plants clean (been really sloppy with this), keep the growing areas cleaner, and spray them with home made insecticidal soap occasionally. I will also get a stronger loupe since I want to put some faces to the name, so I can cackle in delight whenever I do something I know they won't like. :evil:

I've also decided not to sell, trade or give away any plants to anyone. I really don't want anyone else to get these pests, especially from me, since they seem very difficult to get rid of. I had planned to sell most of my Phals during spring since I'm more interested in Pahps/Phrags now and I need the space. Because of the mite problem I've instead tossed the ones I had planned to sell and now I'm 14 plants shorter. I really don't want to think about how much money I threw away when I did this.

I've noticed that they seem to prefer chewing on the multiflora Paphs, especially my poor lowii is apparently a mite delicacy, but so far they haven't touched the parvis.

I will keep observing what happens in my collection and how the mite infestation develops. It will be rather interesting to see how long it will take for the mites to eradicate my collection, if they'll manage it in the first place. I will have to look at it as an experiment otherwise I'll get too depressed.

 

[Justin]

If your plants have mites it is a very serious problem for your orchids and you need to use more aggressive methods than oils, etc.

At this point you need to get a serious miticide. Is bifenthrin available in your country?

http://www.amazon.com/Talstar-Insecticide-Termiticide-Bifenthrin-Mosquitoes/dp/B00409QKRY

 

[The Mutant]

If your plants have mites it is a very serious problem for your orchids and you need to use more aggressive methods than oils, etc.

At this point you need to get a serious miticide. Is bifenthrin available in your country?

http://www.amazon.com/Talstar-Insecticide-Termiticide-Bifenthrin-Mosquitoes/dp/B00409QKRY

Not allowed here I'm afraid so nope. I was recommended Ardap and I'll see if I can get some of that instead. I'll have to wait till summer to treat them however since it's poisonous so I'll have to be outdoors.

If not, then let's just say I think they'll win and now it's just a matter of seeing how long time it'll take for them to eat through my collection. Hopefully, I'll get some nice flowerings to enjoy in the meantime.

 

[Justin]

find a pyrethrine based spray to use. it has very low toxicity to mammals and is safe to use on a small collection indoors. spray every seven days until the infestation is done.

 

[The Mutant]

find a pyrethrine based spray to use. it has very low toxicity to mammals and is safe to use on a small collection indoors. spray every seven days until the infestation is done.

That's good news at least. That's the one I started with; Natria Pyrsol - active ingredient is pyrethrine, and I have been using till now. I suspected that I should've had kept the treatment up since these are not spider mites but false spider mites and they seem to have a longer/slower life cycle. The only thing about it is that it's NOT plant friendly. My orchids get really ugly after they've been treated with it.

Oh well, better to have ugly orchids than infested and/or dead ones. As I've said to others; dead orchids are really hard to flower...

I've read about predatory mites and Floramite and none of them are effective against false spider mites. It really is typical.

Thanks for returning my hope of saving my collection though.

 

[daniella3d]

I bought this for my plants. They ship worldwide:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Free-1-2-oz-...858?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a93636ce2