Mealy bugs, scale and aphids oh my!

[TheLorax]

Eric- I am normally for leaving things be and black widow spiders would definitely be in the category of a leave-it-be spider for me but not any type of a recluse. If she's got brown recluse spiders making her plants their home that would be pushing it for me. Every last one of them would have to go to heaven and the sooner the better. I don't know if you are familiar with what a recluse spider bite can do to a human but the link below says it all.
***warning, extremely graphic***
http://images.google.com/images?cli...recluse+spider+bite&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

I do agree that repeatedly applying the alcohol to any mealies and aphids should work over time. It will also work on the scale if it is a soft bodied scale. If she's got hard bodied/armored scale, I doubt seriously if alcohol will be effective.

 

[TheLorax]

On second thought... recluses do eat pests. They are definitely good pest patrol as long as crickets aren't one of the pests. Rather than sending all those beneficial brown recluses to heaven what about trying to find some sort of a HavAHeart live spider trap? Bluefirepegasus could live trap all her brown recluses and send them to NYEric to hang out on his plants in his home. It would sort of be the ultimate form of integrated pest management and she'd be saving many spider lives in the process.

NYEric, Here's a really nice outfit you could wear while lounging around at home after she ships live brown recluses to you-
http://www.beeware.za.net/e5/images/Protective Suit 219.jpg

 

[NYEric]

We used to keep bees; I wonder where my hood is. And BTW alcohol works really well on scale, try it. I'm also not advocating keeping brown recluses and black widows in the home, especially since unlike recluse bites black widows can be fatal.

 

[TheLorax]

Less than 1% of all Black Widow bites are fatal.
http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html
I thought it was a little higher than 1% but it's not and at 1% that places them in a category of being hardly ever fatal. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to be that 1 in a hundred. I believe only the female Black Widow is poisonous.

Not so with our little friend the Brown Recluse. Both the male and the female are poisonous. Fatality rate of Brown Recluse bites is around 5% which is deemed to be rare (5% is rare ???, that's 1:20) however there have also been documented fatalities resulting from complications associated with the brown recluse bite that don't seem to be accounted for in the bite fatality rate.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=61266

While black widow spider bites are hardly ever fatal, rare deaths have occurred from brown recluse spider bites and are more common in children than in adults.

I've had to deal with armored scale before. Alcohol didn't put a dent in them and it didn't put a dent in them for a few others who bought plants from the same nursery that was evidently infested with armored scale. Maybe these scales are shedding their armor for others? Just kidding. Hard scale was tough to get rid of for me at least. I ended up being instructed to add some Dawn dishwashing detergent to the Orthene before dipping to help soften up the scale. I will admit that the Orthene worked but I dipped every plant then followed up in 10 days with a soil drench. That probably lasted at least 6-8 weeks in the plant so anything trying to take a bite out of my plants died.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

Thank you so much Lorax! That was very helpful! Do you have dogs? I worry about my dog change sniffing around the sticky traps and getting bitten on the nose by a recluse that is still alive. I wonder if pets would leave the traps alone?

And yes, nyeric I don't have a big collection so alcohol right now would definately be a reality for me. I think I will try it as I have some under the bathroom sink. thank you and yes.....squishing them is satifying isn't it?

Bluefirepegasus

 

[NYEric]

I try to avoid strong insecticides, Supernature will just get immune anyway.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

I actually did get bitten by a recluse and got lucky. I shook out every piece of laundry the night before/...our canvas bag was up off the floor and he must have found a way in that night. I was lifting clothes into the washer and got bitten on my left bicep. If I had gone through necrosis I would have lost my entire bicep muscle. It was so scary.

So, thank you for all the info. Maybe someday I will move out of the south and areas that recluses are in and not have to deal with them right?

Bluefirepegasus

 

[NYEric]

I .....................Love NY.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

Yep---cold as fill in the blank and no brown recluses! hooray!

Bluefirepegasus

 

[NYEric]

Come here in August and say that. Also no tornadoes, earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, and very little flooding.

 

[littlefrog]

Back to the original topic... Mealies and scale are a pain in the rectum. I've found rubbing alcohol is a good first line of attack if you find just one or two of them, at least it knocks back the adults, but until you root out and nuke the source you will never get rid of them all.

Orthene WP works for me, although mealies develop resistance. The new 'gun' is imidacloprid, which you can buy off the shelf at the hardware store (look for Bayer tree and shrub spray). That is another systemic, but mealies also develop resistance (and it is a combination of fertility drugs and viagra for spidermites).

I like to mix an IGR (insect growth regulator) with either orthene or imidacloprid. Right now I'm using Distance, which has some systemic activity. But a lot of people use EnstarII. It is a bit expensive. Ask around and somebody near you has probably already purchased some, you don't need very much. By doing a mix you greatly decrease the chance for resistance to develop.

The best way to never get rid of your pests is to pick your poison and only spray once (coincidently the best way to get resistant pests). You need to spray several times (three or four) at 7-10 day intervals. Doesn't matter what you pick. And be as thorough as you can with the application, including plants you don't think are infested.

 

[likespaphs]

Many mealy bugs have a root feeding stage. You did not reach any mealies that would have been down in the potting medium feeding on the roots of your plants with your alcohol so although you may currently have control of the mealies, you probably don't have eradication. ....

i disagree. actually, i've never seen them on the roots unless they were root mealybugs, which is different than either the citrus (mealies that make cotton egg sacks) or long-tailed (they have long tails).
the crawler stage of scales (either armored or soft) are the most susceptable to pesticides...

y'all probably realize this but if you get a pesticide, make sure that the pesticide is labeled for the pest you're hoping to eradicate.

 

[TheLorax]

Ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, if your dogs stick their noses near the traps they will end up sporting them. I've had a few cats running around here with traps stuck to the sides of their heads and have had to use an animal clipper to get them off. My cats look so punk when I have to shave off hair to rid them of the sitcky traps. Over the years they have learned to steer clear of them. The dogs don't bother them for some reason but then they don't exactly try to pounce or eat anything that moves either.

I was bitten by a recluse many years ago too. High temps, lots of vomiting, lost about 15 pounds, and it pretty much downed me for well over a week but I developed nothing that even remotely resembled anything in those photos- Thank God. I do have a nice round scar the size of a nickel where they literally cut out the tissue where I was bitten which looks a lot like a cigar smoker used my me as a human ashtray. I got nailed from rags tossed on the floor in a corner of the garage that I scooped up to wash. Very attractive scar when wearing short sleeved tops- not.

"Many mealy bugs have a root feeding stage." I didn't say all. This was sort of why I asked her to try to figure out a way to post photos and this is sort of why I kinda steered her to Orthene although anything with the active ingredient of imidacloprid should work equally well. If I'm going to use a chemical, I go for Orthene because it's cheap and ships out the next day. I would agree the crawler stage of armored scale is most vulnerable... not so once they mature and if there are crawlers of the species present, the adults capable of reproducing are also present.

The best way to never get rid of your pests is to pick your poison and only spray once (coincidently the best way to get resistant pests). You need to spray several times (three or four) at 7-10 day intervals. Doesn't matter what you pick. And be as thorough as you can with the application, including plants you don't think are infested.

Excellent comments.

Me personally, I'm always going to try to go for a biological control when ever possible for the reasons NYEric stated "Supernature will just get immune anyway". There are some bio controls out there for what she has but they are expensive.

 

[NYEric]

There are plenty of companies that sell lacewings and ladybugs for natural pest control but it's too cold in most of the country to use these now.

 

[TheLorax]

Ya, I was thinking along the lines of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri but she doesn't have enough plants to warrant the cost and it's too cold even with heat packs. The scale is open because we don't have any idea which one she has for sure.

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

Well gentlemen, I finally narrowed it down and it was for sure the soft scale. NYeric, I tried the alcohol thingy on one of the plants that had mealy bugs and it so far appears to be working and didn't hurt the plant. I have the plant quarentined.

But now for a most serious issue. I was doing some reading.....and I think I may have some plants with a type of mosaic virus. I am not sure which kind. If you want some pictures you guys will just have to email me. I don't want to download anything on my new computer because of computer viruses that can be attached. So, if you need pics when I get them off of my camera and onto the computer my email is [email protected].

I went to research on the net for pictures but found nothing but dead ends and pictures that were very few. The spots I have on the vandas.....they could be from too much sun. They are black and elongated. Some of them have light brown middles. On the oncidium (poor thing) they are everywhere. The are large and black.

I will take photos and then send them to anyone who wants to see them. If anyone knows where I can find info....and I do plan on poking around the forum for info in this section as well.....please let me know. I am praying this stuff is not a virus. I think destroying the plants will break my heart. But, if a virus there is nothing I can do for them is there? They will just infect the rest of my plants won't they?

God I hope this is too much light....at least on the vandas. The oncidium might be past help.

Bluefirepegasus

 

[Bluefirepegasus]

Just had a thought about what it could be reading through the forum here....maybe even a fungal infection? The vandas have a few little bits of bark in their baskets but they get to hang in front of the window. the oncidium is in a half hydroponic pot with compressed clay and two little holes in the side. Evidentally you water it to the top, let it drain out and that is it.

Bluefirepegasus

 

[TheLorax]

You have mail from me. I think you will recognize the sender. I will post any photos you send me here in your thread for you.

 

[NYEric]

You should have a firewall or some protection on your computer, the most modern versions can be updated via the web. When you send photos you shouldn't get any incoming viruses, just cookies from the sites you upload to, if you want to get rid of those, on a windows based system go to 'start', then 'search' for 'cookies', and then delete at will.

 

[TheLorax]

She may not have a photo hosting service or know how to use one. I had to have my kids show me how to do it. It's pretty intimidating to people who are computer illiterate.

She should consider deleting her e-mail address from this thread though. That can always be sent privately in a PM.