sequel

[paphjoint]

After finally getting rid of the mealy bugs in may after several months of combat -- I found some aphids which now seems to spread all over the place - while inspecting my seedling which are also infested I discovered red spider mites too -- man this sucks -- who said that those critters didn't like humidity ? One more percentage of humidity in my greenhouse and I'll be swimming around ---

 

[Rick]

Have you seen ants around too?

 

[NYEric]

Since I copped out on the 5 hour each-way ride to see native cyps growing wild i had a chance to do some good maintenance this AM. Man mealies and scale are persistent. Good luck.

 

[likespaphs]

dang. pests suck!
do you use pesticides that are easy on beneficials? on a related note, ever use beneficial insects? you can knock them back with the pesticide then release the appropriate beneficials to knock them out...

 

[Heather]

I've been battling scale on one of my 10 plants since it arrived and it is a really mild case but still there. The other day when I checked on the plants there were two little ants hanging out enjoying the honeydew left behind so I knew it was time to check.

Pests are a pain, indeed. Sorry you are struggling, Uri!

 

[Frederick]

Pests

Hello Uri,
Try Bio Kill--works wonders on all insects--unbelievably effective on scale. The orchid shop at the Paris Marché aux Fleurs (southern side) used to sell it and still does, I think. It can be ordered at any self-respecting hardware store or garden center in France. The bottle is yellow & green on a white background. Environmentally safe (apart from fish).
Yours
F
Ps : p.m. me if you can't find it.

 

[Corbin]

I've been battling scale on one of my 10 plants since it arrived and it is a really mild case but still there. The other day when I checked on the plants there were two little ants hanging out enjoying the honeydew left behind so I knew it was time to check.

Pests are a pain, indeed. Sorry you are struggling, Uri!

So what leaves the honeydew. I found some on a couple of my wardii but could not see any insects. Went ahead and gave the plants a shot of safe soap and have not seen any honeydew since.

 

[paphjoint]

Yep I had two types of ants too but I got rid of them.

I don't want to use to many chemical products -- I think most of them are too toxic for humans. Applying them in the greenhouse is even worse because you get the treatment youself.
I used alcool to wipe out the mealy bugs but it took time .

Have you seen ants around too?

 

[Mrs. Paph]

Ooo, Ed, if it's scale on the wardii, zap it Fast! Bad memories...I'm not sure if it was b/c it was a smaller plant w/ fairly thin leaves too, but I had one go down after only finding a couple scale on it