what's your preventive spray routine?

[Chris]

If your plants are free of pests and you want to keep it that way, how often are you spraying on a regular basis? What's a good product to use in this manner?

I'd like to begin following a good preventive routine, but I'm not sure where to start.

Thanks for your advice,
Chris

 

[parvi_17]

I have found pretty good success with neem oil. I spray it about every 3 months or so, and I very rarely get any pests, just the occasional mealy. When I see those, I pick them off by hand and immediately quarantine the affected plant and spray it with insecticidal soap once a week for 3 weeks before returning it to its spot. I haven't ever had a major problem in my 6 years experience growing tropical orchids, with these practices. Mind you, my collection hasn't reached a good size until the past couple of years, and larger collections tend to have more problems. You have to be especially careful when you bring new plants in.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Some folks use Physan routinely.

 

[Bolero]

I use a systemic during the warmer months called Rogor. It's extremely toxic so I am being careful now using it......I never used to be.

But I find I don't get scale and haven't seen a mealy in years. I don't stop the pests completely but it's a good regime and most of my plants have minimal damage.

 

[goldenrose]

.......I'd like to begin following a good preventive routine, but I'm not sure where to start. Thanks for your advice,Chris

What's your growing area? Those of us with GH can use different chemicals vs. those that are growing in their homes. If one uses the same product over & over won't the insects start to develope resistance? I would think some type of rotation is a good idea.

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4969&highlight=fire+mealy+killer&page=5

 

[likespaphs]

a release of beneficial insects can provide the same relief without pesticides.

 

[nikv]

I semi-regularly spray my plants with neem oil. And anytime I see a little bugger, I spray every plant in the vicinity with it.

 

[NYEric]

Since I live w/ my plants I was only using alcohol to wipe off bugs. My collection got too big to manage that way and I started to have lots of problems I used Merit 75 for three applications then I started using Neem oil solution. I still have to check and occasionally find a patch of soft mealies so I use alcohol to wipe them off and spray the plant [including the media] w/ neem solution.

 

[Chris]

What's your growing area?

I grow inside my home and have about 15 plants, all paphs. I like the idea of something less toxic like neem oil.

BTW, I think it's really neat that Eric literally lives with his plants inside a New York City apartment. How cool is that.

 

[Clark]

I also grow inside the home. Growing orchards for 2+ yrs. Previous to the
recent aphid problem, I only had use sticky traps for the knats. One plant
always has scale, and as Eric used to, alcohol swipes once in a while.
For me, I lay the sticky trap horizontal on the 'soil'. I couldn't catch the
knats using the metal holder. Good luck, Clark.

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

I add a little physan to my water every few weeks....indoors, I spray when needed, carefully, as I also live with my plants. For scale, sunspray or pyrethrin with some added sunspray oil.....same for mealies on epiphytes...but for those nasty mealies on paphs, I spot spray with bifenthrin. Outdoors, I sometimes spray everything with Phyton....usually about 2 or 3 times during a summer. Last year i tried spraying with harpin a few times...not sure if it did anything. Take care, Eric

 

[cnycharles]

remember if you only have a few plants and see some bugs, you can also go to either the sink or the bathroom/shower to use water to wash them off. getting a small hose/mister that will hook to your kitchen sink works very well for blasting off critters, then if you want to spray something there are less things to hope to kill (or not). I was reminded by someone at work that some mealybugs hide in the soil as well as under leaves and such, and that the bugs wander places that are solid and probably wouldn't get sprayed. if you have some mealys or others and are going to spray you would need to spray pots, around them and under, and wherever/whatever the surrounding shelves or plastic is around the plant area to try and get everything

 

[Wendy]

Horticultural Oil or Insecticidal soap.

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

I've been using neem oil, and recently picked up Endall II. I swab mealies with alcohol on a q-tip, or sometimes I just jab them with toothpicks. :viking:

I find some of my plants don't like insecticidal soap, so I'm a bit careful about using that.

 

[Hera]

Bayer Rose and FLower spray. I've been lucky though. No major outbreaks in the summer. I spray twice before I bring them in for the winter. I dosen't seem to harm the plants and has been effective.

 

[Ray]

Preventive use of insecticides should be avoided, as that is precisely how resistant strains are developed.

 

[Chris]

Preventive use of insecticides should be avoided

What's a better approach, Ray? I mean, besides crossing your fingers...

 

[likespaphs]

beneficial insects or spraying at the first appearance of the pest.

(Ray, thanks for phrasing that so succinctly.)

 

[Elena]

I don't spray routinely to avoid any resistant superbugs. Plus I grow indoors, have two cats and like to keep any chemicals to a minimum.

My preventative routine consists of quarantining any new plants. New additions get inspected for visible pests, re-potted, sprayed with a systemic pesticide/arachnicide and kept away from the rest of the plants for a few weeks.

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

I guess I didn't read the title of this thread properly. I don't use chemicals preventatively; only when I see a problem.