At the beginning of August, I received Rocky in the mail. Since then, I thought I had beaten the cursed mealybugs, but no, they just managed to stay low long enough to invade most of my other Paphs. Yesterday, when I went to water Kalista, I found a few bugs in her creases. I cannot find enough words to convey not only the surprise to find these unwelcome little pests, but the anger at having to start all over again trying to eradicate them. I then examined all the plants and found that they had spread to all but one of my Paphs. Thankfully, the Phals remained unaffected.
I treated all my plants with the homemade alcohol, soapy water mix. It appears to have zapped the bugs that had congregated on the foliage. I made sure to saturate the tops and undersides of each leaf. I do feel that at this point, I need to call in the big guns. Tomorrow, I am going to Home Depot and buying a systemic insecticide. I am not taking any more chances. These little guys are relentless.
I know that success in getting rid of them altogether hinges on consistency in administering multiple applications. All I can do is hope that my orchids won't be too stressed and start declining in health during the treatment period.
After my visit to Home Depot, I found they did not have any of the Bayer 3 in 1 I had been looking for, but instead they had Bayer Advanced Natria Insect, Disease & Mite Control. Apparently, the 3 in 1 is not sold in New York. Although the Natria is not a systemic insecticide like the 3 in 1, it contains Sulphur and Pyrethrins, which should take care of things quite nicely. The plants need to be treated every 7-10 days in a well ventilated area and away from any water sources. I will admit that the sprayer that comes with the product is terrible. It did not deliver a fine mist, but sloppily drenched the plants and everything around it. I had to pour the product into my previous mister and then resume spraying all the plants over and under the foliage.
The insecticide certainly did zap the mealy bugs on contact, but it also has a really strong smell. It does not dissipate right away, but instead tends to linger and if you get too close to it, it stings your eyes. It is really important to provide good ventilation when using this product. Even if you spray it outside, once you bring the plants indoors, they will still be rather smelly.
I treated all my plants with the homemade alcohol, soapy water mix. It appears to have zapped the bugs that had congregated on the foliage. I made sure to saturate the tops and undersides of each leaf. I do feel that at this point, I need to call in the big guns. Tomorrow, I am going to Home Depot and buying a systemic insecticide. I am not taking any more chances. These little guys are relentless.
I know that success in getting rid of them altogether hinges on consistency in administering multiple applications. All I can do is hope that my orchids won't be too stressed and start declining in health during the treatment period.
After my visit to Home Depot, I found they did not have any of the Bayer 3 in 1 I had been looking for, but instead they had Bayer Advanced Natria Insect, Disease & Mite Control. Apparently, the 3 in 1 is not sold in New York. Although the Natria is not a systemic insecticide like the 3 in 1, it contains Sulphur and Pyrethrins, which should take care of things quite nicely. The plants need to be treated every 7-10 days in a well ventilated area and away from any water sources. I will admit that the sprayer that comes with the product is terrible. It did not deliver a fine mist, but sloppily drenched the plants and everything around it. I had to pour the product into my previous mister and then resume spraying all the plants over and under the foliage.
The insecticide certainly did zap the mealy bugs on contact, but it also has a really strong smell. It does not dissipate right away, but instead tends to linger and if you get too close to it, it stings your eyes. It is really important to provide good ventilation when using this product. Even if you spray it outside, once you bring the plants indoors, they will still be rather smelly.
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