How to prevent a mealybug infestation on your Orchids

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So I just purchased a new orchid and I purchased it knowing it had a mealybug infestation :) good idea or not, we get to make an educational video and that's enough reason for me :P
If you ever see mealybugs on orchids in the store, you might want to avoid them, especially if you don;t have enough experience with them just yet. But if you get the orchid and spot the bugs after, here is what you should do:
Don't place the orchid anywhere near other plants or in your garden! these bugs move around fast and have no trouble exploring new territories.
Manually remove every bug or cottony thing you see as soon as possible. use a q tip soaked in alcohol or water, the wet cotton will make the bugs stick to it. Nothing worse than picking a bug and losing it in the pot, in the garden.. at your neighbor's house! 0.0 I was actually at my brother's when I did this and acted like a nut case lol (Don't touch it don't speak to me I need to work!)
All the bugs you pick up need to be killed. Again if you let them live they will crawl away.. don;t infest your growing space, garden or your dear siblings place! close your eyes and kill them..
After cleaning everything keep this orchid separated for a month or two and inspect it every day. If there were just a few bugs coming from another plant you're set. If you have an infestation more and more will appear.
In case of an infestation remove the plant from the pot and clean the root ball. Mealybugs like making nests in the media inside the root ball. Prepare a home made soapy solution that you can find in the annotation in the video, or use insecticides if you are ok with them.
Keep the orchid bare root for a while until you make sure there are no more bugs in the area. In about 2 months of not seeing any mealybug, you're pretty much done :)
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Опубликовано:

12 ноя 2015

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Комментарии : 142

@nickthegardener.1120 6 лет назад

My partner got an orchid from her mum. I got detailed to look after it. I found cotton like stuff all over after I had kept it alive for nearly a year. I so far have found around 25 big mealy bugs. I look at it every time I walk past it and kill at least 10 tiny babies each time. They hide everywhere. Under the pot, in the pot, in the roots, in all cevices, flower spike the canes & plastic clips! A wet small tipped paint brush works well at getting em out of hard to reach places causing no harm to plant.

@asianvixensiren 3 года назад

I’m a new hobbyists and adopted approx 50 orchids this year, and this video calmed me down after seeing the white stuff on one of my struggling Orchid. Thanks Dani as your soothing teaching is ever so calming and I stopped freaking out, and finally able to continue to enjoy the journey of caring for my new babies 💛

@cathyann1601 7 лет назад

Excellent video! I've had mealy bugs on my plants (not orchids) before, and they multiply quickly, so vigilance is necessary. I hope I never have any on my orchids.......

@DaveKraft1 3 года назад

Using those very sharp pointed tooth picks are very effective in getting into those tight places between sheaths, or deep down in leaf-bulb joints.

@vivienlee9078 5 лет назад

I just had to deal with an infestation this morning!!! I swear it came out of nowhere. I repotted this oncidium a few weeks back and it was fine. I checked three different oncidiums near the infested orchid and found some mealy bugs on them too. I’m so frustrated and worried that there are more. Fingers crossed that I will eradicate them very soon. Of course, they are all quarantined for now. Thanks for your video Danny 🙏🏼

@nicholasfletcher6111 2 года назад

Hi Dani, I just got my Bangkok Sunset. It is so lovely. But it came with white mealy bugs and a powdery mildew. It is in my “greenhouse” room but on its own table about 2 meters from anything else. I’m spraying it every day with a peroxide mixture. Ty for putting this video up. I’ll probably watch it a time or three more before these issues are gone.

@Copolia 8 лет назад

Thanks for this video, Danni. I have a recurring problems with mealybugs which is completely my own fault as I was so obsessed with getting a particular orchid and didn't quarantine it. The problem has spread to all the orchids in my grow area. However, I have had very good success with 3% hydrogen peroxide and dish soap solution. I literally bathed all my orchids and allowed them to air dry and the result was almost immediate. I keep an emergency spray bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide and zap the critters whenever I see them.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Marie-Michelle that is really great to hear! make sure that the top of the media is sprayed from time to time too, or that the pot is soaked. Mealies make nests in the root ball sometimes. So if they reappear treat the media as well if you don't want to repot but I hope it won't come to that :) Good luck!

@gigi8535 4 месяца назад

How much peroxide and dish solution? Thank you

@jachinsonw-h9620 6 лет назад

Thanks for your information on these adorable plants.

@gordanasmilevska7439 4 года назад

Thanks for help, great video! Just wanted to ask how to keep phal orchid bare root, should i put some water at the button and for how long? Thank you

@johnlloyd3479 8 лет назад

Great video. I really hate them! The best part is when you gently squish it, it's so satysfating :D lol

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+giulio furio lol haha yes stress reliever :P

@ammouralammar1910 4 года назад

totally agree.... it is like "die you evil creature"

@alexanderwolf321 2 года назад

🤣🤣🤣

@jimmiescott985 6 лет назад

Thanks for the help, I check each Friday, then O NO, covered.

@CockatooG2 8 лет назад

Oh I hate those little pests! Seems like this year I have been fighting them more this year than I ever have..... Very good video!!

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+MouseLilly uh sorry to hear :( yes I can understand that a wide infestation will be very annoying, I always seemed to stay on top of them. At least I can see them, unlike spider mites..

@heathergammache2873 3 года назад

Hi, I love your videos and I have learned so much from you about orchids! Thank you! Today I was watering and I’m pretty sure I saw tiny mealy bugs running in between crevices on my one phal. They are so tiny I can’t seem to catch them. Can you share your recipe for the soap? I couldn’t find it in the links or description with links. Thanks again!

@ChristopherEPineda 7 лет назад

"They look kinda cute, but trust me they're pure evil." 😭😂 LMAO!

@cairopablo6505 3 года назад

a trick : you can watch movies on flixzone. Been using it for watching lots of of movies lately.

@mitchellmaverick9788 3 года назад

@Cairo Pablo yup, have been watching on Flixzone} for months myself =)

@leonilacorpuz2894 4 года назад

Nice video. Very informative. I do have problems with mealy bugs . Do I have to cut the spikes & flowers if I See these mealy bugs ?

@louiseparisi4073 4 года назад

leonila corpuz hi... I’ve been on here looking for answers too... my new orchid has mealy bugs all over the flowers too... I’ve been trying to find out if I can spray the flowers with the soapy solution ... someone suggested hydrogen peroxide 3% but can u spray the flowers coz the mealys on my orchid r loving the flowers... I don’t want to remove the flowers I have 6 flower spikes and it wud be so drastic to remove them x

@sylphienne 2 года назад

When you have a cymbidium and the long leaves from the pseudobulb is tightly placed together. I bought my cymbidium from the nursery both not realising that it was a cymbidium because it wasn’t blooming and their were no pictures tagged on the plants but it’s variety only and It said pink lolly. I’m growing it as an indoor plant but literally found mealybugs and spider mites on it the day after of buying it.

@qwerty30905 3 года назад

😫I wish I saw this video 6 months ago. I have one orchid for about two years now and got a new one from my mom. I only have one window we’re plants get enough light so I put the two plants as far away from each other as I could, because I did read about keeping them seperate. But not knowing about mealy bugs specifically back then, I noticed them far, far too late on the new orchid. And ofcourse they made it into my older orchid. It’s an absolute nightmare, but thank you so much for this video. It really helped!❤️

@wadesorchids7219 8 лет назад

Here is a good mixture to try. This is even being used as a first step by some commercial growers in the states. Simply put equal parts rubbing alcohol, water, and "Formula 409" into an aerosol bottle. Add 1 tablespoon dish detergent (blue Dawn is best) and shake it a bit to combine ingredients. My apologies if Formula 409 isn't available in your country.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Wade's Orchids yep that one is not available in my country.. rubbing alcohol is not available either I use ethanol hehe :P but I do ok with ethanol seems to not harm the plants .. too much at least ;)

@5p151515 8 лет назад

oh this one has been popping up in orchid shops quite a bit in Hong Kong too! idk about its pests but I seem to already have a bad enough problem... I only see white fuzzy stuff and never the actual bugs! I also know I have thrips running around, and I'm suspecting the white fuzz might be the work of spider mites? What do you think?

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Wilson Lam well.. spider mites make webs, red spider mites don't :P so maybe the white fuzz is actually a mealy bug nest. never had thrips though so I dunno if they can do that too.

@juliecrawford9428 5 лет назад

Parasitic trouble on a plant will more often than not lead to the demise of the plant. Orchids are easy to treat. You do not need harmful pesticides. All manner of household items work just as well.

@karendehaast2834 5 лет назад

Hi Danni Would hydrogen peroxide also work? Luv your videos thanks!

@marcstewart9630 6 лет назад

Dani is it possible to use witch hazel for scale bugs its its 14% alcohol

@heatherloy8364 7 лет назад

Thank you so much!

@samanthacooper3935 8 лет назад

Thanks for this video! Just found mealy bugs on a couple of my plants yesterday.....Definitely will be taking action on getting rid of them tomorrow. They are on one of my plants that I got at the end of October and has also spread to one of my phals.....I did not keep my new plants separated like I would like to since I only have a limited amount of window space :/ Definitely keeping the two infested plants seperate now.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Samantha Cooper sorry to hear I hope you manage to get rid of them, at least you can see them so you can manually remove them too :)

@samanthacooper3935 8 лет назад

Thanks Danni! I am just glad I spotted them and realized what they were before they got any worse! I think I got the worst of it....found them on a couple more of my plants also.....Not glad to have pests but glad to know what they look like so can spot them in the future when buying other plants :)

@elayneplanche4031 4 года назад

What’s the best way to get rid of those little black net looking bugs and ants can you use regular bug spray

@SparkTigery 3 года назад

You show that you spray the soap-alcohol solution everywhere on the plant. After this, do I also have to spray it with clean water to remove the soap or not? :)

@sherrywalker4619 7 лет назад

Thank you so much! 😀

@stetkal 2 года назад

Miss orchid girl I have replanted my orchid and then noticed the bugs. Is it possible they were in the new mwdia.?

@naturalPianoadastra 8 лет назад

The hated mealybug. Two weeks ago I found that my new purchased Hoya had an unseen infestation of mealybug... and it was spreading it to a poor Pleurotallis!! As you do I usually take away the bugs manually with the alcool and, just to be sure, spray the plant (and maybe the nearest plants to the infsted one) with white oil or mineral oil. If the mealybug spreas in the growing area it's going to be a nightmare...

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Orchidaholic oh noo :( be careful with that, learned it was a good idea to quarantine orchids.. at least not place them next to each other, the hard way too :P but good news is you can see mealy bugs. Fighting red spider mites is like shooting a pistol at oxigen molecules pffff

@danf8047 6 лет назад

When it comes to plants I don't think there's anything I hate more than mealybugs and for some reason I always get them.

@Godisincontrol1 Год назад

What the recipe please to prevent ALL bugs I didn't see it below

@iamprincessubay3057 7 лет назад

Hi Danny! If I wash the roots with hydrogen peroxide do I have to rinse it with water after or I can leave it and repot again? Thanks

@Monika-hs2ob 6 лет назад

iamprincess Ubay you can leave it. Hydrogen peroxide will turn to water after it stops fizzing

@udaikumar1539 3 года назад

Help ! I’ve had 10 orchid plants for 13 years . A friend gave me a new plant and that has infested all my other orchid plants ! Should I repot all of them and get rid of the gift !! ??

@savvassimitsis9090 8 лет назад

Very nice video!!! Why did you buy a another Zygopetalum?,poor Zygopetalum(i think the humid and seasonally warm and cold climate of your area is not the best thing for this genus with it's sensitive to fungi leafs)

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Savvas Simitsis haha indeed, poor Zygo, bound to die on my windowsill but without mealy bugs at least :))) why I bought him? .. I dunno, because reasons.

@tonisouliere4652 2 года назад

Danny I bought a orchid a couple of months ago and it grew a new leaf. But then I noticed white spots in the throat of that leaf. I have not seen any bugs, just a line of spots across and on the side of the leaf. I took a picture but I can’t put it in this comment. I will clean with the q tip and spray. I don’t have much room and my orchids are close enough to touch each other. I will isolate this one but I am worried.

@mr.dahliaking.202 8 лет назад

I also boughts a zygopetalum a few weks ago, and mine is the same as yours! Really cute bluish-violetish lip, don't you agrre?

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Vytautas Poška yep, very hard to resist not buying :D

@ChrystianGuy 6 лет назад

Thanks so much! That helps a lot! :)

@ashleystrydom5348 8 лет назад

Hi Danny, I think my medium (its a mix purchased from the nursery I got the orchid) is infected with mealybug, I have been mealy free for just over a month, I just want to know if I can treat the whole orchid (roots and all) with the soapy solution and leave it unpotted overnight to make sure I get them all before I repot it with new medium tomorrow, thankfully it is separated from my other orchid, but I will just give my other orchid a good once over just incase....

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Ashley Strydom Hi, well you can keep it bare root for a few days to make sure you kill off all the mealy bugs from the root system. I am not sure how fast they can be eradicated so a few days should not be a problem for the orchid. Remove them manyally as much as you can as well, all the white fuzz needs to be removed.

@10120socks 5 лет назад

Hi love your video’s. Can you tell me what strength hydrogen peroxide or percentage do I need for 200 ml spray bottle thanks tony.

@deborahhenley328 5 лет назад

1 part peroxide to 4 parts water

@airinneerut3268 8 лет назад

Haha someone bought zygopetalum lol :D Good luck with her, I love them!

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Airin Neerut hehe yep couldn't help it :) thank you!

@finflwr 8 лет назад

Great video. I'm having the tail end of a mealybug problem after a rescue purchase (that Katrin Zoch) that I didn't quarantine. Incidentally, it coincided with a treatment program I was doing, due to spider mites on my Aspidistra, , using your homemade insecticide for spider mites. I did my whole collection of all plants over four weeks and the mealy bugs did survive that, so perhaps that spray isn't completely the death knell for mealy bugs? Love the Zygopetalum, I've got a 'Merlin's Magic' seedling I got at an orchid show. It's got a new shoot and I'm hoping this is the one to produce it's first flower spike. I nearly freaked when it got lots of spots and dropped most of it's leaves in the first few weeks I had it. However it seems it was just adapting to my home and it's now growing strongly with healthy new green leaves : )

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+finflwr hmmm well it should be ok for them, I think though a higher amount of alcohol might do the trick for the mealys. Maybe try half water half alcohol on the badly infested ones if you don't like insecticides?

@finflwr 8 лет назад

Thanks, it's ok I feel. I'm just being hyper vigilant and squashing everyone I see. It's working. I've not seen one for a few days now : ) I don't like pesticides either.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+finflwr yep killing the adults works wonders since they don;t get to lay eggs anymore ;) it's easy to spot them too, compared to spider mites ugh

@finflwr 8 лет назад

Definitely the better beast to encounter : )

@ammouralammar1910 4 года назад

I discover these mealybugs too late, my orchids got infested, I repoted them and clean the bugs, that was few month back and I still find this evil creatures. It is my therapy to hunt them every single day and kill them, each day I found 1 or 2, dunno until when I will finish with this pest. my orchids are healthy thou. such great videos! thank you

@JohnJohn-hv4ef 8 лет назад

Congrats on the new Zygo. I have the same one. Isn't the fragrance just wonderful?

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+John John yep just like narcissus :D do you have a tag with it?

@JohnJohn-hv4ef 8 лет назад

MissOrchidGirl No, I don't. I bought it at an outdoor flower market.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+John John yes me too, just found him at a house improvement store :P

@natagazok 8 лет назад

HI! I just found some of these nasty things on a mounted phalaenopsis. Do you think I should unmount it to check the roots ? :(

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

Hi, I don;t think it is necessary, but keep her separate and try to look closely at it. For a while she should be separate until you see no signs of bugs :)

@natagazok 8 лет назад

I think I removed everything but yes, she will stay alone just in case. Thanks for the advice and for your videos, it's veeeeery helpful!! ^^

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

My pleasure :D

@gigi8535 4 месяца назад

I have 18 orchids they all have it😰 clean them with peroxide but it do go away😓😥

@michaelbrodzik2790 8 лет назад

can you do a video explaining all the AOS awards like HCC/AOS i don't know what hat means.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Michael Brodzik Hi Michael, well this information is already available on the AOS page, not sure if I need a video on it, maybe I will do it but here is the explanation for each award www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=40

@arzentech1134 8 лет назад

Dear Danny, First off, thanks a lot for your videos! Very helpful,all of them! ^^ I am a beginner, so I would very much appreciate your help! Today I noticed some super tiny crawlers inside the pot of one my orchids (indoor orchids). I have done some research and I'm pretty sure they were mealybug babies. I have never seen a sign of a mealybug infestation on the leaves at all, but inside the roots ... I'm pretty sad about that, but I had to get rid of the plant to make sure the other plant will not be infected (checked the media and the leaves and they all look healthy) ... I guess I could have saved it by re-potting the plant and spray some hydrogen peroxide on the roots but as I mentioned I'm a beginner so I haven't had anything in my households and choose the "easy" way and got rid of the plant (feel terrible about it :(( ) Anyways, I will keep my eye on the other "girl" as it looks sooo beautiful and I don't want to lose it. For the future, in case I see some bugs inside the media but not on the leaves, what shall I do ? Also, if the orchid seems to be healthy and I could not spot these "bastards" yet, can I still spray the leaves and the roots with your non toxic insecticide solution to prevent the bugs appear in the future ? Any other way to prevent them showing up again ? Sorry for the long message, but I love Orchids and I'm planning to have more in the future but I want to make sure that I'm ready and know how to take care of them in case some "problem" shows up! : ) Would really appreciate ur advice! ^^ Keep up the great videos! Kindest, Arzensan

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

Hi, welcome to the wonderful orchid hobby :D ok about your bugs, more frequent than mealy bugs are fungus gnat larvae. If the bugs moved fast they were not mealy bugs, but if they were white and fluffy, they were :) Now fungus gnats live in very moist environments where they have decaying matter to feed upon. Usually if you have a lot of them the medium is breaking down and needs replacing. A new medium and washing the roots will usually fix the fungus gnats problem, or at least keep it in control. Gnats don't really damage orchids, in rare cases they attack roots. If you ever see the bugs again do a search on fungus gnats and see if this is it and just repot the orchid. It is a good idea to repot new orchids anyway as they can be potted in an old or unsuitable medium when you purchase them. About spraying preventive, there's really no need, non toxic insecticides work on the spot, if there are any bugs at the moment they will get affected, but if the solution dries it becomes inert and doesn't affect bugs anymore. So there is no need, better to just inspect your orchids periodically for signs of bugs and act only if you see anything :) hope this helps!

@sharongeorge4096 4 года назад

I’ve been fighting these for months, just from 1 discount phal. I’ve repotted, sprayed and manually removed for months!! Would diotomacious earth help??

@makkachin9614 4 года назад

I actually think spraying the orchid completely (roots, foliage, etc) with hydrogen peroxide 3% is the best way to get completely rid of them

@louiseparisi4073 4 года назад

makkachin can you spray the flowers with the hydrogen peroxide? I’ve found quite a few munching and killing my flowers? Thanks

@glorianayeagley9258 8 лет назад

Just saw your video on mealybugs treating with hairspray .Good one! but I didn't get your info. card on the spray mixture you spray them with. Can you repost? Thank You

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Gloriana Yeagley Hi, here is the video about spraying ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Z8Mt19_iM38.html and a little warning ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t5h88VDvMS0.html

@glorianayeagley9258 8 лет назад

Thank you 😊

@wandafel6403 7 лет назад

Hey Danny, what can I use to get rid of ants on my catesiums?. I clean the area with alcohol, I even uncoated them, cleaned the medium, pot and plant but they keep coming back. I'm thinking they are attracted to the sap because the other plants don't have them. PLEASE HELP! THX..

@MissOrchidGirl 7 лет назад

+Wanda Fel Hi Wanda, oh Catasetums are big sap producers, no matter how much you clean them the next day they are full again :)) ok here's an idea, place the catasetum pot raised in the middle of a saucer with water, this should act as a barrier for ants and they won't climb on the pot anymore :) hope it works!

@wandafel6403 7 лет назад

Thank you so much for your suggestion. will try and let you and your viewers know the outcome. have a great weekend.

@lorenawilliams84 6 лет назад

Vinegar can get rid of ants in your whole house.

@samannaluilui 8 лет назад

I discovered a mealybug infestation on many of my orchids, the problem is I have at least 20 of them all in close vicinity on the window sills. I tried manually removing and killing the big ones as well as small ones that I can see but they keep coming back! Some orchids are worse than others where I just had to cut off the whole stem of flowers... I would like to keep my orchids if possible. I live in cold climates in high altitude and keep all my orchids indoor where there's underfloor heating, they get plenty of sun and generally grows very well...until these nasty bugs took over...any advice would be much appreciated! ;-)

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Samanna Lui Hi, I think you can prepare a solution if you don;t want to use insecticides, this might work ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vqZ06MbN4Jk.html however you need to reapply.. home made stuff might or might not work great, if this doesn;t work you can buy an insecticidal soap, it isn;t toxic. If that one doesn't do the job just go for an insecticide and take all the safety precautions. Keep in mind that mealy bugs can make nests in the root ball inside the medium. So if they keep coming back you might need to unpot them and check the root ball. Hope this helped and good luck!

@judithsarcochilus1080 8 лет назад

Lovely zygopetalum, Dani. And good mealy bug advice. I have had a bad infestation - came from a hibiscus I have, and early on in my growing historry. I was a beginner and didn't realize what was going on until they had taken serious hold on my plants. I use the alcohol dab method, but have also had to spray using a variety of substances to get on top of the problem. I alternate between Brad's isopropyl alcohol-water-blue Dawn dish soap recipe, a nasty insecticidal soap (End-All II) and Neem Oil. Once I started adding Neem Oil to the mix, I finally began to win the battle! I think Neem Oil is a miracle substance. Your advice to get on top of it before it gets to be a serious infestation is really the key.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Judith Sarcochilus oh I really want to try the neem thing for my spider mites but every time I feel the smell I get very very sick I cannot stand it. Maybe next year in the greenhouse I will give it a go :) my balcony is connected to the house and I was forced to leave the house for a whole day when I used it lol

@renaudsambat7639 5 лет назад

Thanks for the video. How do mealy bugs travel from plant to plant. Thank you for replying

@nanetteorchid6680 5 лет назад

I have recently read that the males have wings, and they travel on the wind, so fans and such assist in spreading them around. I'm not sure about how females get around but my guess is they can also catch a breeze.

@joellewis2784 8 лет назад

hi there i recently got two orchids at different times as presents, i repotted them both, i bought fertilizer to take care of them, today i noticed bugs in one of them and i freaked took them outside i dont know what kind of bugs they are, might be mealybugs, i'm so stressed, can these bugs infest my home besides other plants like bedbugs, i had them inside now they're outside, what to do help please

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

Hi, well before we start to worry let's figure out what these bugs are :) Can you take a picture of them? if you can just upload a picture to photobucket, flickr, instagram, imgur or g plus and share the link in a comment here, I'll take a look :) it might be nothing.

@antoniahall7507 3 года назад

Already lost one orchid due to these terrible creatures...Washed, picked them off, repotted the others in new pots and media. Quarantined them...hope I don't lose more.

@sherrywalker4619 7 лет назад

Could you please give me the recipe for your soapy solution that will kill Orchid mealy bugs and spider mites?

@MissOrchidGirl 7 лет назад

Hi, for mealy bugs I usually remove them manually, or use some spot treating with alcohol. You have the video with the recipe in the info card of this video, in the upper right corner :)

@frzzlfry66 8 лет назад

I use Neem on these little a*!holes. It's an organic pest control/insecticide in theory, although you would probably have to extract your own from Neem tree seeds to be 100% sure of the "organic" thing these days... lol. I apply it after manually removing/squashing all of them that I can see. It seems to work pretty well (plus, Neem is somewhat of a fungicide and bactericide), but you have to resign yourself to several applications over the course of weeks. And even then, the vermin tend to pop up again later, whether it's on the same plant or not. As you say, attention and inspection is the best tactic... it keeps you a step ahead instead of one or more behind.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+frzzlfry66 I did use neem at some point and I don't doubt it is efficient but it made me want to throw up lol I cannot stand the smell and sadly my balcony is connected to the house with 3 entrances, so.. not trying it again for now :P

@frzzlfry66 8 лет назад

+MissOrchidGirl Lol @ "want to throw up". It IS a bit pungent; but I usually take plants outside to spray, let them dry for a while, and then bring them back inside. You probably don't have that option, though.

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+frzzlfry66 yes I cannot stand garlic or onion smell, I must be a vampire... I am romanian too so yeah lol yes I cannot 'go outside' :P but next year I might start to use it since the gh is waaay separate from the house.

@frzzlfry66 8 лет назад

+MissOrchidGirl Lol again... 'Romanians' aren't allowed outside, are they? :D From your vids I have watched, it just appeared/appears like a different situation than mine. I have a covered area just outside, where I can take plants to spray, and leave them to dry for a while before bringing them back in. I'm at ground level, and I don't have any neighbors really close by. It seems like it might be more of a hassle for you to drag plants outside, where you're at. I've had good success with Neem overall, but it's also failed me with a few things. In particular, I have a dwarf key lime tree that's developed what looks to be sooty mold after I used Neem on it for a while. I'm not sure what's up with that.

@dorinmihalca1556 7 лет назад

Hi. i only have one ficus, and it was healthy, but now i see thin webs on the soil of the plant. Where do these bugs come from? Am i watering the plant too often(once a week)? Thanks.

@MissOrchidGirl 7 лет назад

Hi, the webs you see might be mold, I don't have experience with ficus but you might want to check the moisture in the oil, maybe you water too often?

@dorinmihalca1556 7 лет назад

I pour around 150 ml of water onto a 17 cm³ pot once a week. Is that too much? I don`t think it`s mold because there are lots and lots of little white mites, smaller than 1 mm. Now, i`ve changed the soil and got rid of them but they could appear again, and i`m wondering why. Thanks for the reply.

@Anna-it3pj 8 лет назад

First of all, congradulations on your brand new zygo! I bought one EXACTLY like this a month ago, it had a bad snail infestation so I treated and repoted it immidiatly. Today morning, i woke up and noticed cottony things on the plant (oh no!) and rushed because i remembered seing this video during the week and didn't have enough time to watch it. I can only assume my plant didn't have a bad infestation because it took me a month to notice any bug at all. I am SO terrified from washing the plant with the soapy solution, because the leafs get black spots the in no time after getting some water on them - so washing the whole plant with the solution sounds like a great recipe for killing it.... so I'm not sure it's the best idea - and therefore I have no idea what else can be done :(

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Anna Kravtsov Hi Anna, don;t spray it just yet, separate it and keep an eye on it, it might just be a thread from clothes or something don;t panic :) just observe it for a while ;) mealy bugs hatch pretty fast, you should have seen an adult at least until now.

@meadowfrance 8 лет назад

Beautiful zygo! I thought you said you weren't going to buy any more orchids and that you couldn't do zygos? Hmmm... ;p I know you bought it partly for instructive purposes, but, oh Danny please don't kill it. xD

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+ramonypony I am tryiiiiiiing lol :P I will do my best :D I feel that my bad luck was due partly to my inexperience and partly to bad luck, there was a time when, for a brief 3-4 months my zygos were ok.. and then the spider mites attacked and I started to shower them so everything went to hell lol I'm optimistic we'll see :P

@Rosemary457 8 лет назад

Yay a new Zygo, Hooray , Dapple light And soak once a week, Thats all I do, And they do just fine, I think mine the same one you have, I think it's called Arthur Ellis

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Rosemary457 not sure it's the artur elle.. there are just so many hybrids, but the nice thing about this one is that is smells like narcissus! never had one that smelled as nice as this one :D

@thereaIitsybitsyspider 5 лет назад

My poor mother brought one in on her orchid and didn't know. We lost our entire garden.

@yesiamlaura5488 4 года назад

Theitsybitsyspider That’s terrible! I’m sorry to hear that. Best of luck with your new collection!

@heatherloy8364 7 лет назад

Hi! I need some help with my orchids. I have been noticing this white fungus like substance on the roots. I can't tell if it is mold or mealy bugs. Do you have an email that I can send a couple of pictures I took of them?

@heatherloy8364 7 лет назад

s1174.photobucket.com/user/heatherloy07/library/orchids

@MissOrchidGirl 7 лет назад

Hi, that looks like mold indeed. There must be some dead tissue among the roots to favor it, but a spray of hydrogen peroxide 3% should help keep it under control until you figure what causes it, it might also be some broken down medium or lack of ventilation. So HP 3% and try to find the cause :)

@jessk6300 5 лет назад

I found mealy bugs behind all the actual flowers of the orchid, what do I do? I don't think I can still use rubbing alcohol on the actual flowers?

@jessk6300 5 лет назад

Or do I remove all the flowers?

@hafairy 4 года назад

I tried to remove them but I kept finding more. I ended up taking off all flowers and stem to start all over

@nadiapalmas9836 8 лет назад

I have to remove it, or can I just squish it between the plant?

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

squishing is enough, as long as it's dead all is ok, but you can clean it when you have time so the leaf looks pretty :P

@reeringvall5092 8 лет назад

Nasty little creatures....I have a small infestation on a plant outside...not an orchid. When I discovered the mealy bugs...I had no insecticide on hand...soooo I grabbed a can of olive oil cooking spray...sprayed the mealy bugs as I saw them ...checked, sprayed every day...and guess what...it worked! The bugs have not spread to the two other plants which are right next to the infested plant....desperate times calls for desperate measures!

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Ree Ringvall ow good thing you managed to keep them under control :D yep from what I understand they are susceptible to these insecticidal soaps that contain oils or soaps, or even larger quantities of alcohol :) I never considered them a huge issue, unlike spider mites. At least mealybugs are visible, fighting an invisible enemy is much worse :)

@user-qs4nl1ln8j 8 лет назад

i hate those,i usually use a pair scissors to cut them in half

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+CryogonAlan ow wow you must have a tiny little scissors :P

@ancapasca 8 лет назад

Crazy little buggers!! :( Am niste nervi!!!! dintr-una or aparut pt mine, am vazut deocamdata doar la Liodoro...:( am multe orhidei in acelasi loc, nu prea am loc de izolare... In schimb i-am facut baie in apa oxigenata 3%... Sper sa fie bine! Pe celelalte nu am sesizat nimic, sper sa se fi elucidat problema! Am si ceva insecticid de acasa, mi-a trimis mama. In cel mai rau caz le stropesc pe rand si cam atat!:(

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

E usor cu mealy bugs, nu le place alcoolul. De obicei rezolv problema cu manual removal, alcool si apa plus alcool. Grija doar la partile sensibile ale plantei. Phalaenopsis nu pare afectata prea tare dar orhi cu frunze mai subtiri poate raspunde mai urat la concentratii mari de alcool :)

@Samoasoa 3 года назад

olcat LOL

@astroaidrous3128 5 лет назад

Those mealy bugs make me so angry I don’t kill them that easily I burn them alive because of the destruction they always do

@Twinklebeast 5 лет назад

They are only doing what they were born and designed to do - it is not their fault. How sad that you would torment them.

@ZanesWildflora 8 лет назад

a zygopetalum? really? :D

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+Zane's Wildflora I had to :)))

@army1206 8 лет назад

+MissOrchidGirl Fourth time's the charm. (?)

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+army1206 that's what I always say lol

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+‫حبيب المصطفى‬‎ well.. I'm not sure if I got it because I really want to have it, or because it had mealy bugs and I don't have that covered in my videos lol :P I guess it's a win win, 1 covering the mealy bug problem 2 figuring out what the heck does this orchid wants from me :P

@MissOrchidGirl 8 лет назад

+‫حبيب المصطفى‬‎ yep.. he will stay in the house all the time though :P maybe he is a house plant lol