In the meantime I treated with a concentration as high as 50% with no bad effects on the Bratonia and Beallara flowers and buds. The stronger the solution the better the results, but also the more risky it is for delicate flowers, so do make small trials first! Ps: if you recommend a solution in the comment section (which is not a common product like cinnamon, self explanatory) please specify if it is a toxic insecticide, let's be responsible!
Hi Dani, if you diluted the 70% isopropanol 50:50, then the final concentration is 35%. Is this what you did? I have 100% isopropanol and I'm wondering how much should I dilute it. I found some mealybugs on my new orchid, plucked them out and so far nothing more crawled out, but I want to spray it with something. Better safe than sorry ;) Thanks for the informative video as always!
I have my first mealy bugs ever in 10 years of owning orchids. I found 2 on the flower of a mini-Phal I recently purchased from the grocery store. Thanks to you, I recognized them and got them off with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I pulled her out of my plant room and put her back in isolation (I had just moved her there from my bedroom a few days ago) and am looking at the options you present for systemic treatment. Thank you, Danny, for all you have taught me about orchids.
Good info for pest. You can use alcohol on a q- tip to remove mealy bug if the plant is not covered in them. Keep an eye out for new bugs hatching out. If you keep up with it you can win!
Danni - your isopropyl alcohol is already diluted to 70 %. For a final concentration of 20 % in a total volume of 200 ml solution, you need to take 57 ml of 70% isopropyl alcohol in 143 ml of water. If you take 40 ml of 70% isopropyl alcohol and add 200 ml of water (your example here) you get a volume of 240 ml with a concentration of 11,67% isopropyl alcohol.
I wanted to point out the same thing :) If you want a final volume of solution to be 200, you need to subtract the water from the volume of the thing you're adding. Nevertheless it seems that the 11,6% also worked, so yay, it's cheaper and less drying to the plant :)
I just want to start by saying thank you for your vids. A quick history. I went thru a housefire just over a year ago that killed my Millie dog. I can't have kids and she was my all. I received my 1st Plaelen for a Christmas gift last year, and now I'm up to 7. My therapist says I find distressed looking plants to save since I couldn't save my Millie. Well now, I've been following your advice and I'm getting my very 1st bloom spike 😄💕 I'm really excited because I forgot what color this orchid is and it's going to be a beautiful surprise when it blooms. Again, thank you for your vids and your advice has been keeping me going to keep them going. Believe it or not, but rescuing poor looking orchids, has been a part of my therapy 💕👍
@@Starseagull I never thought I could keep orchids. But after the fire and that 1st XMas, it kinda kicked my butt in gear to start collecting them. They're giving me something to focus on other than my Millie dog.
@@Starseagull I had an issue with gnats and this seemed to help me, also works great on aphids. Get onion, garlic and cayenne powders. In equal parts, take a heaping spoonful of each in a coffee filter, tie it up to make a little bag. Steep it like a tea in hot water until it looks a wierd orange color. Let the water cool, then pour it in a spray bottle and go to town. WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES AFTER HANDLING THE CAYENNE POWDER OR USING THE SPRAY. IT *WILL* BURN 😢 This also works great for a home made mace 😆 I hope this helps 😄👍
No thanks, already dealt with them last year. Nope no new additions this year bringing any by, and I'm still vigilant over last years infected ones. I use slightly more isopropyl to water, but I played with and paid for it last year. (Tip: that's a warning on going heavier with Isopropyl everyone, I found what works for me in my environment.)
Okay, so this might sound like a crackhead solution, but I've actually been using windex on the leaves an affected phal I have and it seems to be working.
Hi, window cleaners are either based on ammonia, either alcohol. Mouth wash is also based on alcohol (some). Both can work, both can damage plants, always try one first! ;)
@@MissOrchidGirl I have a very large cactus collection (in the 300s) and have used insecticidal soap very successfully for quite some time. I have a considerably smaller collection of orchids (about 40) and have *thanksfully* never had the opportunity to try insecticidal soaps on them. This would be topical treatment. What are you thoughts there? Obviously, leaves only.
Two days ago I noticed my new paphiopedilum bellatulum had mealy bugs (I've had it for a month only) I'm quite a beginner and I was too lazy to spend a full day looking for too many things so here's what I did, hoping I didn't murder my beautiful plant : -When I noticed the first one, I removed it and chased the others, I had quite a few and since then I haven't seen any -I poured hydrogen peroxyde on the plant, in the crown and in between the leaves and waited for a few minutes -I sprayed the full plant plus the substrate with a solution made of water, some soap (savon de Marseille) and half a tea spoon of rubbing alcohol. -After waiting for ten minutes I flushed the orchid in the shower with not too cold water and then used napkins to remove as much water as I could around leaves and crown, then I used a fan to make the crown and delicate parts get dry. I truly hope this killed the mealy bugs but not my paphio and its two tiny new growths 🤔 The '' big'' nest was located inside the remainings of the flower bud (the flower fell like two weeks ago but I thought I'd wait for the spike to be fully dry before cutting it).
I experimented with neem oil and potassic soap for some time on cattleyas, and actually, I found that it's not very good for the plant foliage. It creates a film on the leaves that reduces the breathability of the leaf and thereby it's capacity to produce chlorophyll. It has also been highlighted by large orchid producers; and cleaning the leaves with soap is recommended after applying the mixture. However, I do recommend applying this product directly to the grow medium, since bugs also live below ground. I would never use neem oil on flowers, it dries them out and creates brown stains on the flowers. I am a hoppy grower, not an expert, those are my personal opinions.
I've noticed some mealybugs on my orchids roots and in the dirt its in, should I treat it from the outside or repot it and treat it during that process?
Hi Danny! I just bought a Sweet Memory Liodoro Phalaenopsis and it's sooo pretty, but has mealybugs at the nodes and flowers. I recently treated another houseplant with a neem oil, soap and water solution. Should I use the alcohol one on my orchid? Should I repot it? 🥺😬. Please help!
Another excellent tutorial. You are my go to channel on RU-vid for orchid information. Now I do check out the AOS website and listen to their webinars, as I am a member, but I love your videos and refer people to your channel all the time.
Hello :) I can't seem to find Isopropyl in my country and would love to know if anyone used ethanol instead of Isopropyl and if the orchid was fine (I don't care if the flowers fall off). I googled a bit about treating mealybugs and everywhere is says that ethanol is toxic to the plant. Thanks
Ok listen so I have an idea. What if instead of pesticides I put tiny predator on my orchid to pick them out, like baby mantid or tarantula? Just had a thought, I might be wrong idk
Hi Danny, you are a life saviour! Or rather an encyclia cordigera saviour ;-) how do you treat the substrate/the root system (if at all) during a mealy bug infestation? I guess i brought them in with the new encyclia i bought three weeks ago, it's the only one infected and i haven't had any ever. There were only some bugs in the lip of the flower. Unfortunately i cut the entire spike out of panic and before i watched your video...i am going to repot the plant today and would like to be prepared. Thank you!
Hi Danny, thank you for all your informative videos! I purchased a Phal last week (my 8th!! ) and noticed "cotton strings" around the new leaf. This was my thought process: not knowing anything, I found that odd... Google? what is going on? ... "..you have mealybugs.. ".... urg... OK. Now, what does Danny have to say about this situation? Danny!! :) ... Now my Phal is happily in quarantine with a water/Iso spray bottle next to it. Your videos are so informative and detailed. I love the fact that you explain the why behind everything. Thank you for everything! Learning sooo much, in Canada.
did you see the ants running over your plant, where the mealy bugs are, while filming? it looks really like the ants care about the mealy bugs on the flowers... i always wondered why always in summer come new mealy bugs an my orchids, although i did not buy a new plant for a very long time, and i hat no mealy bugs for a very long time. i suspicious now that it are ants who bring them in throug the open window.
The Isopropyl Alcohol that I have at home is 91%. Would you recommend making it into a 10% water solution instead? I only have one bloom to treat, all others have dropped because of the mealy bugs. :(
Once I have drenched the entire orchid, do I leave outside to dry? Should I give filtered sun, direct, or shade? How long leave outside? If any liquid left on orchid, do I dry with paper towel?
hi dani! do you have any aerides hollutiana? im having issues on my aerides, i think i had a major setback on it its just growing roots but no foliage i dont know what to do can you help me
Thanks for this video! Perfect timing for us as we just acquired an Phal with mealy bugs and we’ve never had to deal with bugs before. I’m off to get the isopropyl out of the cupboard!
OK so, once sprayed, you don't need to rinse the plant, do we agree? I worked in a plant shop for a little bit and my college who was the pest control specialist of this shop (I was just providing advice on indoor plants, not at all expert on pests matter) told me that it was always best to rinse your plant (her example was a mix of soap, oil and alcohol, you spray on the plant then rinse, but I admit that I'm worried about crown rot... I also have mealy bugs on a carnivorous plant, and since they like poor soil and clean water I'm so worried it goes to the roots...) Whah do you people think? I always like to learn more!
Hi, if you rinse off the oil, how are the pests that will eventually move on the orchid get smothered? Also alcohol doesn't need rinsing, what exactly are you rinsing off after it evaporates and all that remains is water? 🤷🏻♀️
@@MissOrchidGirl oh I see! I think the rinsing was more about the soap but yeah that makes sense! If I can avoid crown rot I'm certainly not gonna risk it! Thanks a lot!
The problem I've always faced with treating any bug problem is whether to keep the medium, or to completely replace or treat the medium too. It makes sense that if the bugs are on the plant, some are also in the medium, in the pot, probably on the bench or shelf too. So, if we treat only the leaves and foliage, I suspect we will have helped a lot, but probably not eradicated (completely wiped out) the problem. Eventually the population will increase enough that we start seeing them again and we have to start the fight all over again. It is costly and inconvenient to completely repot every orchid that has bugs, and that is why people don't do it. Also, you may set the plant back if it's not a good time to repot. So I completely understand why this is not standard practice. However, I suspect that not completely un-potting, sanitizing the pot and area around the plant, and replacing media after treating the plant is the reason people struggle with reoccurrences of the problems. Also, not carefully inspecting other plants around the infested plant, that don't have obvious signs of bugs is another problem. The surrounding plants may just have the very beginnings of a problem, but without very careful inspection, or treatment, you may clear up the problem in the most infested plant, only to have it reoccur as it's neighbors insect/mite population begins to grow and spread. If you have kids and you've ever dealt with lice, you will understand what I mean. It's not enough to treat the 1 kid with obvious lice, you need to treat the areas the family hangs out in and all family members as well. Otherwise you will just be passing it around and the problem will drag on for a very long time :( Just my thoughts on the subject.
Hi, bugs don't survive too long without a host, so even if they fall on the medium or surfaces, whenever they crawl on a plant covered in oil it's game over :)
@@MissOrchidGirl I had what I thought was a light infestation of mealy bugs that came in on a plant from an orchid house this past February. I began with neem oil. I even transitioned to full and semi water culture. I was really diligent about spraying everything (including counter tops, than wiping down with alcohol-not the plants). I followed up by checking at every watering. They kept coming back. The males fly and my fans must have assisted that...to make a long story short, I battled these critters for months trying to use non chemical solutions ( I never did, though try this alcohol solution of yours, specifically). Eventually I succumbed to very carefully using a powerful chemical that did eradicate them in one treatment. I have outdoor gardened chemical free for over thirty-five years. If a plant is attacked heavily by something in my garden and doesn't respond to natural solutions, I will remove it. I have noticed that the crazy weather patterns that have been changing over the years are definitely having an affect on our gardens and bringing stress to plants that I've had for years...that stress seems to invite these pests to have a party. I hope your alcohol treatment works well... I'm rooting for you!
@@nanetteorchid6680 I have about 15 orchids and they all have mealy bugs! I wipe them off each week with the alcohol, but I am getting tired of that.. I've been doing this for about a year... I'm about at the point where I want to repot them all... it will probably kill them all, but I am growing weary of treating them... I guess there are eggs down in the medium. Once, about 8 months ago, I tried spraying them with a more powerful insecticide, but it obviously didn't work. @MissOrchidGirl I hope someone will guide me before I murder all my orchids!
@@MissOrchidGirl I have read elsewhere about needing to repot as they can feed on roots. Would you recommend trying a drench of dilute alcohol to try to treat the medium and roots? Been diligently wiping all my orchids with isopropyl every week or so for a few months but just seeing low level infection continue
I use Isopropyl spray 99.9% alcohol neat, which is safe for kitchen use in the U.K. too, for scale and mealy bugs on orchids for about 9 months if required and it works well. This is the first year I’ve had mealy bugs too, and my Isopropyl hasn’t harmed my orchids at all, and because it’s almost neat alcohol it dries very quickly.
Hi, Danny, I have an off-topic question, maybe for your next Q&A video. How long do you reuse the water in your buckets that you soak your vandas in? I have just started collecting vandas this year and I am hoping to use a bigger container than what I have been using to soak them, but I do not want to refill a large bucket on a very frequent basis, since distilled water could get expensive. Do you have a specific frequency that you change the water for your vandas? Thank you!
@@Ridiculi Thanks! Danny is usually very responsive when we leave comments, so if she sees mine, I am sure that she will either respond in a comment or in one of her videos. :)
Hi, well I am not using buckets at the moment, but when I used to use them I changed the water about twice a week, maybe once a week. It will depend on how much debris are left behind really, when it gets kinda cloudy, it's time to change :P
@@MissOrchidGirl Thanks for the information, Danny! That is easy to understand and it makes sense. :) I forgot that you changed up how you are watering them. I so wish I had more outdoor space and a hose! Thanks, again and Happy Friday!
