Toward the end of last summer, I got a mealie bug infestation on the plants on my screened pool deck. The coleus out in the yard weren't affected, but nothing I did could clear up the mess on the lanai plants. I've thrown away all the plants, and the soil, and the pots. Given that we had the hard freeze earlier this month, do I have to worry about mealies lurking on the lanai somewhere and coming back when my RD order arrives? Should I use some sort of pesticide spray on the deck or tables? I'll just shoot myself if all those new plants get infected!
Thanks, Helen
Mealie Bug Question
What does mealy look like?
You might have good luck with a systematic insecticide like Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub (BATS) Lots of DG'ers use it on their potted plants. I need to figure out where I can get some... The mealy bugs could be flying/blowing in from a tree or shrub in your neighborhood. The mealy bug is an aphid that looks like a tiny cotton ball. I just uprooted a dying hoya and found them on the roots. I had used alcohol in a spray bottle to kill the ones that I could see.
Do you use that Bayer advanced product inside the house? Does it smell bad? I thought it was for outdoor use.
I'm a little concerned about pesticide use in the house.
Karen
You would only need a small amount for a potted plant. Lots of folks use it and someone may pipe up soon and tell us their experiences. I used the systemic rose fertilizer/insecticide on my scale infested houseplants a few years ago and I could only smell it when I was right by the plants.
Thanks for the advice. Just to clarify, I don't have any plants on the lanai yet - everything was either ditched because of the mealies, taken inside because of the freeze (no coleus in the house, no mealies) or dead from the freeze. Since none of the coleus I had in the garden on the outside of the screen enclosure came down with the mealie bugs, I've assumed that one of the plants I picked up from the sales rack at Lowe's and kept on the lanai had been infected. I'm a little hesitant to spray the lanai furniture and decking that could come into contact with bare skin, but I can't find any data on whether or mealies can "hibernate" on hard surfaces over the winter and come back to life when it warms up. I've been thinking about maybe buying a couple of inexpensive coleus and letting them sit on the lanai to see if they get infected.
Have you asked to Google Gods?
Oh, yes, I prayed to the Google Gods for hours, on websites all over the world. The closest I came to an answer was that the little devils can overwinter by burrowing into the bark or stems of infected plants and going dormant until it warms up, which is why I tossed everything on the lanai even if it wasn't visibly infected and why I'm worried about whether they could also burrow into things like crevices between the pavers on the lanai where there might be a bit of dirt, although I did have the deck pressure washed in November. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but considering the money I just spent ordering new coleus, I'm looking for some reassurance that my new darlings won't get sick as soon as they arrive.
A good soaking with alcohol should kill them. I use an old windex bottle filled with ½ &½ rubbing alcohol & water.(or maybe stronger...) It kills on contact. I watered one plant with this and it perked up. I guess that it had them on it's roots too.
I used this one last fall.. but it's not helping with the mealies .. but it does seem to help with the gnats .. and I couldn't smell it at all.. I am going to pot up some of them and add more to the soil to see if it helps
http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=BOP-9534&src=froogle&kw=BOP-9534
Can someone pipe up with the dosage of Bayer Tree and Shrubs? I have a hoya that has them, and just when I thought I had them beat the little boogers popped back up. They are truly the bane of my horticultural existence. HATE mealies. Now, there is a scale that is just as bad and actually looks kinda like mealies- the name is skipping my mind but it is something "Duvalle Scale." It's an evil beast! I've never had it on my plants, but I took care of a collection of conservatory plants with it once upon a time.
I had to unpot, dip, repot, and wipe by hand on each leaf and stem of each plant on top of trying systemics.
It is one pest I would cull even a valuable plant for,.
Somebody here should know: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/hoya/all/