I need advice. When I had problems with mealy bugs on African Violets, I was advised to try Bonide (systemic) to control them. I never actually used it as other issues intervened. Those plants are gone. Now one of my paphs has mealy bugs (out of nowhere seemingly). I quarantined it immediately. I have manually removed them over and over and also finally repotted it a couple of weeks ago with fresh media. Now I am finding the mealies again on this plant. Do you think it would be safe to use the Bonide on this one and maybe on others to prevent mealies? These pests are the bane of indoor and greenhouse gardeners! I don't want to kill my orchids (all paphs indoors), but these insects seem to be winning. Any advice?
Bonide on orchids?
I've had good success using Neem oil spray on my orchids. Also Bayer 3-in-1 is the other recommended insecticide/fungicide I've used and it worked great, too. But I always go for the more benign solution first (as you have).
Don't know about any systemics, but what I like about the sprays is you can also spray the soil/medium on your plant and kill any larvae or immature bugs that are down there. With a systemic, they have to actually ingest the plant juices before they get poisoned. So if crawlers of your mealies are down in the growing medium, they won't be affected by the Bonide until they mature enough to start sucking on the plant.
Also, using a systemic you will find out the hard way if it is not ok for orchids. It will be a "kill or cure" situation i.e. either it will kill the plant or cure the bug problem. I'd try the more benign solutions first.
dyzzy, the Imidacloprid in the Bayer 3 in 1 is the systemic in many products.
For really persistent infestations, I have finally had success getting rid of mealies and scale (oh, I hate that stuff!) by decanting and spraying the entire plant, roots and all, before repotting in fresh medium that also gets sprayed.
I primarily use the Bayer Rose & Flower insect killer. It has both b-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, so it kills on contact and is also systemic. I would spray them outdoors if you can.
I had a real problem with scale on my masdevallias last year, just couldn't get rid of it. I repotted the entire collection, sprayed them, and finally its gone.
Have you tried spraying rubbing alcohol and water on your plants? I keep a spray bottle handy if I see any of those little buggers.
Good luck!
Katherine
That sounds like a good plan, Katherine. I've depotted and found snails down in the old bark. It's always good to look at your new purchases.
Jim
Thanks again for the suggestions. I do have some of the Bayer Rose and Flower spray. So I will be watching the 2 plants carefully (I found a second one with those monsters). I used the alcohol and Q tip method first as usual, but if I see them again (inspecting every day), I will spray as well (outside). The last resort will be to pot again. I just did that with the first one - but will do again if needed, spraying the roots. So, for now, I will not try the Bonide since that doesn't seem to have been used by you folks for orchids. I'll save it for the African Violets if they show any problem.
Today I found more mealies on one of the orchids (the one I had repotted). So I am going to repot again and spray the roots with Bayer as well as more new potting media). This is getting discouraging - spending so much time with Q tips and alcohol. I like orchids, but it seems to take a lot of time and attention to be rewarded only once a year with some blooms (if all goes well).
Sorry your mealie problem is so persistent. I'd douse the roots with the Bayer 3-in-1 (pour it over) or put it in a bowl and dunk the plant, crown and all to be sure the stuff gets into every little cranny. Those mealie babies have definitely found hiding places in there.
Some orchid types bloom more than once a year, and you must admit, when they do bloom, they're fabulous. My Phal's flowers lasted nearly 3 months, so that's not bad value for a flowering plant. Of course this is the reason orchid lovers get sucked into buying more and more plants. If you're going to go to the fuss of taking care of them, why not have enough that you've always got something coming around with flowers?
I'm witness to the fact that always having something in bloom only increases the urge to buy a few more. It is hopeless.
Jim