I had the most beautiful AV in bloom for over 6 weeks when all of a sudden, the flowers all died at once. Upon close examination, it was infested with mealybugs. I try not to spray the leaves but does anyone know what is best to kill them without damaging the plant. Would appreciate any suggestions.........
mealybug infestation: What can I spray ??? Help
There are lots of alternatives for treating for mealybugs. In part, it depends on how bad the infestation is and whether you want to use chemicals or not. If it's not too bad, one method that can be used is to drench and immerse in soapy water. This method is good if you don't want chemicals and you will have no damage to the foliage. If you do it thoroughly, this method is effective.
I usually use soap dissolved in water with a dash of dishwashing liquid. The water should be at least room temperature. Use half of the solution for the soil and half for the foliage. Pour the solution into the pot, and then soak the pot in the solution for a few minutes. Then, hold the pot so that the soil and plant do not fall out, turn it upside down, and dunk the leaves in the solution. Shake is around a bit, and gently rub the leaves (both sides) and stems. Let the plant sit for a few minutes, and then pour clean water through the pot. You may also want to dunk the leaves if they are too soapy - depends on how concentrated your solution was.
Then you want to carefully but thoroughly dry off the crown. (That's where the new leaves come out from.) Kitchen paper towels and tissues are good because they will wick up water from the crown.
Every few days for the next 3-4 weeks, inspect the plant really carefully, especially under the leaves and on the new leaves. If all you find are a stray mealey bug or two, use a Qtip and rubbing alcohol to swab them off. If it's worse than that, you'll want to pull out the big guns.
FYI, there are some systemics out there which use the active ingredient imidacolprid (sp?). This is the stuff they use in flea collars etc., so it is relatively safe (at least compared to the traditional systemics that can cause nerve damage, etc.). Imidacolprid works well on mealey bugs. The brand I use is Marathon - I have to mail order it because I can't find it locally.
Keyring where do you mail order your Marathon from?
I've heard it is excellent, too, but I can't find it anywhere in the stores.
Thanks
MsC
I get it from Cape Cod Violetry in Falmouth, Mass. It's best to call, I think, as I didn't get any response to an email or mail. (I didn't follow-up so I may have caught them at a bad time.) I don't have a phone number handy though.
Thanks...:)
Keyring.
Thanks for the info. They are getting soaped up tonight. I was afraid to get their leaves wet but now it is a do or die situation. Will keep you informed as to the results...............nada