Mealy Bug

[AndrewB]

Ladybirds are supposed to be effective, and those yellow sticky traps kill the males which reduces the population a bit. Keep a small bottle of ready made insecticide to hand and use meths to dry out any egg clusters you spot (check under pots and around their rims etc). Has anybody tried isopropyl alcohol? Ofc the big ones can be squashed!

I have found that insecticides available to the public don’t seem to get through the waxy coating. So used systemic for several years, which does work, but still needed a spot treatment.

Many years ago I tried meths, and it definitely killed them, but recently the meths I used didn’t seem to work. I resorted to mixing a contact insecticide into the meths at the usual aqueous concentration. This very effectively kills mealy bugs and their eggs, and it also seems to polish of RSM. However I shall NOT be using this technique again, when the current bottle has run out I won’t mix the two again, and I am definitely not recommmending mixing insecticides with meths!

The problem is that meths is so much more volatile than water, I can smell it really quickly after use. Although I know that distillation separates substances with different boiling points, I do not want to risk that the evaporated meths has retained some insecticide molecules, which because meths gets through oils etc really easily, would be straight into olfactory mucosal membranes.

Shame we can’t buy a product from garden centres that actually deals with the waxy coating and poisons them, these oily insecticides do not seem to get through the wax properly!

[Acid John]

I think that in the current climate of anti pesticides all hobbyist growers are going to have to learn to live with the bugs or give the hobby up.

[Pattock]

I think that in the current climate of anti pesticides all hobbyist growers are going to have to learn to live with the bugs or give the hobby up.

Programmable hunter-killer microbots should be available to hobbyists within a few years.

[MatDz]

Has anybody tried isopropyl alcohol?

It does work, same as meths I guess.

[HaoBao]

I use Bug Clear Ultra in the water and isopropyl alcohol as a contact treatment if I do see any. Haven’t had a mealybug for ages but then my plants are indoors so it’s easier to control than an open greenhouse.

Any plants with mealies had soil removed, a dunk in alcohol or a brush, depends on the plant, new soil, clean pot and separated until no sign of mealies. Old soil gets microwaved.

I also haven’t bought any new plants for probably 9 months which helps too.

[habanerocat]

I think that in the current climate of anti pesticides all hobbyist growers are going to have to learn to live with the bugs or give the hobby up.

Programmable hunter-killer microbots should be available to hobbyists within a few years.

It's not April already, is it?

[habanerocat]

I use Bug Clear Ultra in the water and isopropyl alcohol as a contact treatment if I do see any. Haven’t had a mealybug for ages but then my plants are indoors so it’s easier to control than an open greenhouse.

Any plants with mealies had soil removed, a dunk in alcohol or a brush, depends on the plant, new soil, clean pot and separated until no sign of mealies. Old soil gets microwaved.

I also haven’t bought any new plants for probably 9 months which helps too.

The best three bits of advice you'll get.

You've got to get the plant out of the pot and have a good look for activity around the roots and the rim of the plant especially, and in-between heads. If they're in there you've got to wash off all the soil (I use hot soapy water) leave it dry out and pot up in a fresh pot and compost. Most plants will recover fully.

On a positive note this is a good time of the year to blitz your collection and give them a good start to get re-established. It is possible to get a collection clear of mealy bugs. Quarantine, quarantine, quarantine. Even with that I had a small infection last year right in the middle of my collection. The first in over 10 years. No idea how it got in there.

But that RSM is different gravy altogether.

[FredG]

If they're in there you've got to wash off all the soil (I use hot soapy water) leave it dry out and pot up in a fresh pot and compost.

Can I watch while someone washes this one please?

[FredG]

Programmable hunter-killer microbots should be available to hobbyists within a few years.

We can reprogram the nanobots from the spare/redundant covid vaccines next year

Attack from within

[Acid John]

I like the way my vaccination spot flashes red at night and urges me to buy Microsoft