My Phal has BUGS.. Help please

[eaglssong]

Okay. The surgery has opened and it's a good thing. Didn't find many of the mealy monsters in the medium and the pots, but I did see some. Ms. Golden Treasure is now sitting with her naked feet in a plastic container, just so she can drip off and dry. I gave her a nice bath in water with just a drop of dish detergent, and then I gave her another major Neem treatment. I don't think I missed a spot.







I did remove that one flower that seemed to have the worst of the infestation. It was one of the older blooms and was starting to curl anyhow, although I don't know if it was because her time had come, or from all the drastic treatment.

The really good news is her roots looked very healthy. You can't really see them all in the photos, but there were lots of green and happy looking roots, with no sign of any rot at all that I could see.

Right now, I'm debating whether it's worth it to sterilize those pots, or maybe it's better to just toss them away. Pots are cheap, and I'd hate to think I missed something and infected a plant again.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

If you can afford it, just toss the pot. There could be eggs somewhere and why risk it? The roots look great, Anne. I bet you got those pests. Just, please remember to treat this plant again every seven days for at least three weeks (four would not hurt!). Those pesky critters like to hide where we cannot get at them and then when there are a gazillion of them again, they show up and laugh at us. Best of luck!

Cheers,
BD

[eaglssong]

If you can afford it, just toss the pot. There could be eggs somewhere and why risk it? The roots look great, Anne. I bet you got those pests. Just, please remember to treat this plant again every seven days for at least three weeks (four would not hurt!). Those pesky critters like to hide where we cannot get at them and then when there are a gazillion of them again, they show up and laugh at us. Best of luck!

Cheers,
BD

I totally agreee. Those pots are going out!! And I will definitely do the four week treatment. I refuse to let mealy monsters win this battle.

Thanks Bruce (and everyone who has been so helpful with this)

[stacey8989]

I felt like I was tearing my poor phal apart trying to smash the qtip in between the leaves. The plant survived somehow. Get 'em Anne!

[ManilaByNight]

I totally agreee. Those pots are going out!! And I will definitely do the four week treatment. I refuse to let mealy monsters win this battle.

Thanks Bruce (and everyone who has been so helpful with this)

I know you plan to toss the pots out and replace them with new ones but if you are using clay pots and not plastic ones another way is to boil the pot in a deep pan of water on the stove for about 5-7 minutes. That should be a surefire way to kill ALLpesky critters including their eggs hiding in them and at the same time sterilizing it. This is what some growers do here in Manila since we don't have dishwashers like you guys.