!*&!! Bugs - ID assistance required

[Kerry]

Hi there

Just decided to the the watering of every plant I own in the house after holiday (very lax, I should have started 5 minutes after I walked in the door on Thursday) anyway, I have an evil bug creature.

I'm not sure what it is, as it doesn't look very much like any of the bug pictures I have tracked down on the forum. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it is. that way I know how to treat the plant. (Other than spraying like mad with anti-every-bug-under-the-sun spray)

Anyway, an ID would be helpful. For scale, the body of El Buggio is about 0.5 cm long.

It also led me to another thought - would it be worth having a sticky thread giving useful pictures of common bugs and/ or symptons of them for those micro- non-discernible to the human eye jobbies to allow those ever so helpful people that we inexperienced people tend to worship (ok - I am laying it on with a trowel) get on with their lives a bit more rather than responding to people like me who ask panic stricken "What the hell is this thing?" questions?

I am off to go back to glaring at the bug thing - of which I am trying very hard not to find more as currently I am hoping really daftly that there is only one of these things on my plant and now that I have got it, I won't have any more problems......

[Brutal_Dreamer]

You have an alien. J/K

You have a big o' mealy bug. Any insect spray will kill these guys, but you have to get it on them. They hide under the leaves, in dry sheaths, on the blooms, everywhere.

Cheers,
BD

[Kerry]

Bu**er! Am I allowed to swear? Now at least I can go look up whether or not mealy bugs create web like stringy bits, which is what I have across the top of the bark - I just thought a spider had taken up residence. I wonder if spiders eat mealy bugs?? hmmmm....

Thanks BD

[magooba]

Hi Kerry, these can be very difficult to control due to their thick cuticles preventing the poison from getting to them. A little detergent with the spray (malathion, diazinon) should help it stick, but i don't know if Orchids are sensitive to it... A systemic chemical may be used e.g. aldicarb. For cultural control, Ladybugs are brilliant as they eat aphids. The one recomended for mealy bug is Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, but I'm sure normal ladybugs would make a meal of them too !! Lady bugs are actually farmed now and are available mail order ! J

[Kerry]

Well I have the choice of a couple of ladybirds from the garden that I could hopefully co-opt into killing the mealy bugs for me - although bizarrely this so far has been the only one I have ever seen. I have had the plant since March, and when I got it it was all buds and no blooms. It's one of the couple that I have yet to repot, I kind of was putting it off as it is so tight in the pot, and the plant is huge (about 1 metre) and I love the big pink flowers but think that it might be hard to control of the kitchen floor without spikes breaking all over the place. I think I have no choice now as if there are bugs they must be in the bark.

Unless of course my mother brought it over whilst she was feeding the cats for me - her phals have a huge infestation that she has told me about, and she has been spraying (hopefully) regularly.

[Mehera]

Mealies are like a plague; especially on phals. It is a continual war against them at my house. I think I've got them beat and they pop up again. They really like to appear after you have been gone a few days. Watch for sticky spots on your foliage as a clue to search for them. I remove the ones I can see by hand and then spray the plant. Don't let plant leaves touch or let parts of another plant sit under a plant you've been treating, because they do spread from one to another readily.

[pavel]

Definitely a mealy. You might also try spraying with neem oil

[Jmoney]

small infestations can be dealt with by a little rubbing alcohol, but if you see a bunch on the plants, I would spray. if you're on a windowsill you are somewhat limited. the oils will work, either neem or a standard insecticidal oil (recipes are all over the web)--just make sure you put the plants in low light after oils. the hormone enstar seems pretty safe and will knock mealies and scale dead--I've used it with good effect, although it is very very expensive. just got this orange guard stuff, which is fairly oily. used it once prophylactically since I saw a few scale last winter.

[Gin]

A box store not the orange one has a spray in a Blue bottle made by Bayer it says it kills for 30 days I don't believe it tho.. be sure to stay after the little ^&*& to kill any that hatch . They can get in the roots . Take no prisioners . Gin

[jtlqh]

I got mealies last year, and I sprayed with neem oil, probably 2 or 3 applications, never saw them again.

Qing