Cecil,

Mealies are the cockroaches of the orchid world. Nothing seems to affect
them!

When you treat for them you have to treat the entire environment. They live
on the plant, in the medium, down in the wood work in your growing area,
under the benches in the greenhouse, etc. In an office building I used to
work in I watched the indoor plant specialists completely change out two big
planter boxes near the front door. They took out all the dirt, mulch and
plants. They sprayed down the area. They refilled the area with fresh soil
and new plants. Within a month they were infested again with mealies. They
re-did the same thing again and once again they were infested. Finally,
they replaced the live plants with plastic plants.

If you have one or two plants with bugs and you can't take them outdoors
this time of the year to spray I would find a big plastic dry cleaner bag.
Spray the plant with a bug spray that says it kills mealies on the label.
Put the plant in the plastic bag and tie it closed. Place the plant and bag
in a bright area out of direct sun for a week. This usually kills the
adults and young hatchlings. Sometimes you have to spray it a second time
and keep it in the bag for two weeks.

If you have a large collection you may have to live with a few mealies.
Everytime you bring a new plant into the collection you risk adding a single
bug that will multiply and become hundreds in a few week.

I tried regular ladybugs last spring in the greenhouse and they were very
interesting. Most of them found a way to get out of the greenhouse. Many
of them died. By the end of a month I did not find any of them. If they
ate any of the mealies you could not tell. I didn't try the Australian
Ladys because they aren't convenient to find.

Today, I still have mealie bugs. I live with a few and have a bottle of
orthonix that I spray on them when I find them. Periodically, I go through
my collection and wipe off the leaves and inspect for scale and mealies.
Infested plants are put together so I can keep an eye on them for a re-birth
of the bugs. Eventually another area of the greenhouse will have a plant
with mealies and the cycle starts over again.

For larger bugs (crickets, spiders, etc.) I have several anoles that run
around the greenhouse. They keep the crawly things at bay. Since they have
taken up residence I don't see the sow bugs that I used to have by the
thousands. Now that I think of it I haven't seen a earwig in a long time
either. Another side benefit of the anoles is they are fun to chase with
the hose when you water. They scurry around and up the glass and stare down
at you when you water. They, too, have found a way to get out of the
greenhouse as I found a few of them outside this summer. When they
disappear I just go to the pet shop and pick up a couple of more.

Good Growing,
Gene







"Cecil Kimber" wrote in message
news:bMsDb.402110$ao4.1322156@attbi_s51...
When the Phals start blooming the Mealies start breeding. I'd like to get
a
jump on it this year. Has anyone had success with biological controls?
I'm
considering releasing some Cryptolaemus montrouzieri into the greenhouse.
These are the commonly named Australian Ladybug. Supposedly both the
adults
and larvae are predacious. They are supposedly useful in controlling
citrus
and longtail mealies outdoors. Anyone tried them in a greenhouse? Merry
Ho, Ho!