"La Puce" wrote in message
ups.com...

Charlie Pridham wrote:
So far as I know it is not very effective against mealy bug, but then
with
nothing else eating them in the uk something is better than nothing! (I
still prefer using a toothbrush to squash them), and I forgot to mention
root aphid/mealybug which it totally got rid of, so it very effective at
that, the reduction of white fly has made life in the conservatory
easier,
and yes I do still use it in there despite the bee problem.

No honey for you then. Wasps are good predators of mealy bugs aren't
they? But in a conservatory it's totally different. I don't know enough
about growing on a regular basis there. I use my conservatory/verandah
as a propagator until May, then it turns into a kind of lounge I
suppose. Have you tried the ladybirds and the little mite Hypoaspis as
predators? I'm not sure how they would work in winter whilst the pests
are overwintering in your conservatory. Do you use the spray once,
twice a year?

I try not to spray at all, preferring to move stuff outside. In a small
space the bio control for mealy bug is a waste of time as the adult lady
birds just fly straight out of any openings (although it works fine in
bigger greenhouses) So a good tidy at this time of year looking for the
overwintering egg sacs usually is enough, if it isn't a drench in late
spring with intercept (pravado). oddly we have a bee colony just 20 feet
from the conservatory but the honey bees seldom come in but the bumble bees
do, they seem drawn to the Pelargoniums.
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea