"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Charlie Pridham" writes:

| Net curtains over the doors and windows with
| the BC did work but was a complete pain to live with. so now its a
tooth
| brush and water and about 3 sprays per year of Intercept.

Yes, I do that until the Ipomoea indica gets out of hand. But
doesn't the insecticide interfere with your RSM control?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

No, the active ingredient has no effect on the spider mite or its predator,
but I still try and avoid spraying plants with RSM (they never seem to get
mealy bug if they have either RSM or white fly)
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article , Charlie
Pridham writes

Nick Maclaren.
We find the egg sacks in dead or dieing leaves, behind labels, tucked under
the rims of pots, under loose bark, any places where stems converge or
touch, plus any nearby cracks and crevices. I noticed this year one plant,
out all winter has live adults this summer so even the cold treatment seems
not to be completely effective.

I've tried leaving badly affected cacti out all winter (in a dry place)
- partially effective -mealy bug are reduced - but not completely. Mealy
bug survive the process better than the cacti ;-)

Net curtains over the doors and windows with
the BC did work but was a complete pain to live with. so now its a tooth
brush and water and about 3 sprays per year of Intercept. There are also
some plants like Araujia which can be clear felled after flowering which
certainly curbs the pest problems.
Its certainly easier to live with than either white fly or red spider (and
at least with RS the BC does work well)

I'm finding mealy bug more of a problem than red spider atm - that's
because the red spider BC does work, and regular spraying with water
slows the breeding. There again, the red spider seem to prefer the non-
cacti and the mealy bug the cacti - and on many cacti a toothpick works
perfectly well. I think I shall stop growing Echinofossulocacti -
there's no way I can get a toothpick down between those multitudinous
wiggly ribs
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"