If mealybugs and mealybugs target your orchids, the lavish blooms will quickly disappear. The pests deprive the majestic indoor flowers of the sap while they cover the leaves and shoots with their webs in droves. Typical symptoms can be recognized early on, so you can track down the cunning lice and fight them without using poison. This guide gives you 6 effective ways to free the exotic flowering diva from its parasitic burden.
Classic symptoms
Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) can be identified by their woolly hair, which is greasy upon contact. Therefore the insects are also known as mealybugs. The more than 1,000 species worldwide are classified as scale insects, although they do not have a hard shell. Equipped with a highly developed piercing and sucking apparatus, the lice deprive orchids and other herbaceous plants of their lifeblood. With a body length of 0.5 to 6 mm, it is sometimes too late to rid the infected orchid of the pests when you first see it. Under ideal conditions, mealybugs multiply explosively. The following symptoms will help you identify the parasites early on:
- Tiny white cotton balls on and under the leaves
- Delicate, white webs in the leaf axils
- Stunted growth of leaves and buds
- Yellow-brown speckles
- Wilting phenomena on leaves and flowers
Mealybugs and mealybugs excrete honeydew as a waste product. As a result, a sticky coating develops on the orchid leaves. In the advanced stage, honeydew coating offers the spores of sooty mold fungi a welcome target, so that the leaves turn black.
Immediate measure: Quarantine
If you have discovered the pests due to the symptoms described, immediate action has top priority. Immediately separate the affected orchid from other houseplants to prevent the infestation from becoming an epidemic. In the quarantine room, temperatures should be at the lowest level that your orchid can tolerate. Furthermore, the highest possible humidity is an advantage for the success of the fight, as mealybugs prefer dry, warm conditions.
Powerful without chemicals
– effective remedies in detail –
If an orchid sheds its leaves under the pressure of a mealybug infestation, the load limit has been exceeded. Now even highly concentrated chemical insecticides can no longer prevent the demise of the flower queen. In the early stages, however, there are good prospects of effectively combating mealybugs and mealybugs and restoring the affected orchid to its former glory. You can safely leave insecticides with ingredients that are harmful to your he alth, such as acetamiprid, on the store shelf. The following control products are based exclusively on natural ingredients.
Water
Moisture in any form is a horror for mealybugs. Water is therefore the first choice when you have discovered pests on your orchids. The more hard-leaved the type of orchid, the more brutal you can be. How to do it right:
- Wrap the culture pot including the aerial roots in a waterproof bag
- Rush the affected orchid thoroughly from above with clear, lukewarm water
- Then rinse the plant upside down again
If very hard water flows from your pipe, we recommend using a pressure sprayer. Fill in filtered rainwater or decalcified tap water and spray the mealybug population from leaves and shoots. In this case, root balls and aerial roots must also be well protected from the concentrated load of moisture. Before removing the moisture protection from the pot, wipe the leaves and shoots dry with a soft cloth. Otherwise, water droplets will leave unsightly limescale marks on the leaves when they dry.
Alcohol
Water rolls off the wax-coated protective shield of adult mealybugs and mealybugs without any effect. The more firmly the pests have embedded themselves in the epidermis of an orchid, the more resistant they are to high water pressure. The brood, whose defense mechanisms are not yet fully developed, is particularly susceptible to this strategy. Combating it with a water shower is therefore just the beginning. With alcohol there is a good chance of dissolving the waxy shell and destroying the lice underneath. The following options have proven themselves well in practice:
- Moisten a soft cloth with alcohol and wipe the top and bottom of the leaves
- Dab hard-to-reach areas with alcohol-soaked cotton swabs
- Fill an old perfume bottle with lemon balm spirit and spray the mealybugs
Repeat this application every 2 to 3 days until symptoms no longer appear. The robust leaves of Phalaenopsis orchids and other sclerophyll species survive alcohol consumption undamaged. The more soft-leaved and sensitive the orchid, the more caution is required in order not to cast out the devil with Beelzebub. If in doubt, alcohol should be left out of combat agents and the following, gentler classic among the effective agents should be used.
Soap solution
Plant lice of all kinds have little to counteract the soft soap solution. As scientists have been able to prove, the effectiveness of the home remedy even surpasses industrially produced insecticides. If you want to emerge victorious from the confrontation with mealybugs on your orchids without taking any he alth risks, you can't avoid soapy water. How to use the product professionally:
- Slightly warm one liter of decalcified or stale tap water
- Dissolve 20 to 40 grams of pure core or soft soap in it
- Add one or two splashes of spirit
Pour the cooled liquid into a hand sprayer. Treat the mealybug-infested orchid at 2 to 3 day intervals. Spray the entire plant carefully to moisten even the smallest niches. Please only stop using the soft soap solution once you have ensured that all mealybugs have been destroyed. In practice, it has proven useful to repeat the treatment after about 2 weeks. Lice eggs are resistant to the home remedy, so the next generation will have hatched by then and should be eliminated. This means the cycle of reproduction is permanently interrupted.
Tip:
The control success is optimized with a plastic bag. Pack the treated orchid in a transparent bag, thereby cutting off the air from the mealybugs and mealybugs. After 3 to 4 days without oxygen and under the influence of ecological agents, the pests lose out.
Rapeseed oil
With rapeseed oil, the kitchen offers an environmentally and he alth-friendly remedy that works effectively against mealybugs and mealybugs. Diluted with water, a milky oil-water emulsion forms, which is sprayed very finely onto the top and bottom of the affected leaves. The pests are surrounded by an oil film from which there is no escape. Although it is a purely natural control agent, there are important aspects to consider when using it. This is how it works:
- Treat only hard-leaved orchid species with rapeseed oil
- Mix low-lime water and rapeseed oil in a ratio of 7: 3
- As an emulsifier, stir in 1 percent aqueous solution of soft soap
- Move the orchid to be treated to a shady location
- Pour the oil-water solution into a flower syringe and apply a thin layer to leaves and shoots
The best time for application is in the evening. The rapeseed oil mixture briefly dissolves the wax layer of the orchid leaves, which is one of the reasons for its effect against mealybugs. In daylight or under direct sunlight, no protection against evaporation is guaranteed without the wax layer. After an evening application, the natural protective layer renews itself until the next day. Due to the high effectiveness of rapeseed oil, the product should not be used more than three times to combat mealybugs.
Paraffin oil
Paraffin oil can be found everywhere in everyday life due to its non-toxicity and special properties. The spectrum extends from care and preservation to fuel and sealing. Until a few years ago, what was less known was its effective action against plant lice, such as scale insects, mealybugs and aphids. How to use the home remedy correctly:
- Stir 12 grams of paraffin oil into 1 liter of lime-free water
- For better mixing, add a little soapy water as an emulsifier
- Pour the liquid into a spray bottle
- Spray thinly onto the infected orchid in the evening in a shady location
As with all oil-based insecticides, orchids with strong, robust leaves respond positively to paraffin oil. You can use paraffin oil to remove mealybugs from the popular Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium orchids, as can Cypripedium (lady's slipper) and native orchids (Orchis and others).
Tip:
Fighting mealybugs and scale insects with the help of beneficial insects reaches its limits when it comes to houseplants. Few home gardeners are comfortable with the idea of releasing ladybirds or parasitic wasps into living spaces so that they can hunt down the pests. The use of predators is practical when orchids are cultivated in a greenhouse.
Neem oil
An oil is extracted from the seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) that has been proven to stop the larval development of mealybugs. The natural remedy has an inhibiting effect on adult insects, causing them to stop eating. Used consistently, the remedy frees your orchids from the plague and at the same time interrupts the never-ending cycle of reproduction. Since producing neem oil yourself is a difficult undertaking, we recommend using ready-made commercial products. Although it is a non-toxic, natural preparation, direct skin contact can cause allergic reactions. Please always use neem oil with protective gloves and long-sleeved clothing.
Ready-to-use resources from the trade
Orchid gardeners with limited time for plant care appreciate ready-to-use products. Specialist retailers have recognized the need and offer ecological products based on soft soap, rapeseed, paraffin and neem oil ready for use. The following list gives you proven remedies against mealybugs:
- Compo soft soap spray from 9, 90 euros for 750 ml spray bottle
- Dr. Stähler aphid-free with potash soap from 9.90 euros for 750 ml spray bottle
- Promanal AF Green Plants Pest Free from Neudorff with pure paraffin oil from 7.90 euros for 250 ml spray bottle
- Bayer Garten Lizetan orchid and ornamental plant spray with rapeseed oil from 9.90 euros for 500 ml spray bottle
- Naturen pest-free from Neudorff with rapeseed oil from 9.90 euros for 750 ml spray bottle
- Chrystal scale insect stop with paraffin oil as a pump spray from 8.09 euros for 250 ml spray bottle
- Neem oil from Schacht as an emulsion for spraying from 9.90 euros for 250 ml spray bottle
- Natria organic pest-free neem from Bayer as a concentrate from 9.90 euros for 30 ml pack
At Compo, the range of oil-containing, natural insecticides has been expanded to include the insecticide PREV-AM with orange oil. This is a contact poison that dissolves the soft waxy shell and kills the mealybugs underneath. Users rate the rapid effect as advantageous, as there are no long waiting times.
