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Fudgecicles! Mealybugs! :(

Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
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^ That's what has been on my N. densiflora x spectabilis. I never see them move around so I didn't suspect that's what it was. They are really, really tiny, so tiny you can't even tell what they are. They were pretty much all over the leaves of the plant. Luckily, they didn't spread to the rest of my collection. I wiped all that I could see off of the plant... They never left any of those patches like in the pic, all I saw were little tiny white speckles everywhere. Not on any of the neighboring plants. The infected plant had been with the rest of the collection for four months, so... ???

What dangers do mealybugs pose to my collection? Any Nepenthes/SPHAGNUM-safe insecticides?
 
not mealybugs.. but a form of scale. Cycad scale or something like that
 
I have had my fair share of battle with scale. I suggest a dual method: Manual removal....basically....use rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs and brush off all the scale you can see. If the plant is tough, you can actually do the orchid method of using a brush and dipping it in the alcohol and brushing it free of any scale. I would also repot the plant...basically unpot it...clean it and then repot it.

Chemical treatment...I suggest either Orthenex (spray can or concentrate...stinks)... or Bayer Rose and Insect killer. But make sure you do the repeat treatments every 2wks or so atleast 3-4 times carefully examining the plants at very closeup.

Btw...repotting is not practical many times, so thats fine...just alcohol removal and chemical treatment is fine.

btw...much of this method is what I learnt from our resident experts like Tony, Capslock and a lot of other experienced growers here. So this is not my own technique.
 
I have had my fair share of battle with scale. I suggest a dual method: Manual removal....basically....use rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs and brush off all the scale you can see. If the plant is tough, you can actually do the orchid method of using a brush and dipping it in the alcohol and brushing it free of any scale. I would also repot the plant...basically unpot it...clean it and then repot it.

Chemical treatment...I suggest either Orthenex (spray can or concentrate...stinks)... or Bayer Rose and Insect killer. But make sure you do the repeat treatments every 2wks or so atleast 3-4 times carefully examining the plants at very closeup.

Btw...repotting is not practical many times, so thats fine...just alcohol removal and chemical treatment is fine.

btw...much of this method is what I learnt from our resident experts like Tony, Capslock and a lot of other experienced growers here. So this is not my own technique.

Do I have to dilute Orthenex/Bayer Rose for Nepenthes? Is it safe for sphagnum?

After further inspection, I see a bit on a few of the surrounding plants, but not too much. :-(
 
Orthene (Acephate) is no longer sold by Ortho. For non-professional use It is now made by Bonide. Look for their Sysstemic Insect Control. This is a concentrate and should be diluted according to the instructions for the type of pest and application method. It is not available in AK, CA, and HI.

Both Acephate and the Bayer Advanced should be safe for use on Nepenthes and Sphagnum moss as long as you follow the directions and recommended concentrations.

Note: the crawlers (nymph phase) can spread to your other plants on their own. The crawlers and eggs can also be transferred on your hands, hair, clothes or gardening implements. Take care when handling the infected plants not to handle your other plants afterwards without cleanup.
 
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not mealybugs.. but a form of scale. Cycad scale or something like that

Tony your ID of the critter in the pic is spot on.
I have never seen cycad scales on anything but cycads. However based on the pic is not a nep and is a cycad I am assuming pineapple found this to be the most similar to what is infesting his plants. Probably the abundant smaller elongate scales which are males are causing this confusion. If I had to guess need to compare with hibiscus snow scale. Common on neps and potentially bad really bad. It will reproduce quickly if given a chance. Use the treatment regiments suggested. But always watch for them me cause they will come back
 
Located a store with Bayer Advanced. I'll spray the plants and sphagnum down with that. Thanks for mentioning the thing about how they will spread to hands and hair... I'll go take a shower now, I'm officially paranoid. All of the plants are mingling in the terrarium... Leaves touching, sphagnum touching, pots touching, ect... So crap... And you mention they're really, really bad. What threats do they pose to the neps, other than looking like crap?

I was talking about this issue in the chat box... Will manual removal with rubbing alcohol on cotton swabs work, in addition to treatments of Bayer Advanced?
 
See this thread unfortunately many of the pictures are no longer available
 
  • #11
It is most likely boisduval scale. photo here http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/scales/boisduval_scale08.jpg

Back when I grew orchids I used to keep a bottle of 50% or 70% alcohol with a few drops of dawn dish detergent (as a sticker spreader) in it with a trigger sprayer (with the pickup tube cut to length to fit the alcohol bottle) on it just for killing these little suckers. After spraying the plant with this solution the buggers will be dead. The female scales will just flick right off after a couple of days. The alcohol will have killed the females hiding under the little domes that normally protect them from insecticides. No need to rinse the plants after applying this solution. I used it on orchids and nepenthes with no ill effects.
 
  • #12
I've not noticed any negative impacts on pitcher plants (neps, cephs, sarrs) from either acephate or imidacloprid-based pesticides. However, the Ortho acephate-based pesticide has one of the most foul, nasty, penetrating odors of any I've used. I would not willingly use it inside a house.
 
  • #13
Thanks for the info Mach. You have more experience with these critters I am sure!

Fortunately I have never had to deal with this specific pest. I have seen it a number of times though on various forums and it almost always seems to start with a plant sent over from Hawaii

Everyone elses suggestions are good. Systemic insecticide is best. This type of pest is capable of hiding in the smallest cracks and down below the soil line so the only way to be really sure to get them all and protect against reinfestation from eggs as they hatch after treatment, is with a systemic. Deffinately treat more than just the plants which you see the pests. Most likely they have spread beyond those few plants. If they are all in your Ghouse though it shouldn't be too hard to spray everything down with 2 or 3 treatments a couple weeks apart.
 
  • #14
probably not what you want to hear..but..
I have been battling scale on houseplants for years..I have tried everything.
After much trial and error, I now have only one method I use:

as soon as I see scale on a plant, I throw it away..

nothing else is as effective, and its the best method to prevent it from migrating to other plants..
sorry, but thats 25 years of experience and frustration talking..

Scot
 
  • #15
What kind of Bayer Advanced should I get? There's like 700 different kinds on their website...
 
  • #16
I'm with Scotty on this one: isolate and discard is my philosophy. Scale is one of the most insidious pests you can have the misfortune of acquiring. I would be having words with the nursery/person I got the infested plant from.
 
  • #17
I'm not going to throw away the entire collection... It's all been exposed, there's nothing I can do now.

The place has an extremely good reputation and people order from them online all the time... Nothing was apparent on any of the plants until a month or two ago. Can't I just spray with Bayer Advanced to keep it under control? ???
 
  • #18
I'm with Scotty on this one: isolate and discard is my philosophy. Scale is one of the most insidious pests you can have the misfortune of acquiring.
Since his whole tank is likely infected by now, this is pretty severe advice. When I had a scale infestation on my VFTs & outside Cephs a few years ago, I used several spaced sprayings of Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer (imidacloprid-based) and this wiped them out.

Maybe I had a wimpy species ... ???
 
  • #19
Could you link me to the product you used so I know what to get?

IMHO, these little tiny bugs aren't really posing a huge threat. I don't see any places where the leaf has been eaten and the plant is doing better than ever. I could see how it would be a problem when I have tons of them, but if I use the insecticide and frequent manual removal, it shouldn't be an issue. Just my opinion though, I've never had to deal with plant parasites before... ???
 
  • #20
This is the stuff I used. The instructions say it only kills scale in the crawler stage but it killed attached scale for me.
 
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