Mealy Bugs

[indigo264nm]

Out of all bugs I have in the garden, these ones are the bitchiest. I even prefer aphids over these fuckers.

Pyrethrum just doesn't cut it for these babies - they reproduce too quickly and I basically find them on all my ethnos except for the Catha and cacti (but even the succulents get them). Even one of my plants developed a severe fungal problem over winter due to the ants caused by the mealy infestation and I had to prune it back thinking it was a gonner.

Does anybody have any tips for how they deal with these, because most people who get them introduced by some plant into their garden will say that it's overall fighting a losing battle.

I don't like using pesticides much unless my plants really need it, and with mealy bugs you really need to use a systemic pesticide (which in one regard I prefer)... is it worthwhile just spraying the fuck out of all my affected ethno plants and those surroudning with maldison every 10 days for a couple of months in hope they will go away for a while??? I have pets so you can understand my reluctancy.

Cheers

--Chris.

[gerbil]

Have to be very cautious of course, but possibly tobacco?

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Plant-Diseases-...door-Plants.htm that was the first hit from mealy bugs nicotine

Have never dealt with them personally. Good luck :D

[indigo264nm]

Hmmm it's a good thought... I'd either have to start growing rustica or I guess I could just use bumpers hehe.

[Auntyjack]

..i think spider mites are worse, have lost two beautiful brugs and a couple of square stems, but mealies are attacking my cacti...go figure?

But I have learnt the hard way....dont use white oil is fu*king evil stuff.

[Kenny Blister]

Hi Chris

Are the mealy bugs above ground, on the foliage?

It might be a little more expensive than using pesticides, but perhaps biological control is worth a shot. Cryptolaemus montrouzieri are used to control mealy bugs.

Bug Central

[prole]

Hmmm it's a good thought... I'd either have to start growing rustica or I guess I could just use bumpers hehe.

My first post! That actually works really well. You can use spent smokes by putting them in a jar with water and making a disgusting tea. I'd remove the filters if you don't smoke rollies. Depending on how patient you are, you could coat each mealy bug individually with any oil and a cotton tip.

[indigo264nm]

Welcome Prole.. Yeah it's a good idea except for the fact that there would be thousands upon thousands of em so I'd have to use as a spray as opposed to just dabbing at em. It's like the situation with weeds - if you are spot spraying you're better off just painting the foliage with some concentrated glyphosphate but if you've got an acre to compete against the rate of seeding would be quicker than the rate in which you can individually paint each plant.

I spose at the moment the plants are booming faster than the mealy bugs but it's during the slow months that it gets nasty - a tropical plant (say a tree from thailand) who is stressed due to winter and losing some foliage, combined with rain and honeydew and ants feeding off it and spreading spores around.... nuff said..

[Airbender]

g'day, controlling your ants is very important with mealy bug control...the ants will "farm" the mealy bugs, the ants will pick up the mealy bugs and move them from plant to plant so they can harvest more of their prized honeydew (sugary mealybug waste product...mealybug wee!) ants are also known to do this farming/transporting with other pests too;aphids,hard scale...if the ants aren't brought under control they will help the remaining 2-3% mealybug population explode again the minute you stop applying your systemic insecticide... my first ever post too.yippee

Edited December 19, 2007 by Airbender

[AndyAmine.]

Have you tried using just the spent filters, probabaly less trouble when it comes to filtering and not as soupy.

I think I remeber someone here syaing they used this tek.

[indigo264nm]

g'day, controlling your ants is very important with mealy bug control...the ants will "farm" the mealy bugs, the ants will pick up the mealy bugs and move them from plant to plant so they can harvest more of their prized honeydew (sugary mealybug waste product...mealybug wee!) ants are also known to do this farming/transporting with other pests too;aphids,hard scale...if the ants aren't brought under control they will help the remaining 2-3% mealybug population explode again the minute you stop applying your systemic insecticide... my first ever post too.yippee

Welcome to you as well...

How would you go about keeping the ants under control though??? Use a systemic + contact - in which case the filter butt idea sounds pretty good actually to use as a contact.. surely if you kept using a systemic until the mealy population is eradicated then ants won't have anything to farm???

In regards to hard scale - I was pretty damned sure that they aren't farmed by ants under the basis they don't produce honeydew... hence the reason I have no ants on my cacti but do have some hard scale.

[Hellonasty]

Most of my plants are in pots. I had a bad ant problem, they weren't doing any real harm but as said above they can help other bugs along. I got rid of them by 1st submerging the pots in water for 10min, this killed the ants. To stop them getting back in I put a larger saucer than the pot underneath filled it with water and then put a brick on its side in the midde thus creating water barrier ants cannot cross.

I also obtained a little ant dust and filled up onwe of the large nests with it.

Has worked pretty well. It has been a while now and still no ants.

[mutant]

Wow, heck! mealy bugs in the middle of dec! What kind of weather do you have in australia now?????

I easily confronted my mealybugs with a simple home-made mix, even at the time they had reproduced. Indeed, for me, spider mites were far worse, even though I suspect the species of each are important also.

mix is: 3/4 water, 1/4 blue alcohol plus few drops of concentrated green dish-wash liquid [soap]. Spray the fuckers over and under the leaves. I had nice results with the mealybugs. One spraying seemed to deactivate them [it might be advisable though you check the mixture first in small quatities, to see if each individual plant tolertes it]. one additional maybe 15-20 days later... I easily healed my brugmansias off meally bugs in no time.... But do monitor you plants...

If some does try it, tell me what you think!

[Airbender]

How would you go about keeping the ants under control though??? Use a systemic + contact - in which case the filter butt idea sounds pretty good actually to use as a contact.. surely if you kept using a systemic until the mealy population is eradicated then ants won't have anything to farm???

i use "ANT RID" in a shaded non porous area on active ant trails i put a few drops down and they swarm over it supposedly taking it back to the nest and feeding it to the Queen"here you go Queenie, chomp on this poison, ARGGH"..no more queen...no more ants it takes a week or two sometimes but it's quite permanent...allthough i have heard that some species of ant REINFEST abandonded nests...ants will be marching long after humans are gone from this planet, Cheers

[ThunderIdeal]

this might not be much help, but mealybugs HIDE, might be why your contact spray isn't doing much.

also, they live underground, so i can't think of a way to deal with the underground suckers except submersion or systemic spray.