I recently added some Streptocarpus to my growing area for Hoyas/ Orchids. Im amazed how full they are of Mealie, and the Hoyas are fine....more or less clean. I have sprayed the Hoyas a couple of months ago....maybe theres something in that tho it never cleans them completely....but the Streps seem to have been a magnet for the Mealies. Not sure if this is a diversion tactic and they'll leave my Hoyas alone, but if it means cleaning a few disgustigly infested Streps a few times to catch the mealies, who knows??
Dominic
Mealie Diversions
I know that when I had a problem with mealies a few years ago there were some hoyas that never had them - they'd be sitting beside another that was just crawling. I didn't take chances though, and treated all plants in my house twice over a two week period, then seven months later, and then again a year later. I've never seen another mealie and its been over a year since the last time I treated them. Any new cutting or plant that comes into my house gets isolated for a month. I used the systemic BATS, as any house-wide treatment is very time-consuming and not something I want to have to do on a regular basis. I know now from experience that BATS works well in totally eliminating mealies. In fact the main ingredient in BATS is also in my cats' flea prevention treatment, and they don't get fleas.
In short, if you have a plant with mealies, don't let it near your other plants, because the nasty little creatures will find a way to migrate ... your plant won't attract the mealies away from the hoya. I think its the mealies' job to explore new worlds; conquer new plants; discover the gallaxy...LOL
Christine
I used to spend a lot of time on the Gesneriad forum here on DG because I used to grow African Violets and other members of that family, (although I couldn't seem to keep a Strep alive for very long!) A lot of folks over there grow Streptocarpus and have hundreds. I don't remember hearing anyone talk about using BATS on their Gessie plants, but you could pop in and ask about a remedy: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/av/all/ There are a couple of very knowledgeable folks on the forum who might have some suggestions for you.
Now, I have a question ... is BATS ok to use for APHIDS on my Hoyas? I remember someone posting about BATS making something worse on hoyas but I can't remember what it was. I'm having a problem with Aphids on a couple of carnosa's. Thank goodness I haven't found them on anything else but they are covering my two very large carnosas. I have sprayed daily it seems with insecticidal soap but the next day there are more aphids.
I use a chemical thats is the main ingredient in BATS. I found it here..eventually...., and it does the work for a while. I was just poining out that the mealies..for once, seem to find the Streps more attractive than the Hoyas. Mealies are big problems over here as they thrive. Coccineal......not sure if thats spelt right, is widely cultivated for its blood and thrives here, as do the meailis, so theres no point in dreaming you'll ever be free of them.
At times of the year we have a lot of bees, pain in the proverbial when youre having breakfast outside..but , put a plate of jam somewhere away from the table, and all the bees go to that....no bees.... Was kinda thinking the same remedy for the mealies.:))
Dominic
Ah, the difference being that my hoyas don't go outside; the downside is that I have far less flowers than I would otherwise, but the bright side is that my bug phobia is appeased.
Lin, BATS has been known to make spider mites worse. I have used neem oil successfully to get rid of spider mites. I sprayed all surfaces of the plant and pot, watered the plant with it even, and then put the plant, pot and all in a large, clear plastic bag, which I sealed up for 3 days. I repeated this after 10 days. Bugglies were gone.
The first year I had put hibiscuses outside, they came in for the winter covered in aphids. They went back out and I allowed them to die, not knowing what else I could do (that was a few years ago). I got the same hibiscuses a couple of years later, learned about BATS and out they went for the summer. Treated them a week before they came in, and nothing, no aphids, no nothing on them. I now even confidently put my duranta and Norfolk Island Pine outside for the summer. The hoyas would be just too much work. When its just four large plants I can get DH to help me...lol.
Christine
Thanks Christine! I remembered someone saying BATS would make some pest worse but couldn't remember what pest it was and didn't want to use it in fear of having the aphids multiply. Thank goodness I haven't had a problem with spider mites. I'm going to mix up some BATS right now for my big carnosas. I will have to pour the water through the soil though because they are too big to fit inside the 5gal bucket that I usually dunk plants in.
Aphids are really easy to kill with:
Insecticidal soap sprayed on them directly and getting rid of the ants that are 'farming' them. You probably have a number of ant nests very nearby...perhaps in the soil of the plant. A long drench with Sevin @ 3/4 oz. per gal. will kill the whole next.
Sacrificial Streptocarpus- I like it. Like sacrificing a few villagers to the volcano, so the volcano god will leave the rest of us alone.
Dominic, sounds like a good plan using the Strep as a divergence for the mealies, but I have a feeling once the mealies get tired of the Strep they will move on to other plants ... so be on the lookout.
Carol, for the aphid problem I'm having on my large carnosa's I've used insecticidal soap for days and every day find a new batch of aphids. I don't find ants anywhere near the plants which are on the pool deck but they could very well be in the soil. We have had a horrible problem with ants in the yard this summer ... many, many ant hills everywhere ... can't seem to control them. My husband put out some granules around the yard last weekend on a bunch of different ant mounds and they just seem to up and move to another location. I don't like chemicals because I feed the birds and am so concerned they might eat the granules and it will harm them but, he finally decided enough was enough so I took the bird feeders down for awhile.
The ants are probably coming up from under the slightly raised wood deck that attaches at one end of the cement pool deck, there's nothing but sand under the wood deck. I think I will buy some sevin and pour it through the cracks on the wood deck to see if it will take care of any nests that may be under there. I'm surprised the little lizards aren't keeping the ants in check this year but it seems like there are a few different kinds of ants and the lizards don't even look twice at some of them.
Yesterday afternoon I poured a couple of gallons of BATS water through the soil of both of these large pots that have a combination of Rubra and Tricolor combined, and this morning I found aphids on one of them again! It's just going to be an uphill battle for awhile but I guess I shouldn't complain as they aren't covered with them, just a few new leaves here and there. I am determined that I WILL win the battle! ^_^
... guess I will go finish mowing the lawn before it gets any hotter! 90º right now and humid!
Lin, I love that white table in the back on the right. I am looking at enclosing my deck and I have to ask, is yours screeened in or glassed in.
Thanks,
Dee
Beautiful screen house, Lin. Wow, I love that; I wish I had that much space for growing.
I have found that mealies love hoyas above all other plants so if I find mealies on any of my other plants, the hoyas have mealies as well. At least in my experience, anyway.
Since I've been using Marathon and BATS, I don't have a problem with mealies any longer, but when I first started to use Marathon, I could tell if I missed treating a plant when re-potting since it was the only plant covered in mealies. (:o(
Mike
Come to think of it Lin, I did use a similar ploy with snails in the UK. When I moved into my house, it was my first real garden, and boy did I fill it...however, it was like I'd rung the dinner bell for the local snail population and within a year there were so many, you could actually hear them munching at night....I kid not.. Ive never seen so many snails in my life. They went for the Busy Lizzies mostly......so, the next year I decided to place a few sacrificial ones around ( nice terminology Mark..:)) ) and, guess what, the next year they took a liking to the Petunias and left the B Lizzies alone...and so it went on.
Ill let you know next year if its worked
Lin, it takes awhile to get through the plant's system. When I had my mealie problem a few years ago, I kept seeing them for weeks afterward, and ended up treating all my plants again. And, as a comparison, my cats had fleas last summer before I thought that could ever happen to my little angels. It took nearly three months to get rid of the fleas, treating them once a month with Advantage, which has the same ingredient as BATS. The eggs aren't killed, so they keep hatching, and once the stuff is in plant's or the cat's system, the hatched insect takes a little while to die.
Christine
Dee: LOL, so you like my table huh? About 1 1/2 years ago my neighbors had it out for the trash so I asked them if I could have it. It's actually a dressing table they had for their little girl and were re-doing her bedroom and didn't want it. A few months ago I got a little white night stand that they had out on trash day! They laugh at me, but you know the old saying ... "One person's trash is another's treasure"! I've been looking for a little red wagon and an old bicycle for years to have as garden art. About ten years ago the folks next door were moving out and they had put a little red wagon out for the trash. I was in a rush for an appointment and figured I'd pick it up on my way back in ... bad decision, it was gone when I returned a couple of hours later. The trash truck had not been by yet but the wagon was gone! I keep telling my husband he needs a new wheelbarrow, his is rusty and always getting flat tires. I wanted the thing to drill holes in and plant flowers in ... he always fixes the flats. But, one of these days I might just buy him a new one so I can acquire the old one!
Oh, you asked about the deck ... that entire pool area that runs the length of the back of the house is screened in.
Mike: Thanks for the compliment ... that area is where I spend most of my time! I am so glad to have all that space because my house is small and dark and there's no room for so many plants.
Dominic: My problem is I don't know what plant I'd want to be the sacrificial plant! We've had a problem this year with army worms, at least that's what someone told me they are ... eating my tomato plants as well as some of my plants around the pool, Grrr! Unfortunately those things don't seem to pick on just one plant, they eat everything!
Christine: Thanks ... I should have known that! We use advantage at times on our cats. I should have realized it wouldn't be instant death for the aphids on my hoyas. I'm going to be watching them every day and still spray with insecticidal soap until the BATS kicks in.
This is the other end of the wood deck shown in my photo above. I call this entire area "My Playground".
Lin,
Your play room is absolutely beautiful! What a little paradise you have!
Mel
LOL Christine ... the house is 35 years old, small 2 br 2 bath, with mis-matched everything, I should concentrate on the inside but always say that it can wait. We've been in the house 34 years and the inside could use some major updating. In my younger years I was a neat freak, worked long hours at my job and still would stay up until 2:00 a.m. cleaning and scrubbing floors if company was coming! Geesh, I wonder what ever happened to those days? Now I don't find a lot of time to do housework, I'm always out playing in the dirt. Nowadays if the vacuuming gets done, it's my sweet husband who does it for me!
I used to have a fantastic looking yard too, with well manicured flower beds everywhere, but as I've gotten older I can't handle the heat for working in the yard all day long anymore. I do have a riding mower and do the mowing, edging and trimming but that even takes me a lot longer than it used to, I have to take a lot of breaks. We had a friend who used to say "Getting old isn't for Sissie's", I think I'm becoming a sissy. ^_^
I found this sign at some clearance a few years ago and bought two, gave one away and the other one kind of fits me, so I kept it ...
I have a jug of BATS and it is time to break it out before I bring in the plants. The instruction label is damaged. What is the dilution for my hoyas? Thanx. Susan
Aha ... Christine, Thank you for the amount! I need to drench my plants again as I only used 1 tsp per gallon of water! Don't know why I thought 1 oz was only one teaspoon!
The one tsp per gallon of water is the directions for potted plants. I think I may use the stronger version (2
TBL per gallon) the next time I treat the plants to keep the creepy crawleys at bay.
Mike...I would stick with the formula. You might add a pinch of fertilizer in the water (I usually do)...you know..."a teaspoon of sugar makes the medicine go down...."
I try to do mine in the spring when growth starts, and I spray them with Messenger to make them take it up faster.....
I have found that the SECRET is the drench!!! not just watering it in. Let the pot sit in the stuff for 10-15 mins.
Thanks, Carol.
I have some messenger, but have never used it. I guess I will take everything outside next spring and spray each plant with it.
That's good to know about letting the pots sit in the BATS. When I used Marathon, the directions stated that you had to be careful not to let any water run from the bottom of the pot for the first 3 times you watered, after adding the Marathon to the soil. Since this is already in a liquid form, it doesn't really matter.
Thanks,
Mike
(p.s. got the cuttings and they look great! Thank you so much!)
Yes...I tried the Marathon at one point too. Then learned it is V E R Y slow acting... Oh well, I could educate my son, again, for the money I have wasted on 'stuff'!!!!!
Messenger is good stuff! When you do use it...spray it on about 4 days before you are going to drench/fertilize...then the Messenger has kicked the plant into high gear! This is a good time to take cuttings too!
Lin- the pest BATSS can make worse is spider-mites- it interferes with their egg production, apparently sometimes increasing it dramatically.
So if you suspect spider-mites, which only generally affect a few types of Hoya (Hoya bella types like lanceolata, engleriana, chinghungensis, linearis, dickasoniana) and cummingiana types (like densifolia), and odorata types (like schneei, paziaea, sp. Tanna Island 1) then for those trouble plants you may also want to do a series of neem or horticultural soap or oil sprays, which should handle that problem,
Signs of spider-mite infestation I have seen are slow plant growth, distorted, small new leaves, poor color in leaves (silvery-grey splothches where the chlorophyll has been entirely sucked out) and general plant malaise. Check the bottom of the leaves for dark specks, which are the mites, their eggs, or feces.
Often just blasting top and bottoms of the leaves will radically decrease or even eliminate mites- they don't seem to like water.
BATTS works like a charm on mealies, scale, thrip, aphids & most non arachnoid sucking pests.
Good info, Mark... Also note that since Imidocloprid is used in orchards, the toxin does not extend out to the flowers/fruit of the plants treated. So, you MAY see critters on the flowers still. Alcohol works on those!
If you ARE treating for Mites...be sure to repeat treatment every 7 days to take care of new hatches. 3 times ought to be enough. Bayer does make a miticide.
Thanks Mark & Carol! I haven't seen any signs of spider mites on plants in a few years and only have the occasional problem with mealies. This is the first time I've had aphids on plants in a long time and the BATTS seems to be working!