What's the best method to treat scale on my orchid cactus?
Scale on orchid cactus
I understand that scraping with a fingernail will get them dislodged. Or has our TV hortaculturist calls it "El Kabatski" which is his favorite for aphids.
I always get rid of scale by brushing lightly using a toothbrush with water with dish detergent added. I keep several pre-mixed sprayers in the greenhouse and several toothbrushes. I use these on both orchids and orchid cactus with no negative results. bob.
This message was edited Feb 13, 2011 9:13 PM
Thanks bob. I've been steadily getting rid of them. I'll be diligent about giving them a good cleansing before bringing them in the house this fall.
I wipe them down with alcohol soaked cotton or qtip. Comes right off.
ngel: Everytime I have used alcohol on my plants, even when highly diluted, I still get burned areas., I've stopped using it on any plant, Have you had better luck than me? bob
This message was edited Feb 13, 2011 9:12 PM
Bob I've had both some burned & some not. I quit using it too.
Besides picking/scraping/brushing, which I do too, I've also started using Dyna Grow's Pro-TeKt silicone additive to help build up the plant's own ability to fight them off. Haven't done formal trials, but it does seem like it helps on average for all/plants all/bugs. Also a systemic insecticide approved for most houseplants. I also like to always water with a sharp spray and also wash the leaves over & under to catch any juviniles that aren't hardened off yet (I use the "flat" setting on those 5-way garden nozzels).
I think you have to hit them with everything, knock them way down so they don't appear at all for a few months (while you keep up the 3 methods above), then repot with a complete root wash & all new soil, then still keep up with the systemic/leaf-wash/Pro-teKt for a year and we might have a shot at the holy grail of bug battles: a complete cure of hard scale.
I haven't finished yet with anything, but I'm well in progress on several and it seems to be working great so far.
I've also noticed that having an immaculate clean floor/counter wherever you are growing helps slow or halt the spread from one plant to another; try to keep your plants from touching one another even if they don't have bugs. :)
- Tom
I have not had burn but I rinse it off afterwards.
Tom; I spray my greenhouse every month with a light mixture of an insecticide and a fungicide. This has helped tremendously with most problems. However, I think that scale defies most cures. I scrape off scale and follow-up with a soap/oil wash.
I noticed scale on one of my plants and did what orchidman mentioned and I took it out of the dirt, sprayed it clean then took a soft toothbrush to it with some mild dish soap and scrubbed, repotted it in a clean pot and said "well if I killed this poor thing it was better than bugs eating it to death" that was about a month ago and the epi looks really good and healthy. Many thanks orchidman.
Grace
Glad that worked for you acts238. I did clean mine and sprayed them well with a combo of insecticide and fungicide and they did fine the rest of the winter. I've been gradually watering them and they've put on some good growth. Some are large enough and hopefully I'll see some blooms this year.
I say "Let the Boomin begin"!!