Mealy bugs.HELP!!!!!!!!

I have tried to get rid of mealy bugs on my ferns using Shultz bug spray and have had no success. Anyone out there use anything that really works?

i use Bayer Advanced Garden Rose & Flower insect killer on anything i find and on all my plants from reg house plants to broms, to stapelias, to my butterfly bushes(along with everything outside)...i figure if it wont hurt a rose bush it wont hurt anything else i have...its worked for me, including the scale i had one of my broms:)

good luck
cindy

The difficulty with treating mealybugs is that there is always more to deal with than meets the eye. Young mealybugs lack the telltale cotton-like protective coating and they are skillful at hiding in nooks and crannies where leaves and stems join.

The key to successfully eradicating these creatures is to spray the ones that are out of site. That means that whatever treatment you select, you must get complete coverage, to the drip point, of all leaf and stem surfaces. If you miss a few, they will live to breed another day.

I do not recommend any pesticides because they are all hazardous to use and not 100% effective against mealybug. The best non-toxic treatment for mealybug is called Brand X foliage cleaner (Yes, that's for real). It is available through Southwest Plantscape Products in California (ftp://ftp.southwestplantscape.com/Brandx.pdf). Their phone is 1-800-333-7977. It is a silicon-based product so it is very slippery. Its ability to penetrate is probably the key to its effectiveness because it gets into the tiny crevices that other sprays miss.

You may want to try spraying with rubbing alcohol. Mix 1 part alcohol with 8 to 10 parts of water. It is also best if you repeat this treatment again in 5 to 7 days to catch any crawlers that you missed the first time. After that, you should check your plant weekly to see if they return.

Another option is to wash the plant down with soap and water. Use the same dilution as when washing dishes. Apply in the same manner as rubbing alcohol.

Never spray in direct sunlight or when temperatures are above 75 degrees.


Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Will Creed, Horticulturist
Horticultural Help, NYC
Email: wcreed@HorticulturalHelp.com

P.S. You may be interested in my website at www.HorticulturalHelp.com and my Indoor Plant Bulletins that I publish monthly.

Thank-you both for your replys-I assume the same treatment will work for scale-I have found those nasty little creatures on a couple of my stags.

Jackie - Ferns are particularly sensitive to sprays of all kinds. Soap sprays are usually OK, but anything else should be tested on a small section of the plants first. Staghorns pose a particular problem because you want to avoid removing the white fuzzy hairs from the surface of the fronds, if possible. Thus, it is best to use more selective application of alcohol or soap or horticultural oil and avoid any wiping of the fronds.