Growers and mealies

Well, it happened! Thank goodness I have good friends who care about me and will tell me when I goof up....and, BOY, did I goof up! Plants I sent her had mealie bugs...and the first thing I did was run out to the GH and check my plants. NONE!! The trip in the box probably hatched them...and I feel AWFUL! No more will I feel smug when I hear about this grower and that grower who have shipped infested plants...because it can happen thru no fault of the grower except, perhaps, thinking their Imidocloprid drench is still valid!!! I bait for ants; I hose down my plants regularly; I inspect them when they go into the box...

So, I guess I want everyone to understand when they receive a mealie on a plant (or 10) that it is NOT necessarily because a grower is sloppy, careless, a bad grower...just her/his turn to get egg on their face!!!

In the meantime, I am not shipping next week to give the nuclear warhead time to take effect and diss the ants and get rid of the mealies..... I could try to keep this a big deep dark secret...but out of anything I think there is a lesson to be learned and I wanted to pass on what I have learned!!!!

Aloha,
Carol :>)

Looks like you are going to have to start cracking the whip on those little lizards that you have!! They must be taking a break and now doing their job. LOL I got a nice gesneriad from a local greenhouse that had mealies. All I did was stick it out in the fresh air and sunshine, find a preying mantis and let him eat his heart out. It worked. Would you like me to loan you one? LOL I have a 3 inch guy that loves to change colors depending on what plant he is on. You have to promise to send him back though. LOL

This message was edited Sep 29, 2005 7:55 PM

Well, Carol, everything that I have ordered from you has been healthy and beautiful.

Here's some real egg on the face - I have a local retailer that specializes in tropical plants, and I cannot count the number of times I have found mealies and aphids on the plants in their store. I dutifully (and very quietly) point the pests out, and the owners choke out a mumbled "thanks" then treat me coldly, like I've done something wrong. I prefer to buy from those who can acknowledge that s**t happens and then take care of the problem accordingly (hmmmm, perhaps like you). BTW, I am not "brown-nosing" Carol (for those who might take this as such), I just get kind of happy when I see business people approaching things honestly!

From the High Priestess of Hoya Whoredom

Yes, Carol, don't be so hard on yourself. No one is without a mealie at some point or another if you have hoyas long enough. Ha. Main thing is you recognize when there is a problem and do what needs done to fix it.
Everything I got was fine too. You have a good record for having fine plants so we are happy.
Marcy

Yes, local nursery and fairly decent hoya supplier has displayed many a hoya crawling with mealies. I always say something, but I usually buy the plant anyway, keep it quarantined, and drench it with chemicals.

Yes Carol, you are way too hard on yourself. "Puppies occasionally get fleas."

Well....I am glad that there is a liberal collective mind here. I felt so guilty for having 'sneered' when I heard about other growers sending plants with mealies...and the purpose of my post is to ' let's be a little understanding"...with myself in the forefront!!! I have drenched 1/4 of the greenhouse (2 sides, 80 feet long) with Imidocloprid and only found some mealies on some eriostemmas no one has ordered. I do not dispute the reports...just wonder about my bad luck shipping the infected plants!!!! Oh, well.. :>).

PS. Ann...you are SO funny!!

Carol-----I would take your beautiful plants with a mealie or two, over most others without any !!!!!! I bet your mealies are even bigger, better and better looking then the others............HEE-HEE

Yep....my mealies will beat anybody else's mealies any day!!! yuk yuk yuk :>)

Carol, don't worry. Its dealers who CONSTANTLY send out plants with fungus or insects, and don't seem to care, that should feel shamed. Mealies are a fact of life on hoyas. I'm very gratefull to the good people at Bayer, who came up with that imidocloprid. It's changed my life!

I'm with Sandy on this, I would take any of your plants, mealies, mites, or mice. Your plants are outstanding. Besides, it's good for us to learn how to take care of pests. Right? You haven't swayed me Carol, your stuck with me for life. I will always order from you! Ann, I don't consider preaching the gospel of Carol brown noseing. We just REALLY appreciate her! Ha ha!
Heather

I know everyone who has a lot of plants have run into mealies more than once!

I totally agree, Carol....they often *do* hatch in the box during shipment.

It's too bad that more buyers can't understand this.

More often than not, the seller has no idea they've sent a mealy infestation along with a plant.

This has happened to me just in trading....I'll send a plant totally checked over by myself appearing to be pest free, and it will arrive with a mealy or two....and I've received plants that way as well, often from persons I've traded with countless times....and I *know* they didn't send it that way knowingly!

Another condolence to you....all plants I've received from you have been completely pest-free!

Uhm, for those of us who are still new and wouldn't know a mealie if it jumped up and bit us in the butt.......what does it look like? What symptoms does a plant display when infected? How does one go about disinfecting the plant? thanks
Betsy

Betsey, here are a couple of links to explain the evil mealies and how to get rid of them:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hoya/msg0408250027624.html
http://www.succulent-plant.com/hoya.html (click on "Pests")
And, the picture (below) of evil mealy bugs comes courtesy of the Swedish Hoya Society

This message was edited Oct 3, 2005 9:25 PM

DEATH to the mealies! Finally all the plants are newly drenched with Imidocloprid...tomorrow the ant bait goes out and I will revel in their destruction!!! hehehe.

Carol the obsessed!

I guess there was a 2 ton mealie spoted trying to jump a ship out off Seattle that was heading to Hawaii...Something about it being to cold and needing to get home to A.H.........Poor DEAR !!!!

OH...wait a second while I stop my heart from bleeding to death!!!!

Drown, sucker!!

MsKitty..
Thanks for the info. Ick...nasty lookin' little suckers! I don't recall seeing ANYthing like that on my hoyas.....but will double check. What's the deal with the ant bait, Carol? Do mealies come from ants? I can see you wringing your hands laughing about death to the Mealies...."BUUU-AH HA HA HA HA" =0)

Oh! I see, Thanks, PanamonCreel.

Yes Betsy, think of ants as the little farmers and the bugs as their "stock". They distribute it around to all the choice spots so the bugs are feeding, then they go in & harvest their honeydew. They also farm out aphids.
You will find mealies in the nooks & crannies of your hoyas. Look closely where the leaves meet the stems, or under leaves. They just look like little white spots at first ....until you look closer.
However, sometimes the little white spots just turn out to be the dried milky sap from a wound on the hoya, in which case you breath a sigh of relief. Ha.
Marcy

Ive had mealy bug problems for years and have actually disposed of a couple of Hoyas because of this. Ive also unwound and cleaned hoyas from stem to stern but never ben able to control. I dont know why so many recommend using rubbing alcohol - I think it is just a waste. Now I found this thread and I read about 'Imidocloprid' to control. Please does anyone have a retail name for this product? I want it! I have just bought a new hoya (hung in a different room from the others) and want to be MB free!

fancyvan,
the product with imadacloprid is Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insecticide but you're out of luck in Canada since it and any other systemics are not available/permitted for public sale.

Rubbing Alcohol works on minor infections but heavier infections usually also have mealies below the soil level (especially with soil that contains peatmoss) which cannot be targeted with rubbing alcohol.

Question.. would any other systemic insecticide work as well as the Bayer product? I have systemics I've used on my roses but can't recall the active ingredient in them. Thanks!

Barb

The only other systemic ingredient I know of is Dimethoate which was commonly available as Cygon but this one is not being sold anymore or is prohibited for sale in many places.

I'm not certain of the ingredients in it, but there is a product made by Bonide that is a granular Systemic insecticide for Houseplants.

Whatever the ingredient is....it really *stinks* and I would always hold my breath when using it....anything that smells that bad can't be good for one's lungs.
The smell is lost when worked into the soil and watered in well.

I had used this product in the past and it worked well for every insect, including spider mites.

I'm sure Bonide must have a website....so perhaps that product is available in Canada?

Yep checked on the website and I believe their active ingredient is Dilsulfoton and simply by reading the toxicity I'm sure you can't get it in Canada.
http://www.inchem.org/documents/pds/pds/pest68_e.htm
http://www.abcbirds.org/pesticides/Profiles/disulfoton.htm

If you have a nursery-friend, you might be able to whine enough that they will give you some of their Imidocloprid...sold as Provado and Marathon.

Dunking the whole plant in soapy water with a drop or 2 of cooking oil for 2-3 mins...yes, pot and all, helps...run alot of water thru the soil afterwards.... Then really control the ants.

Well it sounds like I will have to stick with the Q-tips and water or alcohol. Maybe I will repot the whole thing (it is currently not so big that it is unmanageable) Once, with another plant I unwound it all,(the stems were about 6 feet long each) cleaned it as best I could, every little nook and crany and sprayed with Malathion (outside) and a couple of good sprays in the shower . Didnt help! But I never thought to repot it.

If anyone knows of anything legal in Canada that would work let me know. I have a couple of horticulturist friends - will ask about things not sold to the public.

Ask for Merit and Admire 240FS

Hey, what about Neem oil?
I don't have any experience with it myself, but I've read that it can be used not only as a spray, but as a soil drench.
???

Has anyone used it on hoyas?

Thanks Panamon. I'll let you know what I find.

Referring to Nan's question about Neem oil.

I use it since June and it saved my compacta from mealies. Stinks like rotted onions, horrible. The smell diminishes in 2-3 days. I always sprayed the foliage and the soil so it goes for sure through the pot. No Hoyas reported being killed. Apart from the smell there is another strange thing; on a soil in certain pot I noticed kind of whitish, moldish thing appearing, more even like a spider web over the 5mm soil surface. Have no idea what it was but did not kill the plants and dried/disappeared with time.

Here is an interesting link about Neem oil:
http://www.ipmofalaska.com/files/neem.html

Ewelina