I got these from ebay and opened the box and 2 of the 3 plants are covered in this, front and back of the leaves!
Shoot! Am I in big trouble here?
Close up
Just what I do not need in my house over winter.
Gosh all the leaves have it. Are they white fly eggs?
There was also a circle white egg and I squished it and it was wet. ICK!!
The plants all are nice and big. One is sickly but the other 2 are big and healthy.
I guess I need to toss them. Shoot.
Kell - what kind of vendor would ship plants like that??????
OK...I have never seed white fly like that...but whatever they are, couldn't you simply drench the leaves in Neem, close them up in a black plastic sack for 24 hours, take them out and hose them off and THEN repot them to make sure you haven't got some critters in the soil. I would drench with BTS AND ..... write a letter to the vendor!!!
Carol
Eeww! I don't know if you should toss them or not--definitely don't put them anywhere near any other plants, but if you've got a place where you can quarantine them and douse them with plenty of pesticide then you can probably save them. But if you don't have a place away from other plants then it's probably not worth the risk of spreading to your other stuff and then tossing them is probably your best bet. Whatever you do I hope you can get your money back!
When I spend $130 for 3 plants I do not expect to have to nuke them. If it weren't so cold here I would put them outside to spray them but we have frost here and the 3 are very tropical. It is just not worth it to have them spread all over inside and then have to treat all of mine in my house. I am so unhappy.
Ouch! I certainly hope the seller will give you back your money! Do you have a garage where you could maybe isolate them temporarily and hose them down with pesticide? It might still be a little too cold out there, but I'd hate to see you lose that much $$ without being able to try and save them.
Are those some type of mealy bug?
I would definatly get in touch with the seller and let them know and send him the pics too in case he thinks your misconstruing what they are.
This message was edited Dec 18, 2006 9:47 PM
I'd be leaving negative feedback it that seller doesn't fix this for you. You can dispute it with eBay and get your money back.
Good Luck!
Daisy
I do need to email the seller. I am just not up for it. It is Christmas and these were my Christmas present from my husband. I was hoping someone would say they weren't bugs. LOL Why does everything have to be a hassle these days?
leftovers of twin tailed mealy bugs..get the alchohol out and treat em, isolate and treat 3 times and they will clear up..then let the seller know what you know...give them the benefit of the doubt.they may not know what they are either. I will get pics at work on Tuesday. BTW what are they gingers?
Kyle :-)
Hi Kyle.
I can't see how a seller would mail them looking like that. I was wondering if they had hatched in the box and the seller did not even see them. Some have feet and some seem to have wings.
Yes, 2 gingers and 1 bamboo. Expensive ones. LOL The added protein I guess added to the price.
They will survive...trust me!!!!....:-) they need about 8 days to hatch so doubt if that is what happened. Some ebayers don't look at the plants much before shipping. seems like these came from Fla. at our place. They multiply faster than most types of mealys.Just keep vigilant till cleared up.
:-)
Ahhh, too bad Kell, (Hi sweetie, how are ya? :-) cold?!!!) my first thought when I saw them was mealies too. But do what Kyle said, even though it may be a hassle right now, it will be worth it saving the plants.
I am running in and out grabbing poor plants in from the cold, brugs look real bad, and now have to bring some things like my begonias over to my Mom's to babysit while we head up to the colder then here area!
I can't believe this seller didn't know something was wrong. Even if they didn't know what insect it was, they knew the leaves didn't look right with all that on them. I'd definately demand my money back at the price you had to pay for the plants and the hassle you have to go thru to treat them to keep from losing them plus possibly infesting your other plants.
Kell........... That is awful they sent this to you. I feel for you, how disappointing:( Are you really having frosts? I didn't think that happened there guess we must have pushed the winds and cold front to far south, so sorry.
Might I suggest as they are gingers, try cutting back to one or two stems per plant that would give you much less to treat with the alcohol. They will send out new shoots from the rhizome. Definately let that seller know......
Bea
I know this is teribly frustrating, but this is what I would do---just my 2 cents.........
1st---- give 'em a blast from the hose on all leaf surfaces---monitoring pressure, of course so as not to danage the leaves. I would use my finger to adjust pressure, using one hand for this, and the other hand to single out the leaves to be treated, turning them to get both sides.
2cnd-- get a can of "Rose Pride" systemic insecticide/fungicide from Ortho (Home Depot or Lowes). it is already mixed for you and easy to use as it is in a spray can. Move to a well-ventilated area and give them a light spray. Let dry and move back to a warm, protected area. Repeat spray one more time if at all needed.
3rd- Contact the seller, politely explaining what you found, and offer to send them pics. It is important to do this right away and not wait. See if they offer any sort of refund or discount. IF they refuse to work with you and/or are nasty/hostile/uncooperative,THAT is when you leave negative feedback. I try to give an otherwise reputable seller the opportunity to make it right before resorting to negative feedback as sometimes things happen for reasons we aren't aware of (maybe someone else was taking care of their business while they were away and is inexperienced; or, simply a careless oversight due to Holiday stress and hurry; family emergency---etc etc.) Often times, sellers (at least the decent ones) will see you are trying to work with them, will be most apologetic, and are more than happy to make it right; sometimes better than the original transaction. Good Luck, Kell.
Brad
This message was edited Dec 19, 2006 9:37 AM
This message was edited Dec 19, 2006 9:38 AM
This message was edited Dec 19, 2006 9:48 AM
Thanks all. The seller did contact me and he feels it may be material from the packing material. LOL. I told him to send me his email and I would send him pictures. Anyway we will see. He seems nice. I have them sitting in my shower, I have no place else where I have no other plants overwintering.
My husband told me I was not to spray poison in the house and I won't. I have a parrot and 3 cats not to mention me trying to live in here too. I really have no where to keep infested plants in winter so I think they need to go bye bye. I will keep the one that does not look infested and just wash it down well and hope none transferred over to it.
They were to go on my seedling table till spring to get light and warmth. Shoot.
Oh Sue, I was looking for this thread. I knew I had read a post from you somewhere about the weather. Things are bad here too. All my brugs are so fried. I didn't cover them 2 nights ago thinking I would escape the frost. What a shock when I looked out my window. Odd though I have tons of rhizomatous begonias still out there and they are fine. Or at least they were yesterday morning! Tonight is night 3 and it will go to 31 degrees.
I ran out last night late and covered my best brugs though they were all pretty fried already but I think just the leaves were gone.
If they're mealies as I think someone suggested earlier, you could try first rinsing them in the shower to get rid of as much as you can, then swab with rubbing alcohol to get rid of the rest--that should eliminate the concern about using pesticides in the house but still get rid of the nasties.
Oh Kell, what a shame to have to deal with this at this busy time. However, it does look like something that won't be too much trouble to deal with and the gingers could be cut back and washed carefully. I have never tried it but I suspect the bamboo could also be cut back. It has been my experience that it is pretty hard to do permanent damage to one.
Did those plants come from FL perhaps? Parts of FL have had some strange hot one day, cold the next weather and these conditions leave the plants very susceptible to insects and diseases.
I hope the dealer will acknowledge his mistake and refund at least part of your $. No one wants to be a Scrooge this time of year.
Merry Merry, alice
Kell heres the pic of twin tailed mealys and their leftover trails on Phormiums.
another one
You should not of had to deal with these mealie bugs . Full refund is due you.
The seller should be glad so they can treat all their plants.
Here is a link with good information .
http://www.ipmofalaska.com/files/mealybugs.html
Kell, I have 8 parrots and 2 dogs. I use insecticidal soap on my plants as needed (in a room where they are not), and also Bonide's systemic powder (smells for a day, then goes away but the effect lasts for 3 months). I would not use rose pride in the house; it is not for indoor use. The insecticidal soap needs to be reapplied every 2 to 3 days, but you can do it in the shower or otherwise confine it so your bird is away from it.
Oh Kell I am so sorry your Christmas present turned out bad. Hope you can spray them and they will be alright
Oh Kell...if indeed they are mealy bugs, and they certainly look like it to me....AND I'M A MEALY BUG EXPERT! I fought them all summer and I am so miserably sick of them. Please, whatever you do.....keep them isolated. You just can't imagine how they spread and what plants you will find them on. There were few in my garden that they didn't like.
I made the mistake at the beginning of spring last year. When we brought brugs home from their winter place. I noticed a few little white places on some of the nodes. I never should have let them stay here. I should have thrown them all out. The mealys got in the soil and attacked so much. And you just can't imagine how much work goes in to keeping those critters DEAD and not producing anymore. I never did get rid of them. I finally ended up just throwing plants away that were heavily infested.
Good Luck Sweet Lady.....whatever you end up doing!
Sorry Kell, I was not paying attention to your entire post and assumed because you were in CA, conditions would be favorable to spray the plants outdoors to bring inside after they dried and aired out for a bit. I too have parrots--2 African Greys and i would never expose them to such toxins as Rosepride! I think the rest here though have offered some good advice. Hope you zap those little buggers. Mealys, Scale, White Flies, Aphids, and Spider Mites--UGH! What did we gardeners ever do to deserve them?
Amen!
If the seller gives you problems about a refund, before you leave negative feedback, you might want to try the dispute console. It's on the left hand side of your "my eBay" page.
I've never had to use it, but it's an option that I don't think I've seen mentioned here. You can always go back and leave negative feedback.
Why jump right to "negative feedback"? The seller appears in contact. Perhaps it will work out well for all parties. =)
And, while Rose Pride is a systemic, not all systemics are alike. As ALWAYS... ***READ THE LABEL***. If it's not for the pest, the type of plant, or the location, then don't use it.
Communication is the key to resolution. It is a pity to jump to conclusions and bashing....I am sure it will all be resolved...
You can always put them in a garbage bag outside then spray them take them inside for a few hours then wash them off. This should rid them of bugs and keep the chemical contained? Just a suggestion.
Hi all. I just got back here to read the new posts, I have been so behind for Christmas. What a mess. My boy comes in from NY tonight and I am so excited. But so much to do and I am pathetic at work. I am much better at play. THANK YOU Kyle. You hit it exactly! And thank everyone for your concern and geat advice.
I never thought to cut them back. I should have done that and given them a chance to live. I am just too overwhelmed right now to mess with bugs. One of the things that freaked me out is I have been hybridizing variegated clivia and mealies just love them. When Kyle said they multiply even faster than regular mealies I panicked big time. The mealies dig down deep between the leaves at the base and it is impossible to get in there to kill them off. I have so many clivas all over and tons of clivia seedlings. I would have to kill myself if they all caught mealies. I have had the big kind of mealie before and they are just terrbile to get rid of on clivia.
Anyway, one ginger looked bugless so I kept it. It is such a beautiful plant. So was the other ginger. Big and lush. But covered so I tossed that one. Killed me. Out went the bamboo too. Killed me more.
The seller has been so nice and very sorry. He will replace them bugless but I told him to wait now till after the holidays. I just can't deal with it all right now. And he will give me a good discount on my next order. So I will wait till spring and order a lot. LOL I will say his plants were really big and fat, not the little wimpettes I usually get in 2 inch pots from eBay.
I had no clue brugs got mealies, Brinda. Weren't spider mites enough company for them? LOL. And tell me, is it regular mealies that go to the roots? Shoot.
The mealies in the roots look like the mealies on the leaves to me.... GRRRRRRRRRRS
Glad it is settled; your clivias are safe and the dealer was nice. Enjoy your son's visit and have a wonderful holiday.
and don't eat to much candy lol
Ardesia, thanks. I am having a great time with him though he has already dumped me. Went to dinner with us and then he went off to a party!
Funny you say that Donna. We just got home from dinner and I go straight for your box of goodies. I ate one of those huge coconut chocolate balls. The whole thing. I think my blood sugar just went to 500. LOL. But it sure was good! I should run around the block for sure.
So do the mealies on the leaves then go down to the roots? So if you have mealies on the leaves you need to treat for root mealies?