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Corporal Kielbasa


Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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ugh mealybugs
#19208915 - 11/30/13 02:50 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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I should have quarantined a new plant... Didn't see any when I was potting it up. Think they camped out under a flower bud. But know I found one on a different plant.
Skewered a dozen of them since I found them. The last round looked smaller so hopefully I got them before they reproduced again.
Word to the wise. Keep new plants away from the colony until a clean bill of health is given. At least a few weeks I guess.
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Chuckfinely
another round for me an my buddy

Registered: 06/27/13
Posts: 628
Last seen: 4 years, 3 months
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I swear by diatomaceous earth. Has worked wonders on every bug ive come across the past 5 years.
Go the extra mile for food grade
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Corporal Kielbasa


Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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Yeah good idea. I just happen to have a bag handy I usually use it as a preventative and dust my stuff a couple times a year. So its weird to see pests.
Edited by Corporal Kielbasa (11/30/13 03:27 PM)
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Chuckfinely
another round for me an my buddy

Registered: 06/27/13
Posts: 628
Last seen: 4 years, 3 months
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For sure. Wonder how they found a way to your plants through the DE.
Mutated bugs that can walk right over DE, oh no!
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Corporal Kielbasa


Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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I had it next to some offsets that hadn't been treated yet. So far I only noticed one away from the source.
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Chuckfinely
another round for me an my buddy

Registered: 06/27/13
Posts: 628
Last seen: 4 years, 3 months
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Well at least you caught it before they were over everywhere
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Mostly_Harmless
wyrd bið ful aræd



Registered: 05/12/09
Posts: 5,043
Loc: Perfidious Albion
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Also, keep any fresh fruits brought into the house away from them too as these could be playing host to mealies.
Isopropyl will melt them. Neem works too. Eggs hatch ~10 days after laying.
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Corporal Kielbasa


Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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thanks for the info
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kyoto
greenman


Registered: 08/01/12
Posts: 579
Last seen: 2 years, 3 months
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I "sterilise" my new cacti by putting them in a bag and blowing tobacco smoke into it. Wait 3mins and every insect pest on the cacti is DEAD! This is my prefered method to deal with insects on cacti. I don't like spraying my cacti with water, especially not while they are dormant. This also works on other plants, nicotine is a powerful toxin.
-------------------- " Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." Master Yoda TRADE LIST https://www.cactusplaza.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/12234/
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Corporal Kielbasa


Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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Re: ugh mealybugs [Re: kyoto]
#19213168 - 12/01/13 02:56 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'll give it a try sometime
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kykeion
Cactophile



Registered: 11/20/13
Posts: 181
Loc: High desert
Last seen: 4 years, 8 months
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Hey Chuchfinely, how do you go about using the DE? Are you using it as a preventative? If so as a soil additive or top dressing? Or are you using it as a treatment, or both? I have primarily been using alcohol to battle mealies, but just bought several lbs of DE for my chickens, dogs, cat etc. and wouldn't mind knowing how to add it to my mealy arsenal.
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Chuckfinely
another round for me an my buddy

Registered: 06/27/13
Posts: 628
Last seen: 4 years, 3 months
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Re: ugh mealybugs [Re: kykeion]
#19222894 - 12/03/13 03:46 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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I us it on the rims of my pots, along the bottoms, along the edge of my table, and on top of my soil
Pretty much anywhere they would walk
Keep in mind that once wet DE is rendered useless, at least as far as I know, so apply it to top of soil after a watering, or even a day after watering
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Horizon
Stranger
Registered: 08/15/13
Posts: 229
Last seen: 9 years, 7 months
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Re: ugh mealybugs [Re: kyoto]
#19224415 - 12/03/13 09:21 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Mealy bugs are bastards. I've only ever seen them in greenhouses I've worked at, never in my own garden luckily. If you get the chance, observe them with a microscope they are really fascinating to watch.
Quote:
kyoto said: I "sterilise" my new cacti by putting them in a bag and blowing tobacco smoke into it. Wait 3mins and every insect pest on the cacti is DEAD! This is my prefered method to deal with insects on cacti. I don't like spraying my cacti with water, especially not while they are dormant. This also works on other plants, nicotine is a powerful toxin.
I've never thought of doing this before. Nicotine is an incredible insecticide, it makes me wonder why commercial tobacco companies use large amounts of pesticides when the very alkaloid they are cultivating the plant for is already an extremely effective method for protecting the plants from pests.
-------------------- Stanhope is right
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