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theMallacht
Clandestine Hero


Registered: 04/25/09
Posts: 3,428
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
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Mites and Mealy Bug
#19394028 - 01/09/14 02:48 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hey guys... So, my backyard has been neglected for a while due to other plant-life duties and my Mealy Bug problem has gotten out of control.
It seems that the Mites are gone, for now, since we've been having a decent amount of rain for SoCal this year. Most species of mite hate humidity so that drives them off a bit.
I've sprayed with:
-Azamax (active ingredient: Azadirectin, an extract from Neem Oil) -Bayer (active ingredient: imidacloprid. I'm aware it should be used on anything edible and don't plan on eating any of my Lophs any time soon, or at all. I was desperate, seemed to definitely help for the mites) -Safer 3-in-1 (active ingredient: Sulfur)
The main problem now is the Mealy Bug. I can't get rid of the fuckers. I've heard several members, including nicechrisman talk about how once you seem them in an area, it's very rare to get rid of them entirely.
I do realize I'm probably going to have to do some sort of soil drenching as I've read in the past that Mealy is soil born. Am I going to have to repot every single cactus and inspect the roots of all of them? My collection is pretty massive and I usually repot every other year because it's just too much work. I did it last year so this year I wasn't planning on it.
At this point I don't even care if I have to use something really nasty, even if I suffer minor losses because of it. As long as the fuckers DIE!! I really mate Mealy Bug, they creep me the fuck out.
Thoughts, ideas EGers?
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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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Please share if you discover a way to eradicate the fuckers. I have had relative success using isopropl alcohol, but it mostly keeps them under control rather than eradicating them (probably because the hide out in the soil).
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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I successfully got rid of a mealy infestation that I inadvertently picked up from some wild opuntias in Austin, TX. I had to repot most of my collection but it was worth it to make sure they were gone for good. I bought a few bottles of some organic spray designed to kill mites and mealies on contact and hosed everything down thoroughly before repotting in fresh soil and they have not returned since. Good luck man, getting infestations like that suck.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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hookahhead
Planeteer



Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 638
Loc: The Middle of Penns Woods
Last seen: 10 years, 1 month
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: SuperD]
#19394102 - 01/09/14 03:04 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Test 13: Get some Spiders or Mites?  
They are much more efficient at finding them, and killing them than I am.
For Christ's sake they have 8 eyes AND 8 legs  Humbly, I only have 2 of each. Not to mention a voracious appetite.

Wholesale use of pesticides kills other life in my garden.
-------------------- "My worm farm" "96 Gallon Worm Tote" "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" "Respect Your Roots" "A KNEW IDEA"
"Nothing New" "Willkommen im EthnoGarten" "Don't Be a Backeberg" "Mites and Mealy Bugs" "The Heart and the Sun"
If someone doesn't want your LIGHT, shine it some where else. Everyday there are people who LOVE, ACCEPT, and LOOK FORWARD to making CONTACT with you. YOU are capable of GREAT THINGS even if you feel neglected or mistreated in OUR current SPACE. Change your ways, change our WORLD, there is SAFTEY in NUMBERS. Welcome to the PRESENT. ~ 144,000 Anonymous Voices “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. [NOW]” - Jane Howard
Edited by hookahhead (01/09/14 04:17 PM)
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Pestile

Registered: 05/02/13
Posts: 875
Loc: Northern Europe
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Phytoseiulus persimilis
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   The Corbett Report Open Source Intelligence News
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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I wouldn't mind inviting these into my garden as a preventative measure. I'm guessing there are places to order them online? I haven't looked into that yet.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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hookahhead
Planeteer



Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 638
Loc: The Middle of Penns Woods
Last seen: 10 years, 1 month
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: SuperD]
#19394202 - 01/09/14 03:23 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Copied from wiki...
Quote:
Phytoseiulus is a genus of mites in the Phytoseiidae family.[1] A predatory mite this is the most frequently used mite predator to control two-spotted spider mites in greenhouses and outdoor crops grown in mild environments. Adult females are approximately 0.5 mm long, reddish in color, pear shaped and active at room temperature, Immatures & males are smaller and lighter in color. Eggs are oblong. About 80% are females. At optimum temperatures Phytoseiidae can develop from egg to adult in 7 days and live for up to 1 month. A well-fed female will lay about 50 eggs in her lifetime. Prey consumption is up to 7 adult spider mites or 20 eggs per day.[2] The ecological impact of introducing a foreign organism into a naive biosphere remains untested.
-------------------- "My worm farm" "96 Gallon Worm Tote" "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" "Respect Your Roots" "A KNEW IDEA"
"Nothing New" "Willkommen im EthnoGarten" "Don't Be a Backeberg" "Mites and Mealy Bugs" "The Heart and the Sun"
If someone doesn't want your LIGHT, shine it some where else. Everyday there are people who LOVE, ACCEPT, and LOOK FORWARD to making CONTACT with you. YOU are capable of GREAT THINGS even if you feel neglected or mistreated in OUR current SPACE. Change your ways, change our WORLD, there is SAFTEY in NUMBERS. Welcome to the PRESENT. ~ 144,000 Anonymous Voices “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. [NOW]” - Jane Howard
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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I'm not proud of having to resort to pesticides, even organic ones. But desperate times called for desperate measures. I had already lost well over $1,000 worth of cacti to the infestation so I had to act fast. It managed to mangle several of my really nice/expensive specimens. I'd honestly much rather toss out an infested section of my collection than have to resort to that again.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
Loc: EU
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: SuperD]
#19394222 - 01/09/14 03:27 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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In my country are lots of companies selling predatory bugs, probably they are best way if infestation are big, but your predators dies fast if they have no enough food..
For me it feel nature have best way to take care of these fuckers..
Also in my climate, if I build greenhouse or use it.. Spiders are first what comes living to greenhouse because hot and moist.. arctic native spiders are spreading like wildfire in greenhouses there.. for my luck there are not even single species of spiders what can even bite a human but every fall I take my cacti away from greenhouse, seems pest have been long gone and best is when I have plants back indoors, they're crawling spiders but they vanish fast when food supply(bugs) end.
About mealies, you can control them, small amount of them doesn't make any harm as long as you don't let them spread like wildfire.. I have seen one big old echinopsis rotten because of mealies..
They are nasty and hard, afaik there are some like to spent time sucking the roots and some above the soil, doesn't know are these same species or not but anyway, if you fight against mealies, probably systemic pesticides are best.
Take your every cacti out of pot. Shake excess soil away. Let plants be 1-2weeks and dry. After that spray pesticides to every plant dry roots, maybe inspect before that and pick bigger mealybug nests away.
Also change your all soil.. they lay eggs to soil..
I know it's big job but probably necessary to keep mealies in control or vanish them.
One pesticide, one hit wonder I know for mealies are dimethoat but it's highly toxic even for humans, hard to obtain without commercial greenhouse licence, depends on country tho.. I have that pesticide, one watering with it and it lasts weeks and kill all even young new mealies, but two times watering with dimethoat will kill every bug.. Bad side from that poison is, it' so toxic I never suggest to used it outdoors or in greenhouse, it kill bees and even small mammals. but for fuck sake not spider mites, they have became immune to dimethoat for some reason.
Edited by intelligentlife (01/09/14 03:38 PM)
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hookahhead
Planeteer



Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 638
Loc: The Middle of Penns Woods
Last seen: 10 years, 1 month
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XLSCG provides a place for predatory mites to survive, maintain, and flourish! It won't even cause cosmetic damage to your prized specimen. You see Population Dynamics dictates that communities will rise or fall, depending on the amount of available resources. All I seek is shelter and a light meal, it's an easy way of life. Are there still disbelievers among us? I am starting to feel like I am repeating myself a lot, now that were are IN THE NEW AGE.
-------------------- "My worm farm" "96 Gallon Worm Tote" "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" "Respect Your Roots" "A KNEW IDEA"
"Nothing New" "Willkommen im EthnoGarten" "Don't Be a Backeberg" "Mites and Mealy Bugs" "The Heart and the Sun"
If someone doesn't want your LIGHT, shine it some where else. Everyday there are people who LOVE, ACCEPT, and LOOK FORWARD to making CONTACT with you. YOU are capable of GREAT THINGS even if you feel neglected or mistreated in OUR current SPACE. Change your ways, change our WORLD, there is SAFTEY in NUMBERS. Welcome to the PRESENT. ~ 144,000 Anonymous Voices “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. [NOW]” - Jane Howard
Edited by hookahhead (01/09/14 04:18 PM)
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
Loc: EU
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Quote:
hookahhead said: XLSCG provides a place for predatory mites to survive, maintain, and flourish! It won't even cause cosmetic damage to your prized specimen. Are there still disbelievers among us? I am starting to feel like I am repeating myself a lot, now that were are IN THE NEW AGE.
Mr. Cactus.. Sir.. Sorry to bother.. 
Ain't that new age thing you say are millions of years old way in nature to keep balance of predators and pray bugs?
....but you use it in the new age? ..clever!
Edited by intelligentlife (01/09/14 03:42 PM)
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hookahhead
Planeteer



Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 638
Loc: The Middle of Penns Woods
Last seen: 10 years, 1 month
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My cover is blown
Only here to help  Grow on
-------------------- "My worm farm" "96 Gallon Worm Tote" "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" "Respect Your Roots" "A KNEW IDEA"
"Nothing New" "Willkommen im EthnoGarten" "Don't Be a Backeberg" "Mites and Mealy Bugs" "The Heart and the Sun"
If someone doesn't want your LIGHT, shine it some where else. Everyday there are people who LOVE, ACCEPT, and LOOK FORWARD to making CONTACT with you. YOU are capable of GREAT THINGS even if you feel neglected or mistreated in OUR current SPACE. Change your ways, change our WORLD, there is SAFTEY in NUMBERS. Welcome to the PRESENT. ~ 144,000 Anonymous Voices “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. [NOW]” - Jane Howard
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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Sometimes the best approach also happens to be the oldest approach. I understand trying new experiments but there's no need to change what already has worked best for incomprehensible spans of time.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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theMallacht
Clandestine Hero


Registered: 04/25/09
Posts: 3,428
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
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Quote:
hookahhead said: we are IN THE NEW AGE.
We are indeed sir, we are indeed..
Any pesticide(s) anyone has found to be particularly effective against these bastards? I would think that a good soil flush with the heaviest soil flush amount of Azamax would get 'em but I'm gonna have to mix probably around 5 gals of it and that stuff is expensive.
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
Loc: EU
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethoate
This wipe out mealybugs..
However, it's not only "on contact" ..dimethoate are very effective trough watering and work as systemic also and makes your cactus toxic to bugs and small mammals for 3-6weeks. It works by spraying it on the skin of water or if mealies are in the roots, you can water cactus with water few drops of dimethoat poison, it will work, kill every mealies in roots etc.
Bad side is, it will kill bees, spiders, predators, even mammals and fishes and humans have nasty effects from it... I have experienced wrong way use of dimethoate.. It should be used in places where are no humans and use something to protect your eyes and hands, this shit goes trough skin also and I think I have got nasty effects from that when poisoning plants when my hands got water from leaking spray bottle.. I was sick whole day later.. Now I use very cautious this and only indoors when it's winter and I make sure I don't kill any other bugs.
It's widely used at food cultivation, so if you want to use it for san pedro going to be consumed.. Makes sure there is 2months time without this pesticide because it will break up in the plant system.
I can't mention what products have this because these products are not available from shroomery sponsors.
Also I would avoid to use as far as possible.
Edited by intelligentlife (01/09/14 11:49 PM)
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karode13
Tāne Mahuta




Registered: 05/19/05
Posts: 15,290
Loc: LV-426
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Imidacloprid should work for the mealies, I use this stuff all the time on ornamental plants and used malathion twice on a few cactus. It's what they generally use commercially and if you're not eating them then I don't see the worry.
A lime sulphur mix will knock the mite population down, it's used on roses for this purpose. Test a few plants first and do it early morning or late in the afternoon to avoid sunburn. Then frequent(2-3 times a week) hosing downs should control over the peak infestation period.
Wait a few weeks for the systemic to work then you can re pot into fresh mix. In the meantime look for something to mix up with the imidacloprid so you don't get a resistant population.
Nice to see you around the garden again.
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
Loc: EU
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: karode13]
#19396671 - 01/09/14 11:57 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Imidacloprid sounds it's one compound I have in "dimethoate" poison.
It's blue liquid, smell very bad, only 3-5 drop/Liter works to wipe out lots of bugs.
I think the poison I have are combination of many insectisides. Bottle doesn't tell much, I don't know the language of it.
But I have got the poison from commercial grower, send it to me.. Advice same time to use it careful. It's friend of mine.
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SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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Quote:
intelligentlife said: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethoate
Wow from your own experience, that sounds like some very dangerous and nasty stuff to be playing with.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
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karode13
Tāne Mahuta




Registered: 05/19/05
Posts: 15,290
Loc: LV-426
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: SuperD]
#19396714 - 01/10/14 12:05 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
intelligentlife said: Imidacloprid sounds it's one compound I have in "dimethoate" poison.
No. Dimethoate is the name of the chemical inside your poison. Imidacloprid is another chemical. They're never mixed together.
Post a picture of your label if you want me to try and figure out what you have, then you can read about it. I work with plant poisons/chemicals daily.
Quote:
SuperD said: Wow from your own experience, that sounds like some very dangerous and nasty stuff to be playing with.
They've recently banned it down here. It isn't good for you.
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
Loc: EU
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Re: Mites and Mealy Bug [Re: karode13]
#19396818 - 01/10/14 12:31 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
karode13 said:
Quote:
intelligentlife said: Imidacloprid sounds it's one compound I have in "dimethoate" poison.
No. Dimethoate is the name of the chemical inside your poison. Imidacloprid is another chemical. They're never mixed together.
Post a picture of your label if you want me to try and figure out what you have, then you can read about it. I work with plant poisons/chemicals daily.
Quote:
SuperD said: Wow from your own experience, that sounds like some very dangerous and nasty stuff to be playing with.
They've recently banned it down here. It isn't good for you.
I know it's banned, it's so effective and nasty it will wipe all bugs, only spider mites are immune to it.
I know dimethoate is compound single chemical.. I mean't I have maybe combination pesticide bottle.
Sorry I write bad English. You understand wrong, I'm sure I know chemicals good. English isn't just my native language, so I wrote you understand my words wrong.
I can show picture from pesticide I have with dimethoat.. It's blue color, smell VERY BAD, fumes cause bad effects to human etc.
Air circulation have to be good and after sprayed of pesticide need to be get out of the room.
As I said, I have obtain dimethoate with good advice from guy who have very big peyote nursery. It's effective, problem is it cannot be used without proper knowledge of the poison.
I have reduced to use dimethoate lots.. Only when I use it if I buy new plant, find it have mealies, I put them to closed room, spray them with dimethoate and don't go there because of fumes.. Also I use rubber gloves and eye protection to make sure it doesn't go in to my system trough skin or eyes.
How strong poison I dimethoate I have I can tell this: 1mL of liquid are enough for 10-20m2(square meter) greenhouse to kill bugs and I basically use it without license. But it's last radical way to use and only my last opinion or if I buy new infected plants, I will isolate them from my garden and "purifty" the isolated new plants with dimethoate.
Soon I stop using it because never move plants with dimethoate in them to greenhouse. It's nasty stuff.
And sorry I mix about, my product doesn't have Imidacloprid at all, Only dimethoat. Imidacloprid is another insectiside I have been used.
Edited by intelligentlife (01/10/14 12:47 AM)
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