"No it doesn't. Mites are very hard to kill and there are a lot of nasty chemicals out there to control them. I also wondered if it were registered as a soil drench for webworm. I also hate to see the extent that imidicloprid is used but agree it would have been a better choice in this situation." I repeat: "the orthene is only effective for 2 to 3 weeks. After that it isn't strong enough to kill the 3 mm worms that are EATING it directly. I have kept the windows closed and not allowed anyone in the area for 2 weeks." I avoid a lot of pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals, but I just couldn't deal with these worms any more, and as far as imidicloprid being a better choice, how can I ignore the manufacturer, Bayer, who said that their product was not specified for mimosa webworms? On a brighter note, I never did see the second generation of webworms emerge. I still have leaves on the tree, whereas last year the tree looked like a matted, brown, Halloween, worm den. Of course the tree is unhealthy for some other unknown reason, but that's something that has been developing for a few years. Probably the reason the worms decided to take up house in the first place. I�m doubtful that I can cure what ails it though. I am still seeing Orthene as a solution on many state university websites, but rarely imidicloprid. As far as a soil drench goes, I'd rather that, if it works, than spraying the crap all over my house and yard. Here's an article that states: "Acephate, the active ingredient in Orthene, is able to get into the plant regardless of how it's applied, according to new research at the University of Florida." http://southeastfarmpress.com/research-shows-benefits-orthene BTW, other than obvious toxic exposure to someone who breaths in or comes in contact with orthene that has not yet broken down, what is the big deal with hiring someone to use it as a soil drench. Are there other environmental impacts that are motivating the resistance to its use in my situation (other than the fact that no one believes that it works)? If the worms come back, I might try to hire a company who's willing to spray bt, but if it�s too late for a spray, I might try the orthene as a drench one last time since it definitely seems to have killed any active worms this past go around.

@christine: these are the smallest pots i could find. the grower (hicks--he's probably the one who spoke at the orchid society meeting--he says he or his son attends regularly) said they'd work, but to be careful about overwatering. that's in part why i used such a fast-draining mix. no perched water table here! i like these pots a lot--the fact that i can see how much humidity is in the pot is very useful. i've been watering only when i could see no condensation on the inside of the pot. and, yes, it's dynamite. @anna--i went out and checked on the rhizomes. some of them were a little submerged--i GENTLY tugged them up above the medium line. i only added a tiny tiny amount of sphagnum, which i whizzed in the food processor. it's more likely that the dyna-rok will cause me problems, i think--it is pretty interesting stuff. looks like a tiny sponge. yes--i agree, they don't look much like catts, but they've been crossed lord knows how many times. they came with tags and reference numbers and i've looked them all up on the royal orchid website--they're all catts. i guess there's the chance that they've been mislabeled, but i trust not. the one that you ask about is Cattleya Yellow Bird: "Blc. Marquette Canary 'Yellow Bird' (Southern Bells x Golden Embers) Beautiful Yellow with a white edged lip. Fall Bloomer Flower size approx. 4 - 6" across" your advice about killing them is dead on! $5 per plant seemed like a reasonable risk to take on. if they die, so be it. @johnjsr--i've never had scale in my garden, and i hope that luck holds out. what do you use to treat scale? should i worry about orchids attracting scale where it's never been? from what i know about scale, it has a lot to do with poor air flow... that shouldn't be a problem where these are hanging. is anyone else growing in all-rock medium like me? hicks, the commercial grower i talked with and bought my media from, said that this mix was close to impossible to overwater with. he also said he's never had trouble with salt buildup.

I have never had a hoya bothered by sprays, but I will caution you to keep them away from sunlight following treatment until the treatment dries. And always follow directions on the container. I don't personally use BATS, as I tried it once on some compacta cuttings to deal with fungus gnats but it didn't seem to work, changing from potting mix/perlite to perlite/orchid bark/pebble stone did, though. Also, my hoyas spend summers outside and I don't want to contribute to the decline in bee/wasp/beneficial insect populations. I use 1 gallon of water, neem oil (following dilution directions on bottle), 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of dish soap (not antibacterial and not detergent...soap) mixed up and spray it on the affected plant once a week for 3 weeks and follow up once every other week for 2 months, making sure to cover every bit of the plant, top of the potting medium included. After spraying, it is VERY IMPORTANT to not allow the plant into sunlight until the solution completely dries.This usually resolves the issue. If that does not resolve the issue, I take out my big guns, which is my Safer 3 in 1 and spray the affected plant(s) with it, following directions.

Minty Springtails are 'good bugs', you'll find zillions of them in compost (leaf litter, moss, a ny decaying material...) - they don't directly participate in decomposition of organic matter. They control microbial communities, and help in decomposition by fragmenting organic matter - so I would think that there are suitable conditions around for them to appear. They prefer moist environment. I read that they consume spores of some fungi - so that would be beneficial? I should do some more reading about them... If you buy new plants, best practice would be to keep them isolated from other plants, carefully inspect for any signs of insects or diseases. If you find anything, treat the plant away from others. Many nasties could be brought home from stores. I use powdered cinnamon on large cuts (usually jades-they have thickest trunks). Just apply a small amount over the cut area, it is considered antifungal. Just a small amount is needed. I used spray on the leaves of phaleonopsis that had fungus - while the leaves eventually died off (took a while) there wasn't any fungus spread on other leaves and new growth. I also used it on aloe that seems to have some kind of fungal disease - I couldn't find any info, so just sprayed it. It's been a while, and so far it looks like that spread of fungus stopped; damaged areas dried and I cut them off (they were completely dry). Rest of the leaves seems to be fine. I never had any burning or similar problems, only that it will leave little stain. But stains I cleaned off within few days disappeared. And plants smell good (if you like cinnamon!) As anything else, use in moderation. Someone mentioned that cinnamon powder would interfere with new growth - I don't know for sure since I didn't notice. I don't see need to use it on smaller cuts (thinner branches), and so far didn't use it on other succulents but jades. I never used FE for anything. For scale, q-tip dipped in alcohol works great (or spray as I already mentioned).