I use neem extract for most of my plants. It's a systemic, so it only affects bugs that eat the plants. It has the added bonus of being organically derived, making it safe to use around pets among other things, not as much of a big deal for some people, but I like to leave as little of a nasty, chemical footprint as possible. Any decent garden center will stock it. The big box retailers are even beginning to keep it around. It's most often sold as a concentrate so you should dilute it with water. Simply mix it in a spray bottle and apply it to the plants, making certain to get the underside of the leaves. Neem is an oil, so you will need an emulsifier such as a small amount of dish soap to get everything mixed well.
The neem doesn't kill the bugs outright, but it alters their feeding and reproductive habits so they die off without making any babies. I only mention that because you may see the pests persisting for a few weeks. It's good to reapply every week or two to make sure you get any eggs that have yet to hatch.

Hope this helps,

Worm Tea (liquid worm manure) works in only one spraying and is totally organic and harmless for plants and pets

Try spraying the alcohol instead of dabbing it. Avoid the flowers, but otherwise cover the whole plant. I use it with a little soap and cut it with water.

Instead of spraying the Neem oil and soap mix you can dip the plants in a bucket containing the mix. Apply again in 1 weeks time to catch the newly hatched eggs. Check under clips, rims of pots, in amongst petals of flowers too. Check the entire area where you are growing as there is often some white dust like stuff which needs to be cleaned up too(possible eggs).

You could use an insecticide instead but you would need to treat in the same way, and it could be more harmful to you and your pets.

I want to comment on your "they keep coming back". Yes, they always, always do. You have to think of getting rid of them as a *campaign* not a single episode. Getting rid of bugs requires *persistence*. I have found that the particular remedy used doesn't matter-- even soapy water will do it. But persistence is what's needed. Keep at them.

Even if you kill all the adults, they can leave miniscule offspring behind. So you have to think in terms of examining any infested plant every few days for at least a couple of weeks before declaring victory.

The other point that needs mentioning is that if you are looking over your plants for mealies, check the backs of the flowers, between the petals and even *inside the lip*. Every single crack, bit of camoflage or hiding place can be hiding one or more. I found one very big one between two petals yesterday, three times the size of the others I've found -- it obviously had escaped a number of inspections.

It also helps to just wipe all the leaves, top and bottom with a paper towel dipped in water with a little dish detergent in it.

If you see sticky spatter on a leaf or flower, there's a mealie or scale nearby somewhere. Find it.

Thanks, great advice from everyone. I have a few questions: regarding the Neem oil spray-- since the mealy bugs collect on clips, pot rims, flower petals, etc., can I dip the entire pot into the neem oil mixture? Of course, I won't dip the flowers (unless I can...can I?). Also, a question about spraying with alcohol: if I spray with alcohol, do I later have to spray the plant with water to remove the alcohol? For some reason, since the alcohol is harsh, I think that leaving the alcohol on the plants indefinitely would hurt them. Is this correct? And, as mehitabel has said, I have found some "big ones" on the backs of the petals where the stem joins the flower, in the lip, etc. Since I am not to use alcohol or neem on the flowers, what should I do? I know that dabbing the flowers with alcohol in the past has caused the flowers to die. I have been using insecticidal soap at least once a week and it seems to be taking a toll on the the plants and flowers. The flowers fall off and die and the bugs keep coming back. Maybe it is just the bug damage, but I would think that all this necesary spraying can't be great for the plants either. So, again,...the flowers. What should I do? Thank you. Liz
One more thing...worm manure tea...I have seen "worm tea" bottled. Is that what you mean, or do you buy the bags of worm manure and steep in water? Thanks.

Alcohol is harsh on human skin. It reacts differently on plant cells. It is not as caustic to plants as it is to humans. Alcohol on the blossoms is cold, that's why the blossoms suffer. Use a dilute mixture of warm water and alcohol for the flowers. You don't want to sacrifice the plant for the flowers. If you use neem, don't use it while the plants are in the sun, and keep them out of the sun for several days or the plants will fry.

If they were my plants I would get Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower systemic spray and spray the leaves and the medium down three times, a week apart and be done with them.

If you don't have a big infestation (meaning a big patch of solid mealies end on end)...

if instead of that you have a few scattered here and there, maybe 3 or 5 or even 10 at once, you don't have to spray with anything. Just dip a q-tip in alcohol and touch the mealie with it. They just die and turn black and wipe off right on the spot.

You'll have to check the plant and repeat every couple of days, but it doesn't harm the plant at all.

For scale, I just dip the q-tip in ivory liquid-- they just wipe right off. The ivory liquid might even work on mealies-- I never tried it. .

This doesn't harm the flowers unless the bugs are inside the lip. Somehow the process of sticking the q-tip into the lip puts an early end to the flower.

The important thing is to not think of a recurrence of a few bugs as a defeat. If there are fewer today than yesterday, you are winning and they're on their way out.

Yes you can dip the entire pot in the neem oil mixture.

You can dip the flowers - some will be fine but some will not like it and will die - I would go over the flowers by hand carefully(with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to touch any that you find) unless you are willing to sacrifice the flowers. The other way to kill the bugs on the flowers is to squish them if you are not squeamish.

I'm frustrated, mad, sad. I think I'm losing the war with the mealy bugs. I've sprayed consistently, weekly, and treated the individual bugs, too, with a q-tip. The little buggers keep coming back. Now they are getting really cagey, hiding between the leaves at the base of the plant, really deep in there. In the flowers, behind the flowers. The flowers are mostly dead and the plants now generally lack vigor. Between the bugs and the spraying and the q-tipping, my phals. are getting really weak and sickly looking.

Liz,
Mealy bugs are part of the natural rhythm of growing orchids. Every being has a purpose, if only as a passage for food. Mealy bugs also exist to annoy you. If you have Machiavellian tendencies, then you might believe there's a conspiracy among Q-tip and chemical suppliers and dealers that sell both orchids and chemicals to salt the orchids with those disgusting bugs to generate aftermarket sales. I have to go over my 10 Phals once a week a leaf at time, a bloom at a time, to find them and watch for them every day during the week. If someone invented small enough surgical tweezers, I would take great joy in squeezing the guts out of them, if they actually have guts. More seriously, my wife is a composting fool and has a box of worms that generate good compost from all kinds of scraps. I have not tried to wring worm tea out yet. You also can buy it. Google worm tea. I have thought of it as a potential orchid food but haven't tried it yet. I didn't know it would kill mealy bugs. Growers that I trust use the following formula: 1 cup 409, 1 cup alcohol, 2 cups water. You can see the other posts' recommendations also involve soap, alcohol, and water in some form. I use Safer's soap also but I don't spray the flowers. Whatever works. Be proud when you finally get 'em all.
Alan

Ditto Alan's suggestion about the 409 formula. A very good insecticide. Can be used as a spray or as a drench. The problem with just spraying the tops of the plants means that the eggs stay in the medium and babies keep hatching. You must treat both the tops and bottoms of the plants at the same time or else you're only dealing with half the problem.

As I have yet to eradicate my last two mealies(yesterdays inspection)...I can not give you a complete success story as yet(after a long battle). All I can say is keep checking regularly or they will get away from you again.

If your plants are looking sickly maybe the particular treatment you are using is not good for your particular plants.

In my own case, I tried many of the different methods suggested here, over time, and settled on the Neem oil treatment as it was easiest on my plants, and the least toxic to myself and my pets. I also do not mind squishing the bugs with my fingers so I do that when I see them on the plants.

Keep at them, experiment with the different methods, to find the one that you prefer...you will win one day.

Well, I learned something here-- drench the pot because eggs may be in the medium or pot. Tomorrow I am drenching the pot on a couple of plants where I keep finding ye occasional olde hidden big fat mealie where there shouldn't be any.

Good luck, Linda. Persisence pays.

hello, another thing you can try on the medium is hot water - not boiling water - at a temperature that you can put your hand in. I have not tried it on mealie bugs or orchids but have on gnats to get rid of the eggs etc in the soil and it seemed to have worked on the hibiscus. good luck.

sue

I'm still hanging on. I've been diligent, using both Neem Oil and alcohol. That being said, I'm seeing less mealies, but a lot of very tiny "crawlers". I guess these are newly hatched mealies. I'm now convinced that the eggs are in the medium so tomorrow I will drench the pots. I think that will help get things under control, but I will still be checking every day as these little buggers are sneaky!

I was preparing to drench my plants and I realized that no one posted a "recipe" for a drench with Neem Oil. I have some very large Phals., so I need to fill a bucket pretty full. How much Neem Oil to water should I use? Thanks again. Liz

When spring comes around, perhaps you could look into Cryptolaemus beetles(see Table 1 of hyperlink under Mealybug destroyer) which can be used indoors. Just make sure you're not using insecticides at the same time. Good luck! alvin

I found that neither neem oil nor insecticidal soap worked for me. However, if you don't want to use the 409 formula that Alan recommended, then try Murphy's Oil Soap, 1/2 cup to a gallon of water, as either a spray or drench.

I'd like to add my bit: after finding those big fat mealies kept on recurring every so often on two blooming phals-- the ravishing Queen Beer and a Fire Cracker, where they just love messing around with the flowers on both

I took them outside and poured Safer's thru both pots. Haven't seen any since. Maybe I finally got the last hiding mealie or maybe the drench worked, but something worked. It's been over a month and no mealies on those two.

However, those stupid critters spontaneously generate. Found a few nestled in the bottom-most leaf of a phal downstairs just a few days ago-- across the house from the blooming phals, and a different floor. Hasn't been anywhere near the blooming phals all summer.

The only thing you can be sure about them is they hide exceptionally well.

I did dip all my Phals in a Neem oil dip. I used the same proportions as for spraying. Two days later, the crawlers were back! Tody I am going to try the 409 dip. Does anyone know why my Neem dip was ineffective. Liz

I use Malathion. I don't play games with bugs that are eating my plants. I would rather spray once or twice and get rid of them permanently than chase after them one at a time.