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Amaryllis/Hippeastrum

Great solution for mealy bugs

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)

7 years ago

I know others have battled mealy bugs, and for some reason I've not had them before this year. Then all the sudden they were really bad!!! I've tried alcohol swabs, sprays, etc. Finally I found something that seems to be working. The bottle of "concentrate" hooks onto the hose and I treat as I water with an emulsification of mineral oil. I did go yesterday and just buy the spray to spot treat leaves. This has reduced the number of mealy bugs by 99% and the plants look good! It's Bonide "All Seasons Spray Oil".

http://www.bonide.com/assets/Products/Labels/l210.pdf

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Comments (6)

kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author
7 years ago
guess I'm the only one who had mealy bugs....
bluebonsai101
7 years ago
I have had horrible outbreaks of them in the past and this year have had some - I usually find them when I take bulbs out in the spring and see the little buggers in the bulb scales. I use classic pesticides as a drench as they can attack the roots as well and have killed some of my plants in the past. They can be a real hassle to get rid of completely. Hope your method has worked to get rid of all of them :o) Dan
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Hi...I have found that if you get mealy bugs they are everywhere... I had them on my hoya hindu rope....and I could not get rid of them so I took everything apart and they were on the underside of plant stand, in the rope hanger the plant was in, under the rim of the pot...and the pot had a tray and they were in that....I read some where that mealy bugs don't stay on the plant they go off the plant...and that is why its hard to get rid of them, you treat the plant and then the bugs off the plant come back on, and on and on...so I bought some, 'Bug Max', bug spray and I sprayed the whole plant and washed every thing and waited a week and sprayed the plant again, waited a week and sprayed again....I waited a month and there was no bugs and so I rinsed the plant down with plain water.. and cross my fingers and knock on wood they are gone finally.....linda
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kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author
7 years ago
I used the Bayer drench and that didn't do it! What classic pesticide did you use? These are all in the greenhouse. For now, I'm hopeful as I haven't seen any, but I know the bulbs on the back porch are likely impacted and would like to proactively treat new bulbs when I bring them in this autumn. :-) K
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7 years ago
Really surprised the Bayer drench didn't do it for you Kristi. I've got serious mealy bugs on my timber bamboo. I better get on it before they spread.
kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
Original Author
7 years ago
Pat...luckily, the bulbs I got from you are all fine, through I did the Bonide on everything. I used the Bayer drench, but maybe I should put it in a sprayer and apply to leaves as well. I even did Bayer granules on some. I think a bulb or 2 from Holland that was received earlier this year was the culprit. It doesn't take long for them to get out of hand!
bluebonsai101
7 years ago
I have used both of the Bayer products, but use the one for spider mites most often because that tends to be a big problem when I bring my plants in for the winter and so I have it on hand all the time. I use both the spray and the drench for things, but always drench for those little white nasties. Hope you can solve your problem :o) dan

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