Anyone for scale info???
http://nathist.sdstate.edu/orc...

I knew it would happen...I must have brought home some hitch hikers...mealy bugs, now they've spread ( of course!) on to the phals..
I have separated the plants, I have wiped down the leaves with alcohol being careful to get down into the nooks and crannies, is there
anything else I should be doing? chemicals, fire, trash bin?

Lindsey, it depends on the severity of the infestation. I don't worry about a couple of Mealies, I just wash them off. Really heavy infestations are another matter.
Good info, Kathy!

Thanks Ursula, I'm not sure how to classify the severity, one is too many!

Lindsey, most of the Phals I bought from Lowes wound up having scale.
I just threw the ones away when I found the infestations were stubborn.
No sense having them travel to my healthy specimens.
I don't like using alot of chemicals, tho do use Insecticidal soap, occasionally, for those little fleas and it works well.

I've got ants!
Not in my pants ..but in my pots, on the shelves ..I
put some of the granular ant-be-gone type product on the gravel floor
but what to do about the ants in the pots? I have used this granular
product on my giant pots of annuals..just sprinkled it on and watered it in,
but can an orchid take this?

I have ants too and my traps do nothing. Little tiny guys. I squish them constantly. None are living in the pots though. I would like to hear what anyone has done for ants, too.

I'd like an answer to that too! I have used every bait on the market, and it just seems to attract more of them. To get them out of your pots you can set the pot in a larger bowl and slowly fill the bowl with water. If you give them a bridge, they will pack up their eggs and go. Now if I could just figure out how to keep them from returning....

It might be worth a try to use the granules on an orchid you wouldn't mind loosing, too much. If they set up housekeeping in a pot, they farm a fungus to eat that will completely block the drainage holes. I've lost a couple of Plants (not orchids) that way.

well I do have a few dozen of the $1.00 Phals from Lowe's that I could sacrifice in the name of 'better living with chemicals'

Please, let us know if it works, without killing the plant!

Imidacloprid, available as Bayer's Advanced in different formulations works very well on Ants.

http://www.livingwithbugs.com/...

and you think it would be safe for the orchids?

I have been using it as a drench/soak on my Cattleyas and Cymbidiums for years and I have used it for some "spot- cleaning" on others. I just picked up today a large bottle of the Bayer's Rose and Flower Care ( contains Insecticide, fungicide and fertilizer), so I am ready when I bring my plants outside. I will use it at 1 oz/gallon.
It is also excellent on Cacti and Succulents/ including Epiphyllums, Hoyas and Rhipsalis..

Here is the stuff I use
http://www.bayeradvanced.com/r...

Oh I never thought to try it on ants!!
How often do you use it outside in summer? Do you spray them individually or as a group dowse?

The Imidacloprid in the Bayer advantage used for flea protection on my cats is 9% and in the Bayer Rose and Flower Insect Killer I use on my plants the Imidacloprid is 0.0120%. I find it very effective for scale, aphids and thrips, but useless on white flies. I think the plants are getting a much better deal than the animals.

Ken, thanks for mentioning the flea collar!
Kathy, I usually use it twice outside - when I bring them outside, I set groups of them on the lawn, inspect them, repot if needed, clean up and give them a good drench. Picture my Cattleyas, Laelias etc waiting in the queue as they await their treatment. Once done, I carry them into the cage.
In the Fall I reverse the procedure, except I leave them a couple of days outside before bringing them in.
I don't have anything written in stone, clean Orchids just get fertilized without treatment. I use it when needed during the Summer.

Ursula, do you feel the fertilizer in that product is good for your orchids? I switched to the Bayer Advanced Insect, disease, and Mite control, which is a spray, because the one for roses didn't do anything for the roses. At what rate do you use it on your orchids?

Carol, I don't know how good it is, that is kinda tough to gauge? I still fertilize with other stuff throughout the year. But I know it does work good enough on my Epis.
I use it at 1oz/gallon.

I forgot to mention, scale magnets like Tolumnias and such get dumped into/soaked in a bucket with the stuff. That will keep them clean for some weeks.