mealy bug

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JTh

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Re: mealy bug
« Reply #30 on: December 26, 2012, 03:38:23 PM »
That was good news, Domestos should do the trick, according to Wikipedia: 'Its power is due to its high availability of chlorine', and being viscous is an advantage.
Retired veterinary surgeon by training with a PhD in parasitology,  but worked as a virologist since 1992.
Member of the MGS  since 2004. Gardening in Oslo and to a limited extent in Halkidiki, Greece.

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MikeHardman

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Re: mealy bug
« Reply #31 on: December 26, 2012, 08:11:12 PM »
Team work!
Love it when a plan comes together!
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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westyboy

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Neem oil
« Reply #32 on: July 25, 2013, 07:50:19 PM »
I inherited a couple of Orchids (Moth orchids) from a neighbor.
I noticed that they were both infested with mealybugs.
I gave them both a good soaking in Neem oil.
One cleared up straight away, the other needed a second soak.
but they have stayed clear and gone on to flower happily.
MGS member
Having spent years gardening in the South of England. I thought I was alone struggling with my Mediterranean garden.
Then one day I stumbled upon The MGS and it looks like all my questions can be answered.

Daisy

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Re: mealy bug
« Reply #33 on: November 29, 2013, 08:16:31 AM »
Well, an update on my mealy bug this year.
I started spraying with neem oil, as soon as I first saw the first mealy bugs in July.
The good news is, it seems to work.
The bad news is, not always and not quickly.
Although I was vigilant and quick to respond, my replacement Anisodotea El Rayo died in days. All the foxgloves under the loquat tree died, although a few under the orange tree survived.
Artemisia Lambrook Silver has lost most of it's growth. The one remaining stem, STILL has mealy bug, in spite of repeatedly spraying.
It seems that the mealy bugs on some plants are not so responsive to the neem oil. For an example, the bugs on my Coronilla glauca died, but the ones on my Isotoma axillaris just a foot away, show no sign of dying. In fact it is the plant that is dying.
A lot of plants are now clear.  ;D ;D ;D But there are others that it seems to have no effect on. :'( :'( :'( This is strange.
Why would it work on some and not others?
Daisy :)

Amateur gardener, who has gardened in Surrey and Cornwall, England, but now has a tiny garden facing north west, near the coast in north east Crete. It is 300 meters above sea level. On a steep learning curve!!! Member of both MGS and RHS

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MikeHardman

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Re: mealy bug
« Reply #34 on: October 19, 2014, 12:03:15 PM »
Well, judging by the lack of postings about mealybug this year, I'd like to assume it is extinct!
No? I didn't think so.

Certainly here in Cyprus, I've had the usual infestation on my Hibiscus, and some on Lantana, all under control now. But my Leucophyllum escaped for some reason (having been bad the previous year).

Just a note, seeing as it has not been mentioned here before...
There is a biological control - the mealybug destroyer (a ladybird), Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, which hails from Australia, but which has been introduced elsewhere (eg. USA, 1891). Its larva does a great job of mimicking mealy bugs, presumably gaining protection from predation by doing so.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptolaemus_montrouzieri
It is available commercially, eg. from Syngenta
- http://www3.syngenta.com/global/bioline/en/products/allproducts/pages/cryptolinem.aspx
Syngenta mention using it in combination with a parasite, specifically:
"Control strategies for mealy bug usually include more than control measure such as a generalist mealybug predator such as the Australian Ladybeetle (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) used in conjunction with a species specific parasite such as Anagyrus pseudococcus."
- http://www3.syngenta.com/global/Bioline/en/pests/Pest-all/Pages/Mealybugs.aspx

I have not had need to use biological controls, thankfully.
But If I did, it would be nice to use something from nearer to home, such as lacewings (eg. Chrysoperla spp.).
I note: 'C. carnea larvae were voracious feeder of mealy bugs.'
- http://www.researchgate.net/publication/237630335_PREDATORY_POTENTIAL_OF_CHRYSOPERLA_CARNEA_(STEPHENS)_(NEUROPTERA_CHRYSOPIDAE)_AGAINST_COTTON_MEALY_BUG
See also this paper
- http://www.thejaps.org.pk/docs/v-22-3/20.pdf
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England