Thats terrible!!!!!!!!! I feel DEEPLY sorry for you. If i lived close enough to you i would to have took them instead of letting them go in the garabidge. I am fighting a spider plant infestation on my Adenium obesum and i dont want to throw it away. I hope some of your plants are bug free

Hi Teen, and thanks.

Teen, to be honest, I couldn't give anyone plants infested w/mealy. They're horrible pests.
Like other plant bugs they travel from one plant to another, but much harder killing.

I wish mites were the problem, lol. Although mites are a pain and cause damage, they're easy to rid for good.

Do you use chemical insecticides? If so, what type have you tried?

You'd think since some plants are toxic the poison would kill bugs, but guess they're immune.
I think Adenium sap is toxic???

Good luck...Toni

I always believe in saving a plant until its last breath. For some reason, they dont seem to mind the poison of the plant

Hi Toni!

From what I've learned so far in a similar quest to rid myself of scale,I've moved on to the next experiment,which is orange oil. I'm soaking cut up little pieces of orange peel in rubbing alcohol to leech out the oil. Not too sure how long this will take to get enough oil out but when I get to that point I intend to make a solution of it by adding water to what I drip through a coffee filter and spray down the infected plants...chiefly my poor staghorn fern.

What I'm learning about this oil is that it breaks down the waxy coating of insect exoskeletons and that will kill them fast! Back when I was in Mississippi,I briefly rented a trailer who's former tenant must have had a ton of cats or dogs because the fleas they left behind were so bad that when I 1st set foot in the place,within two seconds you couldn't see my socks for all the fleas that instantly covered them...it was horrible!
So I found a cleaning product of some kind that had orange oil in it and sprayed the whole place down and when I came back the next day I did not see ONE flea. They were all dead!!!
The oil works like magic...so now I am trying to concoct a plant safe version.

Terribly sorry for your losses. I don't think I could have made myself throw out a plant let alone a 3rd of my collection...it would feel like cutting off my hand.

As for the ants,
I would suggest mixing a little corn syrup with boric acid and putting a droplet here and there where the ants have been seen regularly. Boric acid is supposed to be "pet safe" but if I had birds,I'd make sure to place the droplets some way so they weren't accessible to feathered friends. :)

Hi...
I use, Terro, for all ants....
if they are sweet ants I just pour it in a pop can and tape it to the floor where the ants are running and feed them lots they take it back to their colonies and kill them all....
the pop can protects pets...and if they are grease ants I add peanut butter to it and they love it and they too take it back to their colonies and kill them all.....
as for mealy bugs I use the bayer, and bug max bug spray its not harmful to pets or humans and it works on lots of different kinds of bugs and I also put the plant in the shower and spray the plant (not the soil) with water to wash some mealys away that way too....I'm not a fan of chemicals also but there are times I have to use...my hoya rope was infested with mealy bugs and I refused to toss it and I won, it is mealy free....sorry you lost so many plants, I know what its like...good luck......linda

Toni, I "feel your pain." I recently tossed a quantity of plants I realized that had done not anything for several years, other than host mutant scale from hell. It's heartbreaking at first, but after some time, you will feel free from the endless and pointless struggle and effort.

It really does. . .get better.

Teen...believe me, I feel the same. A plant can be leafless and I'll save it to see if by chance new leaves grow.
But, Mealy are horrible..Ants guard mealy..darn teams. lol.
It's been 4 years my Hoyas had mealy.

Hi Asleep. Is Orange Oil a product used for baking or the stuff you'd buy at a hardware store? lol.
I remember a product at Home Depot called Orange or had the word orange in it.

I add orange or lemon rind, 'natural,' to my insecticide..insects don't like the scent, but unfortuantely doesn't kill them. When added with other ingredients, not only does it kill but because of the orange/lemon scent, keeps bugs away.
The mix kills all but scale, boo hoo.

That trailer you rented sounds like a horror..I feel SORRY for the poor dogs or cats..Can you imagine?
The image makes my stomach hurt. Sheesh!

I use Fish Emulsion which is oily. It STINKS, lol, but does the job.
I sprayed the front plant room w/FE and other ingredients, Sat..DH was so happy. NOT! lol.
I asked him, which would you rather breath? Organic fish poop or poison. lol.

Asleep, I ordered an Olive tree in 1999. I didn't notice it was filled w/scale. It arrived at night. I placed in a south window in-between two citrus.
While misting, I noticed a brown lump on foliage. After close inspection, not only did one brown lump exist, but hundreds.
To top that off, the two closest citrus branches were covered w/scale, too.
A woman who owns a citrus nursery in FL told me about FE..how it kills scale. I phoned her to get the dossage, made a batch, sprayed the olive and citrus..never again did a scale appear..On any plant..thank God..They're disgusting, too, but imo, mealy wins the worse pest award.

But, not sure which orange oil you mean.

BTW, your poor feet..makes me itchy thinking about it. lol

Didn't think I could throw one plant out either, but if I want to save the rest, they must go.
I still have 2/3rds in the front and the back room to check. sigh.

Hi Linda...you're right Terro is the best...problem, I can't find it. We went to three stores, but the only brands were Raid and generic. I had one box of Terro left..I set it out, and boy did those ants love that stuff.

I planned on going shopping today, but we had basement flooding..the washer went dead, so I've been waiting for the repairman.
Hopefully, the stores should have Terro now.

Linda, I don't know which ants we have...they're small. Between 1/8-1/4".

I'm counting on Terro..also, I've been washing floors with vinegar..The house smells like fishy salad. lol.

Birds are extremely sensitive..Oven cleaner will kill a bird. I no longer use room fresheners, or wax wood.

You're lucky you were able to save your HR. It has a zillion hiding places.

Thanks everyone..If we EVER move, 'which dh will not,' I want a brick home..lol. Toni

I heard that diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic, natural treatment worth a try. It even comes in food-grade.

Here is a link that might be useful: Diatomaceous Earth for House Plants

These remedies sounds enteresting. I thought that diatomatious earth

Asleep...have you started the Orange?
What will you do with it once it's completed?

Violet. Someone mentioned DE before.
I Googled info, but don't understand how it's to be used for killing ants. lol.

Is it applied to soil?

Several days ago I put a bunch of cut up pieces of orange peel in a jar and then filled the jar with rubbing alcohol. Think it's supposed to be like a few weeks before the oil extracts into the alcohol and I'm not sure I can wait that long. LOL

When the stuff is ready I intend to pour it through a coffee filter and then add this to clean water,about a 1 to 3 ratio I think. This is what I will put in my sprayer and hopefully the scale will finally die. Again I will mention that the oil will destroy the waxy coating of an insect's exoskeleton,so whether it's scale,mealy,ants,fleas...you name it...all insects have an exoskeleton and thus,if you are a bug...you do NOT want this stuff sprayed on you! LOL

@hopefulauthor: The website I had previously linked to suggests:

"Sprinkle a fine layer of diotomaceous earth around the topsoil, flower pot, foliage and areas around the base of the flower pot to prevent insects from crawling onto your house plants. Wear gloves and a protective mask when applying diotomaceous earth since the powder can cause dry skin and irritate the respiratory system when inhaled."

For ants, I would in addition to the above, try dusting DE along baseboards, doorways, and other holes and crannies where the ants may be entering your home. For soil mealies, maybe I'd try mixing some DE into the potting mix. For foliar mealies and mites, I'd try dusting all stems/leaves/crannies of plant.

Basically any bug with an exoskeleton gets cut up as it crawls on DE, dries up, and dies. It has even worked for some people with bedbugs. Make sure the DE is the horticulturegrade/foodgrade kind.

Toni, I'm so sorry for your losses! That's terrible! Every spring here in southern Oklahoma, I battle the sugar ants that find their way into my house with Terro traps. They're not organic, but I'm like you, I cannot STAND the hundreds of ants. In fact, I generally get super impatient with the Terro because, in order for it to work, you have to leave the trap there for a week or so & let the swarms come eat. UGH. I also use DE & it does work, as well. I've used DE to get rid of gnats in my houseplants & kill mounds of ants outside. I used to sprinkle it all over my windowsills & baseboards, but now that I have a 4 year old, I've stopped because he likes to play in it. And it won't hurt him, but it makes a big mess for me to clean.

Living in the middle of a national wildlife refuge area down here in OK has taught me to live with so many more bugs than I ever thought I could. I get squeamish about the black widows & brown recluses & the tarantulas that show up in the spring/summer. And I have a minor heart attack battling the neverending hornets outside, I hate them! They're the devil & so aggressive. But living here in a virtually unaltered ecosystem that doesn't spray pesticides has taught me that there are many beneficial insects.

For example, last spring, we had an unusually hot spring & the mosquitoes were out in force come May. A couple weeks after not even wanting to go outside without being doused in bug spray, dragonflies started hatching & we had more dragonflies than I've ever seen. A week later, the mosquitoes were back in check. I grew up in DFW metro & last summer, they were going crazy spraying pesticides all over the place to try to control the West Nile outbreak. I wanted to tell them to import some dragonflies! But I'd have never believed that could work unless I'd seen it for myself.

I personally have never had mealy bugs or ants in my house plants, but then again, for the last 2 summers, none of them went outside. Hope that you find something that works. :)

I will not tolerate ants in my collecton. I have battled these pest by soaking the whole container of a plant in clean unused dishwater

Morning,

Asleep. Sounds like a lot of work, but worth the effort.
Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

I don't buy citrus much these days, but my citrus trees are fruiting. After fruit drop I 'might' try your experiment.

Do you know if lemon peel would work in place of orange?

My home-made insecticide consists of, water, lemon or orange peel, hot pepper, garlic, Listerine, 'generic,' and two drops of dish soap.
This concoction sits over-night. Before spraying, I add a capful of Fish Emulsion.

Believe me Asleep, bugs do not like the scents of rind, garlic or hot pepper.
FE does the actual killing.

The only problem is when using a standard mister/sprayer, tiny particles block the spray hole.
2 or 3 years ago, I bought 3 large sprayers, probably meant for outdoors.
One mister has an 18" hose. Last weekend I used the long hose sprayer.
When particles get clogged, the tip of the hose can be detatched, then rinsed under running water to release particles.

I used to spray w/home-made insecticide once a month from autumn-spring, but slowed down about 4 years ago. About the time mealy made their disgusting appearance. So, technically it's my fault they've attacked my plants.

I have an idea which nursery plants had mealy eggs.
I read Garden Watchdog feedback. Many, many people complained of receiving plants w/bugs, including mealy from 'X' nursery.

Also, although I don't have room to isolate new plants, I usually set newbies near one semi-shady window.
My older plants in that window, 'mainly African Violets,' were the first to get mealy.

Oh God, when I think about my AV's. Some were 'adopted' 2004. One sowed from seed. The second year of mealy, I tossed, I think 32 AV's.

When we get new plants, we're taking a risk. It's fairly safe buying locally, but when plants are purchased online, we don't know what we're inviting in.

If I was a bug, I'd stay outside, farrrr away from humans.. lol.

Hi, Ultra Violet.

Thanks for the site, but I have to worry about pets. Birds and a small, dog.

UV, I have 350-400 plants..well, HAD...amount is reduced since tossing mealy-infested plants..
I'd have to sprinkle DE everywhere..lol.

Why do you say bugs would be cut up?
Does DE contain sharp shards? I remember reading something about that on Wiki. Which brings me back to my pets.

You mentioned wearing a mask...If DE was sprinkled in every room, we'd be inhaling DE, right?

Ants..I wish I knew how they get in. This year, we first spotted them in the bathroom.
The bathroom hasn't any windows, and NO plants. I wonder if ants live in sink pipes??
There aren't any holes in the walls or ceiling, so it's a mystery.

The ant population increased the last four or so years..Everywhere, not only our place.
Neighbors have their homes exterminated 1-2 times a year. They also hire people to spray their lawns, sides of home, etc.

My plants have been summered outdoors 19 or so years. Since the ant population increase, 'outside' I thought ants hitch-hiked inside w/plants. What I can't understand is, why come in after all these years???

Besides mealy, my plants are pest-free.

My computer is acting up..had to submit, otherwise, everything I wrote would have been lost.

Violet..thanks for the DE info, but I'lll have to think about it. Maybe sprinkling a little on plants will help, but I can't set this stuff on floors, in-between pots, etc.

Also, if I decide to use it, it will have to be ordered online. It's impossible finding plant-related supplies here.
Thank you.

FB. Thanks. Tossing plants IS depressing.

I agree, Terro works great, 'even though it contains chemicals,' but for some reason I can't find it.
Yesterday, I went to two stores..both sell ant baits, but not Terro.
I'm going to Walmart and HD today, so I'll check there.

So, you know what I mean when you saw hundreds of ants in your home...gross, isn't it? :(
I don't fear ants, but the thought of 'MANY' crawling on my hand is creepy. Besides, no one wants bugs of any type in their house. lol.
Actually, I'd rather see Dragonfly's..lol.

Compared to other ant baits, Terro works the fastest.
GRAPHIC.
The day I set 'one' Terro bait on the bathroom sink, within 5-hours, there were literally hundreds of ants trying to get in the Terro container..YUCK. Upsets ones' stomach.

I set out two differen type of baits the last two weeks. Home Life and Raid. But, like you said, they're slow-acting.
I can't spray chemicals because of birds.

I also bought powdered Boric Acid, but that will be sprinkled alongside the house..Not inside. Another slow-acting product.

Besides vinegar, I tried other natural ant killers, but 'if' they work, they too are slow to kill. None, kill on contact.
Heck, I've set garlic in different areas. lol.

Out of desperation, last autumn before hauling plants back inside, I watered, every single plant, with vinegar water. Although vinegar kills ants on contact, I wonder if it kills ant eggs....???

Yep, I wouldn't place DE or any other powder out with a child. Kids get into everything.

I could be wrong, but my theory is, if a product kills insects, there's a good chance it'd harm humans.

As I mentioned in my other post, I use garlic, citrus rind and hot pepper to my insecticide, but none of the above kill insects..they deter but do not kill.

The only conflict w/my theory is, people eat vinegar, 'salads,' yet they survive. lol.
Does vinegar eventually harm a person? I believe people with stomach problems/heartburn suffer from the acid in vinegar.
I don't eat spicy dishes, but I have a theory about hot peppers, too, but rather not elaborate. lol.

My God! Turrantulas, black widows, recluse!!!
I'd have a heart attack if a 1/8" spider fell on me. lol.
I'm a bug-a-phobic, lol, especially with spiders and spider-like insects. Centipedes and milipedes, too.

I used to fear all bees/wasps, but not anymore..Except for those tiny bees..think they're honey bees..
One summer, while working on house plants, sitting on the picnic table, I tilted windowboxes accumulated with rain water.
Water landed on a solo pot. What I didn't know is honey bees made a home inside the solo pot..Those damn bees flew everywhere, on ME. They stung and re-stung.
A similar incident happened w/those stingers a few summers before the picnic table accident.
I won't kill bee's, but if there was a safe way to rid honey bee's I'd do it. lol.

I won't spray bug spray on me..ALL those chemicals entering pores..lol.

Yep, there are good bugs. The last two summers I ordered lady bugs..The store owners said they eat mealy. Well, after ladybugs arrived in the mail, I set them free..Don't know where they went..175 ladybugs! lol.

Wonder if Praying Mantis would eat mealy and/or ants...Heck, I'd release them inside the house, lol.
I'm not afraid of PM, 'don't think so,' but if they lived on ants and mealy, I'd order them ASAP.

I don't see many dragonflys around anymore. They're near the river and creek, but don't hang around the neighborhood..lol.

How do dragonfly's give birth?

Faery...This spraying to prevent Niles Virus the government? has been doing is killing off good bugs.
Rarely see butterfly's anymore either.

Do you know if dragonfly's can be ordered? Are they eggs?
DF's are so colorful, pretty. Wonder if they'd eat mealy.

LOL, I remember thinking, my plants are pest-free, until the Mealy attack!

Thanks for your help, too..

Teen...I used to soak plants in the sink, once a month in winter. I still do, but my sink isn't large enough to hold large containers. Well, let me rephrase..It will hold large pots, but plants in extra large pots are also tall..If I placed a tall plant in the sink, it'd hit the ceiling. lol.

Believe me, I do not want ants or any bugs in my plant collection either, but what can I do?
I've used the safest products, 'natural,' even risked death of plants by watering with vinegar.

Thanks everyone...If I can rid the ants, it's a fact, mealy will die, too. Problem is killing ants AND eggs.

Take care, Toni

Vinegar kills on contact, so when I first saw ants in the bathroom, I sprayed using vinegar.
Unfortunately, vinegar doesn't kill the queen. She hides while scouts look for food. lol. Lazy wITCH. lol.

If you can find that queen you can kill the whole colony. BUT WHO CAN LOL :-(

Teen, Wish I could find that Queen B.
But get this. I either read or someone said, if a queen dies, a scout often takes over.

After 5 stores, I FINALLY found Terro.

I'm beginning to think ants have ESP.
Yesterday, after I got home from shopping, with Terro, seems ants disappeared!

Ants are one strange insect...lol

Ants are strange insects. Get this,

One day, I was gardening when i saw ants carrying dead bees out of the honeybee nest. I hope they dont exterminate the whole colony. The honeybees are my allies and are becoming rare as it is.

DAMB THOSE ANTS!!!!!!!!

Well Toni,
it might make you feel better to know that if the ants packed up and left,they'd have brought the eggs with them as well(ants wouldn't leave the kids behind).

When you said that the honeybees stung repeatedly,it made me think of yellowjackets.which are actually a small wasp. If an actual honeybee stings you,the stinger is barbed and gets stuck in your skin where the bee can't get it back out without disemboweling itself(which it does and dies shortly afterward) The stinger of a wasp on the other hand is like a needle that slips right back out so the little monsters can sting you again and again.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:82874}}

Teen, Gross!

How big were the ants? I didn't know they were strong enough to carry a bee!

One day I watched an ant parade across our fence with a white object in their mouths. I wonder if the white things were eggs.

Darn ants must do 'roids.

About honey bees. I confess, I don't know bees. I can ID a Bumble Bee, but unfamiliar with smaller types.

The bees that stung me were small..Small compared to bumble bees.
About half-inch long...black and yellow...aggressive, fast, unlike bumble bees that are laid-back like Sunday drivers.
Does it sound like honey bees??

You're welcome to our honey bees...lol.
Are they endangered? If so, why?

We rarely see bumble bees, butterfly's and lightning bugs. Since the government ordered insecticides sprayed over fields/land, 'via helicopters,' to kill mosquitoes, other insects are long gone.

Sorry if all my talk of bugs is putting everyone to sleep.

Spose Ima take a clue n hush my mouth. :)

Toni, it sounds like yellow jackets that got you. They look similar to honeybees, with their black & yellow stripes & small size. They can sting multiple times & are extremely aggressive. Also, IME, honey bees are pretty laidback like bumble bees. They aren't real fast & kind of just buzz slowly from flower to flower. I can swat them away & they just buzz off contently to the next flower, not paying me a bit of mind. They only time I've seen honey bees get aggressive is when their hive is threatened. (We have a lot of wild hives up here in old trees here) Honey bees can only sting you once & it breaks off their stinger in your skin, they die shortly after. If it was truly honeybee stings, you'd have had to scrape the stingers out of your skin & you can see the stingers.

Not yellowjackets or hornets, though. Those little devils can sting & sting & sting. And they will chase you! My hubby & his crazy siblings & cousins have this summertime "game" (I'd say it's kinda like roulette, LOL!) where they spray the yellowjacket nest & knock it down & then run like hell. Crazy, right? I do not participate! Love my crazy in-laws, but that's one thing I consider a little too crazy ;-)

I know that dragonflies lay eggs, that's how they reproduce. I have no idea if you could order dragonfly eggs or larvae, but that's something worth looking into. I strongly disagree with the government's spraying for West Nile because it does affect the healthy bug population. And ignorant humans don't realize just how important bugs are to our planet. That spray was also linked to adverse reactions by people with compromised immune systems, elderly & young people, & people with any type of breathing conditions (COPD, ashtma, etc). Simple fact is that it's poison & there are many more environmentally friendly ways to deal with such a problem.

Just one of many reasons I converted from a city girl to a country girl when I grew up...I much prefer living up here in the boonies of southern Oklahoma, with its wild natural beauty & undisturbed, well-balanced ecosystem, than in DFW with its smog & concrete & just general yuckness that they subject the population to.

I8 would perferr to live in the suburbs. Just the right balance of city life and rural beauty. The ants were HUGE Tony

Asleep..aw, sleep..wish I could. Another 4-hour night. sigh.

Asleep..whichever bees they were, they attacked.
You said, honey bees won't attack unless their nest is invaded.
That's what happened.
The, whatever they were, built a home inside the drainage hole of a plastic pot.
When I tilted the windowbox filled w/water, water landed in the container the bees lived.
That's when they attacked. The first got my leg.

A second time it happened. I was pruning bushes. I guess they had a nest in-between branches, cause they suddenly rushed at me.

I panicked! Thought I was having an allergic reaction, but instead had a major panic attack. My son called 911.
The paramedics were here within a minutes time.
Thing is I didn't panic until I checked online info, and the mention of shock due to allergic stings were fatal. lol.
Oh well..

I have nothing against bees..as long as they don't sting. lol.

lol, your in-laws sound funny, but daring. Some would call them foolish. lol.

Well, those dAmX ants made it in the upstairs bathroom. I was showering, when I noticed movement in the window. Sure enough, there they were. Ants! Many many ants.
Thankfully, I bought 12 Terro's, automatically placed two in the window.

I'll have to check for dragonfly eggs.

I too disagree with spraying. The poison is doing a lot more than killing bad bugs.
We, the people have nothing to say about it. Which is wrong.

Phone call..gotta take it..Thanks.

Found something...a close second maybe. Damselflies aren't quite the same as dragonflies but they are cute anyway,right?

Here is a link that might be useful: Bugs for Sale

Dragonflies are strictly aquatic in their lifecycle. The adult female will only lay her eggs on a plant, usually growing in or hanging over a body of water. The nymphs drop into the water, where they may live for three years or more. The nymphs are voracious predators and most pond owners are glad to see them. When the nymphs finally emerge from the water as adults, they are strong fliers and very aggressive hunters.

These flying jaws feed on flying insects....mosquitoes, gnats, bees, butterflies, flies....anything on the wing. Don't look for them to graze on aphids, mealybugs, or anything else that doesn't attract their attention. I saw one snatch a honey bee out of the air right in front of me.

Honey bees are non aggressive when out foraging. Even if an intruder threatens the hive, only a few of the responding bees will sting. They are not endangered, as yet, but have become more rare in some locations due to ignorant and careless use of pestides in our backyard gardens, agricultural chemicals, and those dreaded mosquito abatement programs that cause more harm than good.

The shocking deaths of whole bee colonies remains something of a mystery (not really), but it's an international problem which had led to the banning of certain systemic insecticides in some countries.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 11:24

Doing more harm than good is right! Effectively all they are doing is breeding a more poison resistant mosquito!

Our tax dollars at work. lol

Rhizo & Asleep, I couldn't agree more. The more news I read about the "mysterious" disappearance of bees, the happier I am that I live up here in BFE, surrounded by a national wildlife refuge that is protected from that sort of thing. In the few short years I've lived up here in southern Oklahoma, I've realized that when something specific has a population boom, the predators of said thing shortly after have a population boom to "catch up" & put things right back into balance. Mother Nature really knows what she's doing & I consider it a privilege to live in such natural, protected beauty.

Rhizo, dragonflies really are jaws on wings! That's a very accurate description. I, too, have seen them snatch other flying insects right out of the air. I've always liked dragonflies, but when I realized that they also eat mosquitoes, I grew to love them. My family spends a lot of time outside & I appreciate anything that eats those pesky little bloodsuckers.