Do I have SCALE?!

[josterha]

Hello,

I have a very young Oncidium (Dancing Lady type) orchid that I have recently repotted from an older plant that I purchased from a big-box garden center. I just noticed that there are very tiny, white, powder-like deposits on the leaves. At first, I thought these were salts deposited from evaporated fertilizer, but now I think it may be scale.

I have never had any pests, aside from a few small gnats. How can I identify for sure? Should I be concerned for my two Phals living next to it (thankfully, the rest of my collection are in other rooms). Can it spread? I read in an article that rubbing alcohol rubbed on the leaves can stop the bugs. Is this correct? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

John