Scale help please!

[Phal grower]

Think I have me a scale problem. From what I've read on the net anyway. First I notice brown bumps and just wiped them off (three little bumps). Now I've noticed white oval spots with brown bumps alongside them. From what I've read the white ones are females laying eggs??? And the brown bumps are the mature adults that don't move??? Anyway, it can't be good ha ha. So far, aside from the first (three little bumps), they seem to like only one of my plants(I have three of the same in seperate pots). I hate to isolate them(I only have a small light garden) but I know I should. I have high humidity, good air movement, don't know if that helps. Any ideas?

[Eyebabe]

Scale is a real pain in the....

I have used Orthenex with good success.
I have also used Malathion and this did not work as well as Orthenex for me.

You can remove lesions individually and Isopropyl Alcohol will kill them as well (but you cannot get it on the roots). Okay if you have a few plants but not for large collections. I found the condition quickly gets out of hand if you don't spray with one of the above.

Interestingly, my plants outdoors had no problem this summer with scale until I brought them indoors last week....guess the regular environment bugs had been "etting" them

I have actually had very good success with Pyrithrin spray (XClude 1600 or similar). I simply drench the plant and run my gloved hand over the leaves and rhysomes to spread the foam. The organic oil suffocates the little bastards! I do this as a precaution with every new plant that comes into the greenhouse.
This process also requires a close inspection of your entire plant as you do it....I have actually found small spots of scale down on the rhysome more times than I care to admit

A good tip I got recently: They like to hide in the crevice between the spent bloom stubs and the base of the leaf. Saturate that area with whatever you are using and go in there and wipe out as best you can.

[Bud]

I use an old toothbrush and listerine(the original) and just clean all affected areas...and Orthenex the whole plant including the media to kill the aggs...then repeat it the next week until you dont see any

[Lagoon]

I hate those little free loaders.With scale I try to remove what I can, if I can't clear this out within 2 weeks by hand then I use sulpher - it coats them breaks down their shells and dries them up. Sure its stinky but it works

[Phal grower]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll have to look up these different brands and get to work on these buggers. Are the white spots immature scale or something else entirely?

[ezil]

I agree with all the above advice. Scale and mealy bugs are the bane of orchid growing. No matter what you do, they keep coming back sporadically. Don't let your guard down, it's easier to get a handle on things when there are only a few to deal with. Any time you see little sugary drops, suspect that you have them. Good luck!

[orchids3]

Actually dog flea soap is pretty good. Use the cheapest one you can find without lanolin. It is good for a small collection or if you find just one plant in a large collection. Also good to spray new plants before you add to a collection.
A few years ago my collection became seriously infested with both scale and mealy bug. It happoned because I had to take care of a very ill family member and was unable to keep a constant vigil for pests. I had to get serious to save the 5000 or so plants in my collection. The insecticide "Safari" eliminated a very serious problem very quickly. I use Disance and Diazinon (you cant get it anymore) in rotation. Was looking today - time for another round of Safari and unfortunately I found a "snail" as well so will be puting out "Deadline" as well. Keep a constant watch for all pests and do something while its a small problem. Big problems are expensive (If you look up the cost of those insecticides I used)

[Eyebabe]

One comment about the pyrethrin spray here:

Used two cans over the past three days treating 20 new bare-root plants I received to pot up.

Most of the plants were in about 4-5inch pots.

I drenched each plant (all catts) in the pyrethrin spray: both sides of the leaves, rhysomes, and roots. Furthermore, if I saw any old scale marks, I used a 50-70% Isopropyl Alcohol spray first just to the actual lesion. This was maybe three plants.

My issue: I used gloves that were rubber except for the back center. I also had eyewear.
After I was done today (9 plants), my gloves were fairly soaked and I did not think too much of it. But the back of my hands had a numbness or "pins and needles" feeling for a good half hour after i finished and washed up.

Disturbing to me for sure. Anyone have any knowledge on this?
The MSDS information really does not give any information that would concern me but...

[trdyl]

Triazinon is another good broad spectrum pesticide to use.

[orchids3]

Actually pyrethrin is the active ingredient in most dog flea shampoo. Hope we are not posioning Fido.
Good to keep all the stuff off and follow published safety precautions for all of it. Usually you can find safety precautions on the web (google) if you dont find it on the product.