Scale on orchids
 

What do the growers on this forum use to treat scale effectively on your orchids? I had a bunch of phals in the greenhouse last spring that were doing great and I treated them two consecutive weeks with Bayer rose and garden systemic. Within a couple of weeks after the second treatment all their leaves started shriveling up and I basically lost all of them. I can't figure out if I just overwatered them in my zeal to rid them of the scale, the moss was still moist when I treated them a second time, or the systemic I used poisoned them. Any thoughts on this? Thanks

Was it the spray on Bayer in the blue bottle ? or the Bayer Tree and Shrub ? I have used one or the other with no problem the Tree and shrub diluted as a drench or the other in the blue bottle as a leaf spray . Gin

It was the rose and garden drench

I use a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and 409 cleaner.
Spray it on and wipe those little buggers away.
I usually give it another spray and then rinse a few days later.

I have used Bayer Tree and shrub without a problem and it did a good job but they changed the formula to include a fertilizer later on - I and not sure about the new formulation.
Dog shampoo mixed with alcohol and water does a good job. Get cheap shampoo with no lanolin.Use one part shampoo and one part alcohol and 8 parts water. I sometimes use a little ultrafine horticultural oil as well but beware using the oil iwhen the temperature is over 80

I was just about to suggest the horti-oil aswell.

I picked them off my chids then I had them and soked em in rubbing alchohol a couple times. that got rid of em

Yes controlling scale on a few plants can be done with a close watch and even a larger collection but the problem is differant for 4500 to 5000 plants when a problem is over looked for a while. Thats why hand watering is important - look closely at each plant as you water it and take corrective action immediately - its easier. Its real trouble if it gets out of control even a little. Scale is a problem I paticularly hate. It takes persistance to keep it controlled.

You need to treat the larval stage down in the media as well as the leaves. Otherwise it just keeps coming back.

I like permethrin myself kills on contact and is residual as well.I have used it on catts and paphs as well as my phaius ....basicly the same as some dog shampoos.

I use it as a drench and a spray but I do silute it more than it says on the lable.