Have you tried insecticidal soap (Safer's brand) and really, really drenching the plant, every inch of it? I ask because my mom will squirt the plant once or twice and think that is enough, some people think it is. Making sure you cover the entire plant, every little crevice, is the key.

I am not a believer in the systemics, especially if you plan to keep the plant indoors and if you are touchy with your plants, like I am. The one most hoya people love is Bayer Tree and Shrub (i think) and is meant for outside plants, and though they use it at a lower concentration, it is still too much for me. That is a decision you will have to make yourself, though. I would try a lower strength alternative, like a few treatments with the insecticidal soap, and keep the plant isolated from your others for a few months till you are sure it is "clean". That has worked for me in the past, and I don't worry when I stick my fingers in the soil to check for moisture or see my cat (or niece!) munching on a leaf.

I used Bayers Rose Systemic but I am trying Bayers rose systemic granulate, I think it might work better then liquid because granulate should dissolve some each time I water. Those buggers are hard to get rid of. Keep spray with alcohol top and underside of the leaves until what ever you decide to do. Good luck!

I have used Safers soap, Safers End All, and alchohol. I did make sure to completely drench it in the soap but I must have missed some. I'm going to try that again today and really really soak it. This is the only one of my hoyas that has them, soooo annoying!

I've tried the Safers Soap and you never really get them all. Understand that most topical treatments don't work on the larvae. You have to dilgently treat every 6-7 days for several weeks to make them work. I use the Bayer Tree and Shrub myself. I resisted using systemics for years because I, too, am a "feeler." I make sure I always wash my hands after I go a-feelin' now. Since I started using the systemic, I rarely ever find a mealy.

Be sure to spray under the rims of your pots with alcohol - they make nests under those rims. If you look up under the rim on a green pot, you'll see them! They're hideous little suckers and next to impossible to get rid of. And I wouldn't be too sure that you only have them on one - watch the others closely!

Denise in Omaha

AHH, I found one mealy bug too yesterday on a cutting I just received....lol. I have to go get some more Safers, it has worked in the past for me....I also was using Neem for a while and I got a little lazy and havent sprayed for almost 3 or 4 months....thinking about it now, I didnt have a problem while I was using Neem. I think I will start using that too again, and be a bit more diligent. Good Luck Kookie!! I am rooting for you...lol

I had a carnosa that was about 8 feet long and 2 feet wide. It had mealy bugs real bad. I tried the alcohol and the safers soap. I finally took the thing outside and immersed it in a 5 gallon pail of water with insecticide and left it there for a whole day. Took it out, cleaned it all up and brought it back in the house. I thought for sure the mealies would have at least drowned. Not so. In about 2 weeks I noticed they were back. I now use the bayers tree and shrub. It has absolutely no smell. I use it on all my stapelia's indoors as well as the hoyas. I now seem to have the mealies under control. Just the odd one. Good luck all, I know I have been tempted to burn the entire collection at times.

Anne,

I know what you mean... I quit growing Stapeliads for some time because of the dang mealies. I'm starting to collect them again now that I'm using Bayer's.

Denise in Omaha

I finally went out a few days ago to try and find some Bayers systemic pesticide and low and behold... you cant buy any kind of systemics in Canada... Now im really at a loss because I just discovered more of those nastly little creatures on another 2 hoyas that I had to move to paint the cabinet they were on. Im wondering if i should just cut off the new long healthy stems and chuck the rest. I cant seem to get a handle on them at all. Is there anything else that will work wonders or am I hooped because i live in Canada:(

I've been in that situation when I just felt like chucking the plant altogether. But I've always been able to get it under control. Also, you have to keep in mind that hoyas are very prone to mealies...some more than others. So I think you'll regret throwing the plants out, even if you keep the "healthy stems" - what if those stems get (or already have) mealies?? Just something to think about.

BATS is amazing stuff. Would you be able to buy it on Ebay and see if they'll ship it to Canada? That's where I found the BATS that I bought.

Good luck!

Gabi

Unknowingly, I just brought home a mess of mealies on some echies I picked up on freecycle. I'm going to try fish emulsion since it works on scale bugs, I thought to try it. My last hoya I found with mealies I sprayed with cat flea spray. I didn't have anything else in the house. They did disapear the next day, with no ill effects on the plant.

I don't think Fish Emulsion will do it (but am guessing). I think the better bet are the suggestions above.

The reason FE is supposed to work is it smothers the bugs. It also gives the plant a boost. It's worth a try before bringing out the big guns.

Kookie,

You can't find ANY systemics in Canada?? What happens if you have something you need to treat in your garden? I bet the professionals have chemicals... There are certain chemicals you used to be able to buy here in the states that only professionals can now get. Marathon used to be a popular remedy, but an individual can no longer go buy it. But in our plant club, we have some commercial growers that can get it, and they will pass along small quantities to the members who want it. I've never taken advantage of that myself, but if you belong to a plant club or know any commercial growers, you might be able to get your hands on something that will work.

Denise in Omaha

I just wanted to put in a comment on my experience with mealy bugs (1st time). I found mealys on my Australis but not until it was pretty bad. We had been in and out of the house for about 2 or 3 weeks due to a family situation and I had not been able to look at my plants like I usually do. Isolated the plant and rubbed down with alcohol, went to lowes bought some of the safer ($6 ??) (for mealys) and I followed the directions and eventually lost the plant it just looked like it dried up and died (battled for a month or so. I have to say if I find mealys again I will buy the Bayer and see if that works any better. That plant was either $20 or $30 and had I known the safer wouldn't have worked I would have bought the Bayer Tree and Shrub ($20). Since it took me so long to find the plant was infected maybe neither one would have helped it???
Thanks for listening and hope this helps.
shanna

i just got hit too found one yesterday and one this morning on a pretty big macgillivray HUGE grossss adult mealys ive never had them before:( can i use bats as a soil drench too? i wanna catch them before they spread. I have too many hoyas and orchids to let it get too out of control. I plan on repotting to (just in case) should i wash off the roots and spray them too

HHHHHEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP IM FREAKING OUT
sorry for yelling but i really am
jaci

Jaci,
When you say "can I use BATS as a soil drench too", I'm not sure what you mean. BATS is a soil drench! What else would you use it for? If you're talking about using it directly on the foliage, that's not what you use it for. Use BATS mixed in with water (2 tablespoons per gallon), and pour that into the soil....you can let it sit and "drench" overnight, or for a few hours. I just water with it and let it drain out (just like watering), and it works just fine...but if you want to be on the safe side, then let it sit. As for getting the actual bugs that are on the foliage, either dab rubbing alcohol on each bug with a q-tip, and/or spray all the foliage with the rubbing alcohol(making sure you get every nook and cranny). You can add a few drops of dish soap in with the alcohol before spraying if you want.

No need to freak out, even though I know how freaked out I was the first time I found mealies on a hoya! But you don't need to go overboard and repot. If you found your hoya INFESTED with mealies, that's one thing...but one or two mealies are no big deal. You'll wipe em out with the BATS and alcohol...no worries.

Make sure you separate that hoya from all your other plants so that it doesn't spread.

Good luck,
Gabi

im sorry for freaking out

but im glad i asked, i was gonna spray the poor plant

thanks
jaci

Gabi
Hey I have just found mealys on one of my hoyas and I remembered you talking about BATS in the past so I just looked for your post and found it here. Just a question for you; if I have found a few mealys on a hoya how long do I use bats with my normal watering schedule as you mentioned above? Would it be ok to just water all my hoyas once with bats just to be sure and spray lightly with alcohol? I just wanted to cry when I saw those darn cotten like pests.
Thanks shanna

Sometimes it helps to put the plant into a new, clean or sterilized container that's not harboring mealie larvae or eggs. Just treat the plant with spray or drench, slip it out of one pot, slip it back into a new uninfested pot, and spray or drench again.

Mealies lay eggs on soil, on pots, IN soil, and on the plants themselves. With a topical like Neem or Safers you have to religiously treat the plant itself as new hatchlings emerge.

A systemic soil drench should help get rid of hatchlings in the soil, but a 2-pronged effort of drench and spray doesn't hurt at all and can be effective when all else has failed.

Don't forget that mealies have more than one life stage...they are active and mobile in the early stage of their lives (just like scale) and can move from plant to plant easily before they turn sedentary, so you have to treat all the plants around the infested one too.

Although I hate it and never EVER use it on plants themselves, Malathion is very effective against mealies inall stages and can be used to help sterilize pots.

Shanna,
Sorry to hear that you found more of those critters. I just water with BATS once. I guess you can do it every 6 months or so to make sure they don't return. I haven't used it on hoyas that don't have mealies, but I know a lot of people do that (especially when moving their hoyas in for the winter, so that no potential creepy crawlers come inside with the plants).

Good luck,
Gabi

bihai & Gabi
Thanks for your advice. Can't believe only once with Bats and it works, what a blessing. I am going to get some after work today. Wish me luck. I will keep you updated.
shanna

I just bought some BATS and did some looking around before buying and was amazed at the price differance from one place to another.
For instance Wal Mart had it for $10. less than some other places I looked and with something this expensive it made a big differance.
I'm trying it for first time, hope it works as well as I've been reading in differant places.
Jo

Just an update
Found the mealys on Tuesday night on my crimson queen I bought at a florist paid $30 for it, it was good sized and was in bloom, had several bloom peduncles on it after further inspection. This is my first hoya besides a cutting my friend gave me about a year prior but this hoya started the addiction. Tuesday night wiped the mealys off the leaves using a q-tip with alcohol. Then Wed bought Bayer Tree and Shrub, 2 tbs per gallon of water. Drenched the rootball with it, took the plastic pot off the plant and turned it over, sure enough mealys under the lip of the pot, sprayed with alcohol and let soak then rinsed, then took a q-tip (w/ alcohol) to the lip and got all the mealys out and rinsed with water. Sprayed leaves with alcohol (drenched), every nook and cranny I think, soaked the root ball in Bayer overnight just to be sure. I also sprayed the macrame hanger with alcohol. Both are sitting in the bathtub drying out. Hope I did evertything right???
Shanna

Wow Shanna. You did a thorough job! More than I've ever done - I will be sure to be as thorough as you next time. Those mealies should be GONE forever!

Gabi

I am laughing now.... Really??? I was hoping was thorough enough. I lost my australis to them but was using other stuff not Bayer. OH Good!!! I hope they are gone forever. I need to check my Kentiana that was haning from the bottom of the macrame hanger to make sure it doesn't have them, if it does you know what I will be doing tonight.
Question: Say I mix a gallon of water with the bayer. Can I just leave it in a gallon jug with a lid and keep it in the closet made up already so when I need it again I can just use that? I wasn't sure.

shanna

Haha - you are even more thorough than I thought! I'm sure you'll take care of the kentiana (pot and all) whether it has mealies or not!!

I really don't know about keeping it pre-mixed. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable with that, but maybe someone who knows more about systemics will chime in. I had a similar issue where I knew I wasn't going to use a whole gallon - so I just mixed 1 tablespoon of BATS with 1/2 gallon of water.

Gabi

Gabi
Yea your probably right, I will just to make sure. ha!ha! I think I may be a little obsessive compulsive, what do you think?!!

Duh! just cut it down to a half a gallon. Hello!!! why didn't I think of that....

shanna