16 replies to this topic

[carni grower]

I have a mite infestation in my nepenthes terrarium and possible fungus on some plants and my cephalotus. is bayer fungus fighter and scotts bug clear gun safe to use on nepenthes  and cephalotus. the nepenthes i have are young plants of fusca, ventricosa, densiflora and campanulata, all crossed with robcantleyi from be. 2 small x bill bailey and 2 n. princess and one cephalotus with mature traps. could i spray all the plants with both products in combination (not mixed together)? say bug clear then week later with fungus fighter. the mites are white and less than a mm on the densiflora x robcantleyi, and some fine webing on the fusca x robcantleyi with little spots on the webing. All the plants where put in the terrarium over a month ago and all the nepenthes have a sun tan from the 125w envirolite 30cm from the plants the terrarium is 122cm long 30cm deep 38cm tall. the top of the tank is covered with 4 sheets of glass with a 2cm gap between them for ventilation, humidity is 70% to 78% rh day and 80% to 86% at night. there are rusty coloured spots on the underside of older leaves and some younger leaves. hope someone knows what to do.

Edited by carni grower, 25 June 2012 - 12:48 PM.

[gardenofeden]

they should be fine, however DO NOT use Westland Plant Rescue Bug Killer for Ornamental Plants

see here http://www.cpukforum...20

[carni grower]

Thankyou, hopefully the combination of the 2 will work.

[gardenofeden]

when I say fine I mean safe to use, not necessarily effective, I have yet to find a product which works against spider mites, I would probably go for biological control if you can afford it. washing the leaves down with a water sprayer daily for several days is said to work well.

[Dicon]

I have found the AEROSOL Provado to be effective on mites, but use carefully and from a distance.
Make sure you have good air movement within the tank.

[Gareth Davies]

The only genuine solution to a red spider mite infestation is a thermonuclear detonation in the greenhouse.

If you've got a smaller number of larger plants, I find the best solution is putting a squirt of washing-up liquid in water, and wiping all the surfaces of the leaves with this, using kitchen roll or cotton buds.

Provado Ultimate Bug Killer works fairly well- it contains thiacloprid, but I think it's some oily stuff in the mix that has the effect.

[carni grower]

gardenofeden, on 25 June 2012 - 21:45 PM, said:

when I say fine I mean safe to use, not necessarily effective, I have yet to find a product which works against spider mites, I would probably go for biological control if you can afford it. washing the leaves down with a water sprayer daily for several days is said to work well.

hi stephen haven't got the money at the moment for bio control, all i've got is the above mentioned chemicals and b'cuzz bio defence. have you ever tried b'cuzz bio defence, i've test sprayed a large Windowsill ventrata that wasn't looking healthy  a few months back with a half dose and it seemed to do its job the plant looked happy and vigorous a week or to later. its a two part plant reinforcer against vermin and fungi. i might give all my small nepenthes in my terrarium a quick spray with this, before i start chemical warfare.

Edited by carni grower, 26 June 2012 - 10:07 AM.

[carni grower]

Here's some info on b'cuzz bio defence that i lifted from a web site. just like man, plants also develop antibodies
against disease germs, insects and fungi. These
antibodies are called alkaloids. They are specific
types of protein. B’ cuzz Bio defence stimulates
the production of these substances, making it
very difficult for harmful organisms to survive.

Edited by carni grower, 26 June 2012 - 10:00 AM.

[carni grower]

Dicon, on 25 June 2012 - 22:49 PM, said:

I have found the AEROSOL Provado to be effective on mites, but use carefully and from a distance.
Make sure you have good air movement within the tank.

hi dicon, thanks for the info.

[carni grower]

Hi gareth, thanks for the info. i've also got bug clear ultra gun which contains 0.05g/l acetamiprid as a ready to use microemulsion formulation. is this any good?

Edited by carni grower, 26 June 2012 - 10:31 AM.

[gardenofeden]

carni grower, on 26 June 2012 - 09:46 AM, said:

. have you ever tried b'cuzz bio defence,

no, sound like hocus pocus to me

[gardenofeden]

Some people swear by a spray of a weak emulsion of cinnamon or neem oil, as Gareth said it is the oil component which is thought to be important, in blocking their respiratory pores...

[carni grower]

gardenofeden, on 26 June 2012 - 10:28 AM, said:

Some people swear by a spray of a weak emulsion of cinnamon or neem oil, as Gareth said it is the oil component which is thought to be important, in blocking their respiratory pores...

i think bio defence is quite oily and maybe that's how it effects insects. the claims on the bottle are a bit hocus pocus sounding, but it does seem to give the plant a boost and it does look healthier after the application but as for nothing attacking the plant, i don't think so but i know nothing has touched my ventrata and princess and they are in far lower humidity conditions than my terrarium plants, so i would have thought they are a prime target for mites. but most likely i'm just lucky. i'll let you know what happens after i spray with bio defence. fingers crossed they pick up a bit. what would you recommend i do with the tools i have at hand?

[carni grower]

Just found the culprit, its a paphiopedilum orchid its covered in mite webing, so i've taken it out. i take it i should remove the capillary matting and clean the whole tank. then treat all with insecticide?

[Richard Bunn]

Damn orchids infesting our insect eating plants with insects!  

[carni grower]

Richard Bunn, on 26 June 2012 - 16:22 PM, said:

Damn orchids infesting our insect eating plants with insects!  

Unfortunately there the type that eat carnivorous plants as well

[Richard Bunn]

I didn't think any orchid ate carnivorous plants?