Karsty Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 (edited) Ok, updates..... Photos of the plants in that spot.... ONLY the 2 Nepenthes in the first picture actually clearly had the mites, the other plants were isolated and sprayed as a precaution... https://photos.app.goo.gl/UFxdZg1oVnfjv9jp1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/xagblmQzkXjpDTtr2 https://photos.app.goo.gl/niFl0O4UjroqlvUv1 This the remains of the worst affected leaves, after chopping them off, putting them in a cup, and pouring boiling water over them... Then I removed all dead leaves and pitchers. Again I used this, plus SB Plant Invigorator.... https://photos.app.goo.gl/40MYDExfulcjY3LV2 At the moment they are all in quarantine. Edited May 28, 2018 by Karsty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirks Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 Just been reading the warning label. If in contact with skin - rinse for 20 minutes. Well if that doesn't kill them then, nothing will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsty Posted May 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 1 hour ago, pirks said: Just been reading the warning label. If in contact with skin - rinse for 20 minutes. Well if that doesn't kill them then, nothing will. Ok, I didn't rinse for 20 minutes. I take many warnings as over-cautious, not accurate (which is a pain, the over-cautious ones make you nonchalant about the accurate ones) I do most of the time tell my customers I mite get to them tomorrow - does that make me at risk?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirks Posted May 28, 2018 Report Share Posted May 28, 2018 5 hours ago, Karsty said: I do most of the time tell my customers I mite get to them tomorrow - does that make me at risk?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsty Posted May 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 I can confirm I have found my first slaughtered Brevipalpus - on the N. m. v. globosa, which was sprayed first - https://photos.app.goo.gl/2QYIQcNRK1y9adb93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Baba Posted July 1, 2018 Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 Hi Karsty I think you probably abandoned the predatory mites a bit early, it takes a while for them to get going! I'm not surprised you had a random occurrence of mites on the other side of the room. Brevipalpus don't spread very fast, but they are very easily transferred on skin and clothing when you handle plants, and of course if you move plants around... The best way to totally eradicate them is probably to completely destroy any plants with mites and then spray the rest of the collection. I have found that plant oil based sprays are very effective. 3 sprays at 2 weekly intervals will get rid of any new hatchlings from eggs. As it is a contact spray you have to be very thorough, I think you would have to cut off any Nepenthes pitchers in case they act as a reservoir for mites or eggs. Also they love to hide under leaf sheaths, so peeling back any dead sheaths is important. The advantage is you wont poison yourself accidentally If you have an infested plant that you cant bear to destroy, take the smallest rootable cutting, dip it in spray and then remove all the visible eggs under a binocular microscope! Tedious but I have done this with cacti (received with mites and quarantined) and it works. A couple of examples: I have a lovely Phalaenopsis schilleriana which came from the nursery with mites. Un-noticed for a while...then I peeled back all the dead leaf sheaths sprayed it 3 times and it is now mite free and has been for 3 years. No sign of mites on any other orchids, but I am very careful to isolate new plants. I was given a Cephalotus which turned out to have a bad infestation. I took root cuttings (mites don't live on the roots), and carefully inspected them for transferred mites/eggs before setting the cuttings. Now I have a lovely plant. Hope it is going ok cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsty Posted July 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) Ali - Do you really think 10 weeks was not enough time to give the Ambyselius time to do their job? You will see that I carried out a certain amount of destruction with regard to the infested plants. So would it be reliable to say that after hatching these mites will not produce eggs within 2 weeks? Even in the most favourable conditions? Honestly, I'd rather poison myself slightly then recover than go through all of that trouble with the oil-based pesticide (would not SB Plant Invigorator do the same job?). Besides, I don't have a binocular microscope - not yet anyway! But I would not use any dangerous pesticides where they might harm bees. You have my admiration for having both the time, and the patience, to carry out those procedures! The truth is, I would have the patience if I had the time and the right equipment. There's not much info out there about Brevipalpus, but I stumbled upon this video, in case it is of assistance to anyone - MissOrchidGirl - How to make and apply your own DIY insecticide for Orchids - Complete, step by step guide Edited July 13, 2018 by Karsty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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