- Mealybugs appear as small, oval shaped white cottony masses less than an eighth of an inch long. Often they mass together in a group and excrete a sticky goo called honeydew. The honeydew sometimes molds and develops a black soot over its surface. Other than visual detection of mealybugs, symptoms include yellowing leaves and premature death of flower buds.
- For small spot infections, you can simply wipe mealybugs off your orchids with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. For larger infections, numerous insecticidal soaps are available in garden stores. Spray these directly on the plant, or for severe infestations the whole plant can be dipped. Several organic insecticides are available, such as neem oil, which you can spray on orchids.
- It is always a good idea to quarantine any new plants entering a collection to make sure they are disease-free before they have a chance to infect orchids and other plants. Carefully observation goes a long way in preventing infestations of mealybugs in existing collections. When one appears on a single plant, remove it manually before it has a chance to spread to other orchids.