Orchid with a white coating

All symptoms at a glance

Before you take countermeasures, please use the following symptoms to check whether the white coating is actually mealybugs:

• In the early infestation stage, there are numerous, tiny cotton balls on the leaves and bulbs
• In the further course, the padded humps combine to form white, greasy webs
• The mealybugs underneath suck out the sap so that the leaves wither and the shoots cripple

In the end, the orchid is completely covered with the white webs that serve as waxy protective armor for the pests.

Fighting mealybugs effectively - this is how it works in harmony with nature

Orchids are usually sensitive to the concentrated load of chemical insecticides. This is especially true for thin-leaved species and varieties. In practice, on the other hand, the following ecological means have proven to be effective in gently removing the white coating from the plants:

• Immediately isolate the affected orchid from other houseplants
• Treat the plant in the quarantine room with a solution of 1 liter of water, 10 ml of alcohol and 15 ml of soft soap
• Alternatively, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to 1 liter of water and 1 drop of washing-up liquid as an emulsifier

As a precaution, please do not spray the solution on the orchid. Rather, apply the agent to all infected parts of the plant with a fine brush. The alcohol dissolves the waxy armor and is quite aggressive. The pesticide based on olive oil should therefore be used on orchids with very thin leaves.