Unwelcome Visitors

So...this happened.

That's not my picture, but I was too grossed out to take one in the moment. I was inspecting my orchids when I lifted a leaf and bam! Right there on an aerial root, a disgusting lone mealy bug.  You can be sure that where there is one, there are others.

I did some research on them and they are very tiny. They tend to stick around domestic plants, spread quickly, and eventually kill their host. Only the full grown females look like the one above, and lay eggs in white fuzzy stuff, which the minuscule winged males fertilize....before you know it, you have a whole colony of them! 

Needless to say, that weekend I rushed out in a panic and bought the strongest stuff I could find - some kind of 3 in 1 pesticide that said it treated mealy bugs, among other things. I watered all my orchids outside, repotted two of the orchids I knew for sure were infected and basically doused them in chemicals (except of course the blooms). Now this stuff is potent, you basically have to cover all over because it can be so toxic/irritating on skin.

Now I know it doesn't seem too healthy or green, but there is NO WAY I am seeing one of those nasty critters again.  Even though I caught it early ( you do not want to see what an infestation looks like) and killed everything, I am going to do it again just in case.

There goes my next Sunday evening, sigh.