Mealy Bug

Controlling pests of bamboo

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boonut
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Mealy Bug

Post by boonut »

Well... I found the dreaded mealy bug today on my Schizostachyum Brachycladum. Not good. Can someone tell me if this is the bad one... Palmicultor lumpurensis

I found some research at: http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/Field_Key_to_C ... lorida.pdf

These are pictures I took about 10 minutes ago...
Image
Image
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CadyG
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Like Kyuzo (pictured above) in "The Seven Samurai," I've "...Killed (more than) two..." bamboos.

RE: Mealy Bug

Post by CadyG »

Spray the hell out of those suckers with horticultural oil.
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Roy
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by Roy »

Boonut,

These pictures from Bamboocraft show the same thing as what you have and the ID it as Palmicultor lumpurensis (see images in the link below).

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showg ... hp?cat=535

Now I don't agree with Bamboocraft and neither does the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Plant Industries Division. I have had this same mealy bug ever since I started propagating bamboo almost 30 years ago. It does not kill new bamboo shoots, but it does like to hide in the branch complements and excrete a white sugary powder which mold grow on and causes what is known as black sooty mold. About 3 years ago, I had the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Plant Industries Division take samples of "my" mealybug and the report came back that it was the Noxious Bamboo Mealybug--Antonina pretiosa.

Bamboocraft had this set of images and they call this the Noxious Bamboo Mealybug--Antonina pretiosa.

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showg ... hp?cat=536

The images they have at the link above are not of the same type of mealy bug that I've had for the last almost 30 years. I have never seen any of the sticky spiral threads that are evident on these images and I've seen tons of mealy bugs my bamboo over the last 30 years. I would be willing bet that I could find one or more mealy bug on any piece of tropical bamboo I see here in Florida.

From what I understand about Palmicultor lumpurensis, this mealy bug does most of its damage to new shoots and not much harm after that.

Here's a close-up images of "my" mealy bug:

Image
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Roy Rogers
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igrowbamboo
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by igrowbamboo »

Has anyone tried bayer tree & shrub insect control?
it contains Merritt for mealybugs.
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boonut
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by boonut »

I use the Bayer product. I just add a little more than what they call for.
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by marcat »

Bayer makes Merit. I would like to know how effedtive it is with mealy bugs on bamboo. Can not find any references to it. But then again nothing else seems to work well.
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boonut
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by boonut »

I just put it on almost all my bamboo... both in pots and in the ground. I did not spray foliage... just put it in the ground as directed and watered it in.

I didn't use it on bamboo that I have never seen any signs of any kind of mealy bug.

No signs since I put the chemical out... I will let you know in time how it works down here.

I have never noticed it on my Schizostachyum Brachycladum until this year... so that might be something to take into consideration... once you have it on one, there is a good chance of spreading... even to bamboo not usually known to get mealy bugs.
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Roy
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by Roy »

Finally got around to seeing Palmicultor lumpurensis up close. The picture was taken in northeast Tampa on a B. oldhamii shoot and under the culm sheaths. Nasty little bugger. Much worse than the older type of mealy bug that just seems to cause the black sooty mold. I know one day I'm going to eventually have it in my backyard. All new plants to my place I drench with poisons for several months.


Image
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mike best
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RE: Mealy Bug

Post by mike best »

I always see the fire ants and carpenter ants on my bamboos and I encourage it because I know they both are voracious meat eaters. They also hang out under the culm sheaths with the Mealy Bug. I don't know if they eat them and I know they can not get to some of them deep under the culm sheath but looks like they are eating something. I would be surprised if they passed up a juicy Mealy.
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Re: Mealy Bug

Post by SillyNilly »

I have these Mealey bugs all over my backyard. First time I've ever seen them. They terrorized a potted Bamboo plant so badly that I ended up cutting it down to the dirt and disposing of the plant. It's coming back nicely, but these bugs are everywhere, and I have a battle on my hands. I'm using Neem Oil but it's not working that great. Someone suggested dabbing a Q-Tip in Listerine and that kills them almost instantly. This can be a time consuming adventure. I may just try putting the Listerine in a spray bottle and see how that works. Wish me luck!
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Re: Mealy Bug

Post by sfrangu »

I've had a very bad spider mites infestation of one of my Plumerias and Neem oil didn't help, so bad it was. So I did some research and I found this product with good reviews: http://www.spectracide.com/Products-and ... rdens.aspx It says that it kills mealy bugs too. I got rid of the spider mites with only 2 applications of this insecticide.
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