# Coccidae on my plants?



## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Got the third brom dying after it made a pups.
Looked at the plant - nothing special, just some mold










Thought it was just a weak plants but than became paranoid. 
Took a camera & found out some "prettey" inhabitants.
If it's a Coccidae shall i just throw avay my tank or there are methods to exterminate them?


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

as a plant person, I would peg that for some type of scale. But I have no first hand experience with the buggers, and that would be a complete guess on my part


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## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

Looks like scale to me.
Here is a link: Bromeliad Biota - Pests - Scale Insects

-Beth


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## billschwinn (Dec 17, 2008)

I would say that is a bad infestation of Cushion Scale insects.


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Looks like unarmored to me from the link.
Is there a chance to get rid of them without exterminating the vivarium?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

It isn't coccidia... you would need a higher magnification to detect coccidia... 

Ed


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

RNKot said:


> Looks like unarmored to me from the link.
> Is there a chance to get rid of them without exterminating the vivarium?


it actually looks like you have both in the pics you provided, and if I remember correctly, it's usually the females that form the armored mounds

I know the standard treatment for small infestations is to swab with a q-tip and alcohol, but your s looks rather severe. 

also, I have absolutely no experiance with treating an established viv, for anything, so would even verify that with someone more knowledgeable, first

PS little frog or antone might be your best bets


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks for the info.
From the link looks like Diaspis bromeliae (Kerner)
Female armor: Nearly circular, flat, yellowish white to brownish yellow, semitransparent. Size 2-3 mm in diameter. Exuviae subcentral, yellowish or pale brown (Dekle 1976).

I meant the armor resembles much. The insects themselves are about 1/3 or 1/2 mm. I didn't even saw them for last 3 month, only from macro shots. White "armor" they produce over themselves are about 1-5mm.

Now i'm heavy searching, but it seems already only taking out the Neoregelias & washing them with heavy chemistry can help. I'm heartbroken.

*Brotherly Monkey*, what did you mean by "antone" i didn't got the point, sorry...


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

RNKot said:


> *Brotherly Monkey*, what did you mean by "antone" i didn't got the point, sorry...


he means "antone jones" (frogtofall) here on the boards. he's very knowledgeable particularly when it comes to broms, dischidia, and hoya.

james


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks everyone!


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## leonh (Jul 3, 2011)

hi there knkot i would not use any harsh chemicals on the plant although i know you would take it out of the viv to treat,as it goes i had this develop on one of my broms and it deff is some sort of scale insect.
the way i got rid of mine was to take a medium/small soft paint brush and wash the scale insect off in tepid water were ever i saw it then i also put a small p.c fan to circulate the air in the plant container,then over the course of a couple of months it basically diminshed and the brom is growing back strong again.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Wow. You have quite the attack going. Scale is a huge pain in the butt. It's one of those things that you will never completely get rid of without extreme measures. 

I dunno how big this viv is but if it's less than 50 gal, I would tear it down if that first photo is any indication of the problem. 

Can you post some shots of the viv and all the plants? You might be able to get away with just tossing the bromeliads bc a lot of scale is plant specific. Problem is the mobile phase are very good at hiding and may infest the new ones you put in. You might try it anyways and perhaps the dry ice method. 

One thing from here out though... Soak all you plants in soapy bleach water before placing them. Scale cannot handle the soap.


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks for the info!

Thread about the viv http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/me...-55g-tinctorius-vivarium-pics-very-heavy.html dimentions are 27*19*23" 

Observation: such infestation is *ONLY* on plants that produced pups & died within a month with heavy infestation. First started in late may, pictures of the second you see in this thread & the third one, that produced pups a week ago, also is observed with some scales.

First Neo is dead already & the pups didn't developed. 
20/05/2011 pups is about 1/3 of mother plant (the right down Neo with two damaged leafs)
I thought it's normal for them to produce a pup & die.


















Second broom is right above, red in color with offspring.
Taken from the viv for threatment.
Pups is developing really good.










You can see both clearly - above the fern in the middle.
First one is below with 2 damaged leafs, second one is above with one damaged leaf & pups clearly seen.
State for 20/05/2011










Third one is taken from the viv. I didn't make any shots, because it just started to produce the offspring & the infestation was wiped with cotton pads. It is now isolated & under daily soap treatment.

Tooday i wiped all leafs with cotton pad & water, see no insects on them. Only on pupsed Neoregelias 

Thought about ICE method - don't have it sold freely. Will look in pharmacy store.

Because it's impossible to get any new Neoregelia for me locally, till about october-november, i'll continue to wipe leafs for about a month twice a week & will look for any pests. If this wont help than the only method will be to redo whole viv with chemistry applied to Neo & sterilization all the decorations that can't be replaced.

What about such a plan?


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

I know we touched on this in a previous thread, where we discussed the half life of various systemic components, but I was wondering if it was possible to use a heavy duty systematic in a viv, that you would later introduce frogs into? 

Say in the above example RNKot used some heavy insecticide, like orthene, to treat his viv, after removing the frogs. Being that it's such an enclosed environment, compared to where these chemicals are usually applied, would the components cycle out in a reasonable time frame (say like 6 months), or would you need to leave it uninhabited for the very long term (1+ years)?

the reason i ask, is that in some instances I can see myself preferring leaving it uninhabited for the long term, as opposed to completely breaking it down


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

I got the point. 
Thought to take out Neoregelia & treat out side the viv for 1 month with 2 chemical processings - evry 2 weeks. The next month will hold plans still outside using bleach / soapy water or other "not so harmfull" methods weekly. After 2 month of treatment reintroduce Neos to the viv.
But some scales for shure still be present in the viv, correct?
So the only option is to take the viv apart


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

That viv is a bit too nice to be tearing down... 

I would try just removing the bromeliads. You can attempt to clean them but I would honestly just throw them away. They are completely infested.

Leave the with no bromeliads in it for a month or two. See if any scale shows up on the orchids or other plants. If not, its a safe bet the scale is probably bromeliad specific. If you can track down some dry ice, that would be ideal otherwise just letting it sit without a food source (bromeliads) may kill off the scale.

I used Bayer Tree and Shrub on my bromeliads in the greenhouse. It was a very dilute mixture but I had to. Florida has WAY too many pests to try and stay away from systemmics. I used my own bromeliads in all my vivs and never had any problems with pumilio or thumbs breeding in them. Its good to make sure you give the plants a couple days to absorb the the chemical then rinse really well. I very rarely had problems with scale after that. Just make sure to do the soapy bleach water soak and rinse before placing to kill everything.


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## RNKot (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks for help! Doing my best to get rid of them.
Let the war begin


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## ReptileNinja101 (Jan 31, 2010)

This may work to get rid of them. Its a useful article getting rid of viv pests. But I don't know if it would work with what you have.
Eliminating Vivarium Pests - Geckos Unlimited


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

If you do find some dry ice, I would treat concurrently, for a few weeks. That way you can get the new hatchlings, as the eggs won't likely be effected


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

Antone, have you ever used a systimatic in a viv, and if so, how long did you wait until repopulating it?


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Brotherly Monkey said:


> Antone, have you ever used a systimatic in a viv, and if so, how long did you wait until repopulating it?


I've never actually sprayed it into a viv, no. Only used plants that were treated outside the viv. I don't think I would risk spraying it into a viv. It would be hard to keep it out of the soil.


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

Frogtofall said:


> I've never actually sprayed it into a viv, no. Only used plants that were treated outside the viv. I don't think I would risk spraying it into a viv. It would be hard to keep it out of the soil.


well, I'm sure it would even eventually flush from the soil in a viv (if you drained off the excess water)the question is how long it would take.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Don't forget about the microfauna. You'd wipe them out or infect them.


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