COLD DARK ROOM

[Lyn W]

Good afternoon/morning all,
The winds have dropped to less than 40 mph but the rain has eased off - just a few showers now. Not heard of any damage but I expect some trees are down in more exposed areas.
I'm trotting off to the shops to restock Lola's supplies.
Hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday.

 

[MenagerieGrl]

Hi Friends . .
Sunny day here in SF Bay Area, supposed to get up to 66° this afternoon.
I have a fun lil field trip to do today....There is a BirdMart going on at the Vallejo fairgrounds @ 10am, bout 20 mi away. Bird's, & Toy's, & Feed and . . . an occasional Tort and other misc. stuff.
Will be nice to get out of the house (even w/a Mask) to see something different....YAY!

 

[Ray--Opo]

............and if that doesn't work you could always drink the rest of the alcohol to drown your sorrows!
Any predatory insects you could safely introduce? Wasps maybe?

They say ladybugs love to eat them. But I wonder if they would stay around or fly away. I would also have to see if ladybugs can survive in Florida. Some of the plants have turned a lighter green. Everything I have read is it is probably a root mealybug. I also found out that mealybugs are a big destroyer of many crops here in Florida.
Guess it's time to ask Google.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hi Friends . .
Sunny day here in SF Bay Area, supposed to get up to 66° this afternoon.
I have a fun lil field trip to do today....There is a BirdMart going on at the Vallejo fairgrounds @ 10am, bout 20 mi away. Bird's, & Toy's, & Feed and . . . an occasional Tort and other misc. stuff.
Will be nice to get out of the house (even w/a Mask) to see something different....YAY!

Sounds like fun!

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hey all. Nice bright sunny cold day here after a few days of overcast dull wet dreary days. Took advantage of today’s sunshine & installed/added a brandy new 100 Watt solar panel to my little solar array. No sparks, nothing blew up. All charging away ??

What are you using the panels for?

 

[Ray--Opo]

The forecast certainly wasn't wrong it's been blowing a hooley for hours!

We had the first matches of the 6 Nations rugby today and it was a very disappointing day for Wales who lost to Ireland, but a good day for Scotland who beat England!
Scotland v Wales is next Saturday and unless Wales give themselves a good talking to I can see Scotland beating them too.
I'm going to that match in Cardiff with some of the family; my brother in law supports Scotland so it should be a good day. It's usually a good day all around when Scotland play Wales in Cardiff, win or lose ,most of the fans are pretty good humoured about it all.

Maybe you should go out and fly a kite!?

 

[Ray--Opo]

I would love to have solar panels on my roof as my garden is south facing, but they are so expensive and the gov stopped the initiatives to sell power to the national grid so it would just take too long for them to pay for themselves.
It may be worth me looking at smaller panels to power Lola's equipment, especially with the way our fuel bills are being astronomically hiked up this year. I worry that a lot of UK tortoises will suffer if their owners try to cut bills by keeping their torts too cool or have to give them up.

There is rumors here in Florida that the power companies are going to add a fee for having solar panels.

 

[Maro2Bear]

There is rumors here in Florida that the power companies are going to add a fee for having solar panels.

The greedy Florida energy companies don’t want you making & using your own power! Crazy. The Sunshine State….wants to outlaw solar panel use. ?‍ Crazy, but true.

 

[Maro2Bear]

What are you using the panels for?

Hey Ray. In a nutshell, my panels charge four 12v large deep cycle 40 amp hour batteries. I have a DC (battery) to AC (normal household elec) inverter that will run things on when the power goes out. A few years back we had a big Summer storm we lost power for close to a week. No means to charge or run anything.

My battery bank & inverter provides many hours of clean power. Enough to run lights, fans, charge phones & iPads etc. AND Ive successfully powered our internet box as well.

My new solar panel is pretty cheap @ $125.00 or so. It’s the batteries that will kill you in expense - but are part of the triad (panels, battery & inverter). In between there I have a Solar Charge Controller that regulates the erratic voltage from the panels & provides an even amount of charging volts to the batteries.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Are you sure it's mealy bugs? I have them on some house plants, and cactus is right there but kinda thick for the bugs. You know to use Rubbing alcohol on the mealy bugs, right?

I found a old pic when I first started noticing the mealybugs. I thought it was sap leaching out from the pads at first.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hey Ray. In a nutshell, my panels charge four 12v large deep cycle 40 amp hour batteries. I have a DC (battery) to AC (normal household elec) inverter that will run things on when the power goes out. A few years back we had a big Summer storm we lost power for close to a week. No means to charge or run anything.

My battery bank & inverter provides many hours of clean power. Enough to run lights, fans, charge phones & iPads etc. AND Ive successfully powered our internet box as well.

My new solar panel is pretty cheap @ $125.00 or so. It’s the batteries that will kill you in expense - but are part of the triad (panels, battery & inverter). In between there I have a Solar Charge Controller that regulates the erratic voltage from the panels & provides an even amount of charging volts to the batteries.

Nice, I looked into solar panels but with the numbers I was getting. I was basically paying 30,000 with no battery backup. In 15 years only saving roughly 15,000. Then when the warranty expired in 20 years. I would end up with panels on my roof not working as efficiently as when they were new. Who would even know if the company would still be around to cover warranty work. I would also have to pay someone to take down and reinstall if I needed a new roof.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Nice, I looked into solar panels but with the numbers I was getting. I was basically paying 30,000 with no battery backup. In 15 years only saving roughly 15,000. Then when the warranty expired in 20 years. I would end up with panels on my roof not working as efficiently as when they were new. Who would even know if the company would still be around to cover warranty work. I would also have to pay someone to take down and reinstall if I needed a new roof.

Yeah - whole system/house panels provided via a solar company are tricky. Lots of fine print. Mine is all DIY.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I found a old pic when I first started noticing the mealybugs. I thought it was sap leaching out from the pads at first.
View attachment 340142

My hobby is Hoya...got this one some years ag from hawaii...it got mealy bugs when I moved to Oregon, then about 15 Hoya got them so out of a buncha Hoya I have about 7 now...death by mealy bugs...
I've worked real hard daily with the rubbing alcohol, so far so gone...lol...sure hope they don't come back...if I were you I'd load a spray bottle...good luck

 

[Ray--Opo]

Yeah - whole system/house panels provided via a solar company are tricky. Lots of fine print. Mine is all DIY.

Oh ok, did you mount the panels on the roof?

 

[Ray--Opo]

My hobby is Hoya...got this one some years ag from hawaii...it got mealy bugs when I moved to Oregon, then about 15 Hoya got them so out of a buncha Hoya I have about 7 now...death by mealy bugs...View attachment 340144
I've worked real hard daily with the rubbing alcohol, so far so gone...lol...sure hope they don't come back...if I were you I'd load a spray bottle...good luckView attachment 340145

Yeah I think I will get relentless with the alcohol. I am thinking of scraping off some of the dirt and expose the roots and treat the ground also. I would hate to have to start all over.

 

[Ray--Opo]

My hobby is Hoya...got this one some years ag from hawaii...it got mealy bugs when I moved to Oregon, then about 15 Hoya got them so out of a buncha Hoya I have about 7 now...death by mealy bugs...View attachment 340144
I've worked real hard daily with the rubbing alcohol, so far so gone...lol...sure hope they don't come back...if I were you I'd load a spray bottle...good luckView attachment 340145

If they come back you might want to change the soil.

 

[TheLastGreen]

Goodnight to you all!
@Ray--Opo I have the same problem. Little mealy bugs, or scaly bugs. They infest every corner of wood on our citrus trees and just keep coming back
What's bad is the ants farm the buggers, so they store them in little underground pockets on the tree stump, and they just keep coming back.
I've hosed them, sprayed them with every type of bicarbonate of soda, rubbing alcohol, vinegar etc, but no luck, I'll try to get some images tomorrow

 

[Lyn W]

Maybe you should go out and fly a kite!?

The winds would be strong enough to blow me across to Florida Ray!!
Cheap flight!!

 

[Cathie G]

Definitely mealybugs, they look like white fuzzy things on the pads. I haven't done rubbing alcohol because it would take me forever to wipe down each pad. I guess I could put the alcohol in a pump sprayer. After applying it I could rinse it off after a few minutes. I have tried everything else but neem oil.

I keep a spray bottle of alcohol available for any bug I don't want. I use it to kill flies mostly. It only kills on contact but that's enough for me.?

 

[Lyn W]

There is rumors here in Florida that the power companies are going to add a fee for having solar panels.

Unbelievable!! The greedy b@st@rds get you always don't they?