ORCHIDS - PESTS

Every living thing is susceptible to pests, and orchids are no exception. Remedies range from merely picking off the pests to full scale war against them! The first step begins the day you bring the orchid home. "Quarantine" all new plants from established plants. Pests can easily move from one plant to another when in the same vicinity. Quarantines should last a least a week or more to prevent pests from spreading.

Pests lay eggs on the plants which hatch and cause more trouble. The Cattleya Fly love to lay eggs in cattleya leaves, causing a great deal of damage to the orchid. A commercial product for combating these pests is required.

The Cattleya Beetle is a hard shelled, shiny black bugs with curved beaks (right out of SCI-FI!). The beaks attach at the tips of the roots and lay their eggs where you won't see them unless you get close to the roots. The orchids dies a quick death when these pests start feeding.

Then of course, there are the "night invaders" like snails and slugs. Looking for them after dark with a flashlight is the best way to spot these pests and physically remove them. To prevent snails from even getting near your orchid in the first place, surround the orchid with gravel (the sharper the better) or place on a cement floor. You can also place the orchid is a saucer of vegetable oil or beer (gets them drunk and they can't get out LOL). If you need to use a commercial product try mixing with rotten lettuce for a tasty treat for the snail.

Pests can be difficult to spot, like the mites which are very tiny. Look for silvery looking under leaves and yellow spots on the top of the leaves. If the infestions are bad enough, you will see tiny spider webs. Raise the humidity and wash the leaves regularly to control these true pests!

Earwings respond to laying newspaper down around the entire orchid where the bugs crawl at night. The next morning remove and burn the newspaper. Ladybugs can be a great environmentally safe way to control these pests if you do your homework. Some beneficial bugs, of which ladybugs are one, love to eat aphids, for example but then when the aphids are gone, can continue to eat the plant itself.

Chemical Solutions

If a chemical is required, it should be used carefully. Systemics are good because they absorb through the roots and treat the entire plant. Sprays should be used once to kill adults, and then again for the eggs left behind.

Which some careful observation and preventative measure, you and your orchid can live happily ever after!