Leaf problem

[Ivandamaria]

Hello:
I got an orchid from my girlfriend, and it was doing very well for 6 months, but I noticed that the new leaves have transparent spots (see attached). Any ideas what might be wrong?
Thank you.

[Hummer344]

Any slime trails on the leaves? If so its snails. Your plant get some direct sun just after watering? could be burn marks from the water drops.

[-k-]

Could be too much direct light, what are your growing conditions?

[Brooke]

Water drops on foliage in the sun will evaporate before it will burn a leaf.

I would pull the plant out of the pot and check for slugs inside the pot. They love to come out at night and slip back into the pot during the day.

Brooke

[Ivandamaria]

Thank you! I suspected too much direct sun but my girlfriend had her orchids on the sun pretty much all the time, and the orchids were doing absolutely great. This is an indoor plant, so slugs are not a likely culprit.

[digitalgate]

any cat at home?

[Brooke]

You have physical damage to the plant, not sun damage.

If the plant is a new acquisition, I would still check to see if you brought in a hitchhiker. One slug can lay many eggs, which then hatch out and crawl to other plants.

Brooke

[Ivandamaria]

Hello again:
I think I found who had been eating the leaves. We have an invasion of one type of bugs in the house (see attached). I also noticed tiny silvery insects in the potting soil (babies?). Should I replant and treat the plant somehow?
Thanks!

[Brooke]

The pictures are too small for me to see the bug

Brooke

[Ivandamaria]

Here is a larger picture. I am somewhat limited by the allowed size of the file.

[Brooke]

I call that a stink bug and don't know the real name. I never considered them to be harmful to plants. Hopefully a real bug person can ID it so you can check to see what type of damage it will do to plant material.

You can always submerge the pot in water to see what else you drive out of the pot. Any bugs will escape to keep from drowning.

Brooke

[katrina]

Yep...some sort of stink bug. They can feed on leaf juices if no other food is available but usually they prefer fruits and veggies.

If you have an infestation in your home...that would concern me more. They will hibernate over winter and once they get a strong hold on one location...they can really get out of control in a couple of years. If you're finding adults in your home...they've been there since last Fall.

I've never had an infestation personally, but I know of someone who has. They ended up calling out a pest company to do some sort of treatment around the perimeter and inside the house. Plus, perimeter treatments the following fall to keep new ones from entering the home.

If you squeeze it a little or handle it too much...it'll let out a rather nasty odor. Hence, the name I believe.

[-k-]

We get those in the early spring as well, they find there way inside just like the ladybugs / asian bettles do in the Autumn. They sure do stink when you squish em, nast little things; never notice any vegetative loss due to them though. My cat chases the around, but by now they have all left having not seen them in a few weeks now.

[Ivandamaria]

They do stink, and we have a real invasion of them in our area. I found a couple of them sitting on the orchids and one dead in a pot. I am also a bit concerned with those tiny silvery insects in the potting soil. They are too small to take a pix. Can they be a part of the normal bark environment? Also, how do I emerge the plant in water - the whole pot with the soil or do I need to take the plant out of the pot?

[Brooke]

Put the pot in a pan/bowl/whatever, run water until it reaches the rim of the pot, see what comes out of the pot to escape drowning. Feel free to leave it for a couple of hours, it will not hurt the plant. Drain it, make sure the crown is dry, put it back where it lives. You won't need to water for a while.

Brooke

[katrina]

The little silvery bugs are most likely Springtails. Very common and nearly impossible to completely eradicate.

If they are Springtails...as long as the population is not overwhelmingly high...they shouldn't cause any damage. They feed on decaying matter and are part of a normal and healthy eco-system. If populations gets too high they might feed on the roots...but the pot would have to be literally crawling w/the little buggers.

Google Springtail...you'll find a pic for comparison to what's in your pot.

[Ivandamaria]

Thank you. I'll keep watching the leaves now that I've eradicated the majority of the stinky bugs.