Pest identification and treatment

[corinne]

Hi All,

It's my first post so fingers crossed someone can help me.

I have a group of phalanopsis which have been doing really well until I decided to grow some veg nearby. The beans and tomatoes were decimated by the unidentified pest. The veg are long gone and now the orchids are suffering.

I'm not sure what the pests are as they're absolutely tiny. When they were really out of control on the beans there were webs so I assume it's some type of mite. They're really tiny, black and shiny, and pretty fast. I've seen red spider mite before and i think that these are smaller. Even with a loupe I can't make out any details.

I've been wiping them off as I've been finding them which is keeping them under control but not getting rid of them. Anybody help??

[jbigio]

Welcome to the site you will need to post i believe 3 posts before you can post a picture but that is really the only way to help identify the culprits. They can be mites aphids slugs etc. the wed you see may be from spiders that are actually eating the bugs on your plants which is a good thing also if what you are seeing look like a cotton patch they could also be mealy bugs. Till we can get a picture I would hit each plant with a fairly strong blast from the hose which will in most cases remove most of the pests which will give you time to spray the right product.
Joe

[jbigio]

you actualy need to post 5 posts so if you say hi on 4 more post then you can post the pictures

[mehitabel]

Hi, Corinne. Here is a link to the American Orchid Society discussion of pests and diseases that affect orchids.

AOS | Members Only Area

Scroll down to find the articles available on "Pests and Diseases". The articles show pictures of the kind of damage, how the pest reproduces, and how to treat for them. Mites are discussed.

Safer's 3 in 1 or Safer's Insecticidal Soap is a fairly benign insecticide that works quite well on all sorts of bugs. Check the label to see if it kills mites (tho mites are supposed to be too small to see).

Check the labels-- if it's safe for roses, it's safe for orchids.

[digitalgate]

if the plant have lots of webbing then white oil on the leaves will not help much as it is too much work. The web actually prevent oil from coating on the leaves and kill the mites. I hope you do not have a heavy infestation of spider mites but normal spider. Your Phal, did you grow them in semi shade? If it is you can give it a try by spraying white oil. Repeat the application after two day. Repeat again every week for a month. But i like to do it weekly
to prevent any mite to establish a colony on the plant.

[tansyflower]

I had something similar attack my vegies last year. I don't remember webs, but they may have been there. I can't remember the name- maybe thrips tho??

I used Confidor- I'm not sure if u have that in US, but there would be a similar products. I don't usually like chemicals, but this one sorted the problem out pretty quickly.

[solay]

Could be mites. Hope you figure it out soon and save the orchids.

[corinne]

Hi all,

Thanks for the help. I know they're definitely not mealy bugs. They're tiny (less than 1mm) and really fast. I think the webs are associated with them because when they were really bad on the veg, there was lots of them within the webs. I've seen red spider mite on other plants don't look the same. They are shiny and black as opposed to red. The affected leaves on the beans yellowed and then dried up and fell off. The Phal leaves that were badly affected before I realised have also yellowed. I'm not sure I'll be able to get a photo due to the size of the them.

[jay]

Try this. Doesn't really matter what it is.

The Best Stuff Ever!!!

Give it a really good spray. You will need to reapply after a few days if it is mites to get the ones that will hatch.

Good luck.

[corinne]

Thanks for the link. Just one question, is cinnamon extract the same as cinnamon oil? I live in the Uk and can't find cinnamon extract anywhere. Hopefully the oil is similar!