aphids?

[siriusmk]

EEEKKKK!!! I was watering my ebay miltoniopsis today and had noticed these green pests. Are they aphids? I had previously treated them with neem oil, then pyrethrin, then worm tea and this is what i found on the flowers. They were also all repotted upon receipt. I cut off the infested flowers and wiped away as much as i could. I moved all my other plants away from them. What distance can aphids travel? Can they jump? to my other orchids?

[fred]

gee i am almost crying

thats a bad case of Aphids

I am not sure just how far they can travel but they can fly from plant to plant.

my opinion is to spray all your orchids

[siriusmk]

thanks for the confirmation. i think i may throw out all my ebay miltoniopsis. it is not worth all the headache i have been through and take it as an expensive lesson learned. i may try and find ladybugs to release into mt apt just in case they have infested my other orchids.

[Vivienne]

siriusmk - I'm sorry about the aphid infestation. My heart goes out to you.

On the topic of ladybugs. I have seen them at Home Depot and Lowe's my last few times there. I was toying with the idea of putting them in my atrium as well. I have not at this time as I'm wondering what the pros and cons would be. My atrium is open to the rest of the house, would I end up with ladybugs everywhere? Or would they stay where the plants are?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[tom499]

I would literally burn the flowers. And get some aphid spray, its sold in every garden centre.

They are a real nuisance but usually easy to spot and get rid of.

[siriusmk]

I flushed the flowers and flower stalk down the toilet. Hopefully they will not find their way back. I might go to home depot today and buy some lady bugs. I will let u know what comes of it.

[brookn]

vivienne you will end up with the little buggers everywhere. Where I live when it is their breeding season, I end up with them all over my house. They get into the house through the smallest holes in the screen, well and I have kids who tend to stand with the door wide open for no reason (good thing the dogs are well trained), and every year I end up trying to safely release about 100 back outside. I have even gone to bed and had them in it. The yard is thick with them every year. Good luck.

[Vivienne]

ewww. Too bad we can't train say a half dozen of them to just eat the aphids and hang out.

[prisana]

I think some adults have wings but depending on the season, which season, I don't know, but the wingless ones don't jump, they just crawl around . I had just eradicated a colony of aphids on my wild flowers and some black scales on my herbs...I hope for good.

[kmarch]

Ok, everyone take a deep, cleansing breath and don't panic.

Aphids are probably one of the easiest insects to rid yourself of. They are soft bodied and have no shells or protection. They also don't lay eggs (they give live birth) so they won't hatch out and reinfest, so they are easily erradicated with any good over the counter aphid or general insect spray. If you sprayed with 3 different compounds when you received them I think it is highly unlikely any aphids survived that so these guys probably latched on after you received the plants.

Their sucking habits can cause damage, they seem to prefer soft tissue like new growth, a bud, or flower as opposed to harder tissue like a mature leaf or bulb. But, don't panic, there is no need to throw your plants away, don't go chopping the plant up, also burning is not necessary, just apply a good insecticide, watch for signs of more aphids and repeat as necessary according to the brand's instructions. I even knew someone who would buy a package of ladybugs once a year to control them in their greenhouse.

[palito]

yes, Aphids are piece of cake compared to other pests, fungi etc. Any insecticide soap will kill them easily.

btw, aphids only grow wings when the plant they are feeding off is too crowded. Somehow that sends a signal and the new babies are born with wings so they can migrate

[PhalPal]

Did all of you know that aphids are BORN pregnant?? They have babies a week after being born themselves. Good thing they are easy to control!