somethings eating my leaves

[orchid em]

well, something is wreaking havock on my orchids. They are eating a lot of the new growth at night. I spray with a garlic solution but obviously its not working. I've heard about diatomaceus earth, is that safe??? what do I do with it? please help

[joan gero]

Hi Orchid'em,

I think one of the favorite general products out there is called physam 20... it doesn't promise to be organic, but it's mild and acts generally against lots of bugs and is widely available at, well anywhere! Perhaps start there???

[11Orchid126]

Physan is a fungicide, not an insecticide. Diatomaceous earth is completely natural and quite safe to use. It is the powdery form of diatomite, mineral rocks which are used as a medium for orchids.

You may want to check your plants at night with a flashlight, and you may be able to catch the critters red handed.

A saucer of beer nearby may draw slugs.

[jbigio]

Have you tried to pull the plant out of the pot and check the roots and mix to see if you have any friends? I would chect All your plants its safe to say if you have one pest they have LOTS OF FRIENDS!

[joan gero]

Oooops, I've been using Physan 20 for aphids (and convincing myself all the while that it was having some success)! How embarrassing... sorry for the wrong advice, gulp.

[orchid em]

thanks for all the suggestions, I'm going to get some DE soon, I live in a pretty rural place in costa rica so the nearest place to get something like that is 3 hours away, I know its crazy, its also rainy season here which means the roads are a disaster. I like the beer idea, I will try that tonight I also heard about putting apple slices on top of the medium,,, hmmmm. I sprayed with another organic pesticide and it seems to have stopped them for now.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you want to check to see if it is snails/slugs, put out a dish of beer near the damage overnight, and look for drowned snails/slugs in the morning.