Little bugs on my skewers?

[Steve B]

Does anybody know what kind of bug this is?

Thanks,
Steve

[articuno75]

Whatever it is, it needs to be iradicated. Hehehe.

[rmt135]

My eyes are failing on me. It got bad as I got older. Now it got worse when I have to strain my eyes to look at that little creature. Can you magnify it????

Never mind - forget about magnifying.

Whenever I see any bug that I do not like & its bugging my orchid, I simply say, "Hello buggy, buggy - insecticide coming....."

[janet_a]

does it fly? looks kind of like a fungus gnat in the enlargement. if so, harmless. (unless there get to be a zilion of them, in which case it's an indication your medium's getting pretty yucky and you should repot.)

i fuss over the plants and then inevitably find one or two following me around the house.

[Steve B]

That was my first thought- baby fungal gnats. They do not fly but it looks like they have wings. I have seen them on a few different skewers now, always 4 of 5 of them running around. I've tried dawn in my water, I've tried insecticidal soap in my water, I've tried fungal gnat spray. Still looking for that miracle cure.

Thanks,
Steve

[rmt135]

May want to have a look at these links:

Fungus Gnats | DoItYourself.com

FUNGUS GNAT MANAGEMENT

[Tobi]

Although I can't really tell from the pic, if they are primarily in the bark and move really
fast, they could very well be fungal gnats. I have had good luck with 3-4 applications
of a mild dish washing detergent (dove) when I water. Cynthia has also recommended
mosquito dunks for getting rid of them. Since these little pests love to nest around
in moist decaying bark, I have also repotted with fresh bark when I couldn't get rid
of them with the detergent rinses and this did take care of them temporarily.
Unfortunately, they are everywhere in the environment and may keep coming back.
The good news is that they are not determental to the plant itself.

[Steve B]

I haven't been able to find mosquito dunks here yet. I don't know if they sell them in Canada or if they are just out of season. Bug season is just around the corner - I'll just have to keep a closer eye out for them.

Thanks,
Steve