Centipede! Paph! Gaak!

[abneofelis]

I just found a little centipede in the medium of my newly delivered Paphiopedilum Rolfei from Orchid Of Los Osos. I find myself wondering... a centipede cold only be beneficial... right!?
While I was unpacking the shipment a pill bug dropped out, too! Sheesh! Are pill bugs known to be bad for orchids?

[kmarch]

I think pill bugs eat decaying wood and vegetable matter. I do not know what centipedes eat. Is your Paph in spike? If not, then a repot may well be in order. Does the mix look fresh?

[BunnytheOrchid]

Yuck Yuck Yuck Yucky!! :-O Centipedes are NOT one of my favorite things

[kmarch]

Well bunny, I'm with you. They're freak-nasty and creep me out, but quite honestly I don't really know if they are detrimental to the orchids. To me, yes. To the orchids?

[exasperatus2002]

Centipedes are predatory bugs. They eat other bugs. Now if it were a sow bug or millipede...that wouldnt be good.

[articuno75]

I thought Pill bugs (ie. rollie pollies/tater bugs here) where bad for orchids? They eat roots and vegetative growth, I thought. I found a bunch, and I'm talkin' a bunch of them when I got my inherited Catt. Found three gianormous centipedes in the bad side of the root mass too. I nearly passed out. Bugs terrify me to the extreme. I'd never make it on Fear Factor.

[zero742]

Centipedes won't harm your orchids at all. If anything they'd help by aerating the soil. I have a fairly good sized community of them living in one of my terrariums right now, and have never seen any negative consequences due to their being there. Like exasperatus said, they are predatory, so no worries!

[Tobi]

Originally Posted by articuno75

I thought Pill bugs (ie. rollie pollies/tater bugs here) where bad for orchids? They eat roots and vegetative growth, I thought.

As Kevin stated above, pill bugs eat decaying wood and vegatative matter.
They are actually important components in returning organic matter to the
soil. This matter is then further digested by bacteria and fungi releasing
nitrates, phosphates and other beneficial nutrients to the plants.

[articuno75]

Still, they are gross as with all bugs. Nasty. Makes me shiver thinking about it.

[kmarch]

I just had a thought.....maybe pill bugs aren't desirable even if they don't eat your orchids since they eat the potting mix and may quicken the break down and decay of the mix which would mean more frequent repotting and possibly a less healthy environment for roots.

Any thoughts?

[articuno75]

When I got the inherited Catt the medium was like fill dirt and completely infested. Last repot was dated over 5+ years prior. So I wouldn't know exactly how long it it takes to actually break down the medium. Any takers on this experiment?

[jbigio]

Ive learned my lesson I re pot any plant that comes in and throw the old mix in the compost bin of the guarden. I also got plants from Orchid Of Los Osos and found earth worm in the pots.

[articuno75]

They had a Paph for sale before I bought my mine, and I was going to get it. It was a bulldog Paph Nupurut Fire something x something. Can't remember, but it was pretty. I'm kinda glad I didn't now cause I don't want critters jumping at me like Jack-in-the-boxes. That's yuk. (begins brushing arms...)

[sandra]

I had never in my life seen a centipede until last summer. I was rearranging and adding mix to a huge arrangement of cacti and succulents and there it was...in the mix...the size of my palm. I flipped out and just threw the entire collection away. And then about 2 weeks later, another one just sitting there on my patio. It was so awful and I dread the thought of it happening again. Florida and its bugs....ech!

[articuno75]

Oh Sandra, LoL. That reminds me of Patlee when she cussed at a slug in her Brass NOID division. So funny.