Biggest Bug Problem

Obviously there are a load of bugs out there and I was just wondering what you thought is the biggest bug problem for you whilst growing your plants?

Also what do you find are the best ways to fight against these.

[Dave]

Bug problems differ from person to person as each lives in warmer or colder climates. But the major pests are: Aphids, Snails, Spider mites, Scale, Mealy bugs and Ants.

Scale is one of the hardest to get rid of as they can spread pretty fast. Several applications of insecticidal soap or chemical based spray will be needed.
I find aphids to be aggressive too. You may find it helpful to take a wet cloth or paper towel and wipe down some of the insects by hand first. Then spray the heck out of them!

[twirly]

Orchids generally do not suffer from the usual plethora of aliments which affect many of our favorite garden plants, this is for two reasons, firstly many of the species and hybrids we grow are alien to our local atmosphere, and consequently also alien to many pests and diseases we find outdoors, and the second one is that because of the fact that we grow them mainly indoors they are not exposed to the problem in the first place.

Unfortunately, when a problem occurs it can be difficult to eradicate once is gains a foothold. The main pests affecting orchids are: Slugs, Weevils, Scale, Mealybug, Thrips, greenfly, blackfly, spider mite.

On the internet one can find a pretty large numbers of recipes, but the most common and easy to prepare at home is: Six heaped teaspoons of ascorbic acid (vitamin C.) three teaspoon of plant friendly detergent (non ionic) and a pint of water, spray onto aphids and suchlike, the mixture will kill any insects which absorb oxygen through their skin, but not their eggs.

I have my biggest problem from Mealybugs, i have just posted a topic it about the problem that I have been having, asking for some help with the problem

[Dave]

To answer your question about Meely bugs... these bugs are normally found on the under sides of leaves and on the folds of leaves. These buggers multiply fast so speedy action should be taken. If only a few plants are infected simply use a tiny paint brush dipped in a chemical insecticide and brush the white insects with the chemical.

If larger outbreaks are present brushing might take too long and a spray application of chemical should be used. Pretty much all household insecticides are effective, but a more specific insecticide is with "malathion" in it. In any case two applications may be necessary.

Good luck!

[Orchidlady]

Throughout the past ten years, my biggest problem has been mites, which I am again currently battling on one of my plants. These buggers seem to attack one plant a year; consequently, I'm again doing my annual spray, this time with Concern :-) Any suggestions for other products would be appreciated! (I have Kelthane, but would rather use it when I can go outside with the stuff...) Sandy

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I have found that ALL of the common insects (for me), scale, mealies, mites (3 kinds so far), and aphids are eliminated, eggs and all, by the use of a Neem Oil spray. You must cover the plant surfaces 100%. You MUST also reduce the light and heat. I will be out this morning doing my entire GH, mostly as precautionary, though I did find a couple of scale on a new plant, and a mealie bug on another new plant. These plants both got mechanical removal of the bugs, and this may have been enough, but since I plan to treat my GH once a month, and am a couple of months over due, I am going forward with this even tho I have a cold or maybe even a mild case of the flew. Yesterday, I added more shade cloth over the GH, and will turn down the cooler a bit when I start. This seems to have the best safty to effectiveness ration of any thing I have used, for both people and plants. If you don't reduce the light and heat, you will get mottled leaves, with the color returning very slowly over a long time. I have seen a pre-mixed version of neem oil at Home Depot, and most nurseries carry a concentrate. My ordhids are ready for watering, so they will be getting a fair amount in their pots too, but this does not seem to harm them. By the way, I had someone's plant to treat that had the worst case of red mites you can imagin. A week or two after treatment, I found one nymph on the plant. So, really bad cases probably need a second spraying a couple of weeks later.

For slugs and snails, use diatomaceous earth (DE). Get it at a pool supply, and don't breath the dust, or you'll get something akin to sillicosis. I completely eliminated a bad slug problem I brought with me from Calif. overnight with this stuff. Up to that point, I was collecting slugs in dishes of beer, 20 or 30 every morning. I kept up the beer for awhile, but never collected another slug after dusting the floor with DE.

By the way, aphids transmit virus between plants, so get rid of them pronto. Cynthia

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Jacky, if you are growing in bark or other big chunky stuff, the mealies will be living down in the mix sucking on your plants roots. This is the usual reason for the difficulty in getting a complete kill. Since I don't grow in that kind of open mix, I have not had the problem to solve. One member of our society repotted slowly, spraying the roots as he went, and keeping the 'clean' plants very separate from the infected plants. Don't know if this worked for him. I'll have to ask next time I see him. Don't be tempted to soak the pots in some poison or other, and reuse the same liquid for multiple plants. In fact, you should probably sterilize the bucket between plants and fresh mix, using something like 10% bleach, or Physan 20 or equivalent, but you would need to keep the surface of the bucket wet for a while (20 min?) to be sure it is sterilized. I once spread virus thru a collection of a few hundred plants, by soaking the just unpotted plants (lots of open wounds from bark removal) in a common bath of metaldihyde to eliminate a bush snail problem (which didn't work). To be sure, your plants may not have open wounds if you have not disurbed them recently, but why take a chance. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[Orchidlady]

Thanks, Cynthia! I may be dragging out the Neem this weekend :-)

Death to mites!!!!!!!!!!