What could this ickyness be!?!

[Jennifer]

Hello guys. Been a while since I've visited. I have some type of plague that has affect three of my dens that have lived outside for the summer. Whatever is affecting these plants is spreading quickly and is on the tops AND bottoms of the leaves. I also just noticed what's in the last picture on a 4th den. Grrr. I so not happy!! I've sprayed with Safers and Anti-fungal stuff, as well as some alcohol. What do you guys think and how can I get rid of it?

[articuno75]

That looks like a mite attack on the leaf. As for the brown "poo"? Have no clue. Have you tried Brookn's Recipe for the mites? You will have to retreat within a week. You can also use Bayer 3 in 1.

[sandra]

I really hate to even suggest this but the exact same thing happened to one of my largest Dends. a couple of months ago which I ignored until it was too late. Thrips! By the time I got serious, it was too late and I lost the entire plant. Aside from that brown, wet spot in your pic, the leaves looked exactly like yours....heavy white-ish spotting, then the leaves started to lose substance as the life was being sucked out of them. I wouldn't swear that yours is under the same attack but you shouldn't let it go untreated and probably wise to quarantine it.

Good luck and please keep updating!

[Jennifer]

I hate it, but I think Sandra is right. Several websites have described the same silvery metallic sheen left on leaves, as well as brown thrip poo.

Good thing I have already begun treatment with Safer's spray and alcohol. Those were the two things recommended to get ride of them. I'm not sure how far along they are. One is pretty bad and all the leaves are covered in the silvery colored spots. Some leaves have already dried up and fallen off of my Dens. I hope I'm not too late! Sad thing is, is two of them are in spike and I have NO idea what they look like. They are NOIDs that I picked up from a greenhouse that went out of business about 4 months ago. I hope they still spike even after I get rid of the pesky little thrips!

Thanks for the help Sandra. I knew you guys would help. If anybody else has an suggestions on thrip removal, please chime in!

[Brooke]

If you already have buds on your plants, thrips can be in the buds too. If the buds appear to have "warts" as they grow, then the thrips are already inside sucking on them. If the blooms are dark colored, their favorite type, the color of the bloom will be blotchy.

Make sure to continue treatment until the blooms open and also treat the media to rid it of the eggs.

Brooke

[jerrymeola]

Understand that thrips have a three day life cycle.

You should treat 4 times over 10 days to be sure of killing the thrips and the eggs.

[Jennifer]

Thanks Jerry. Since thrips can live in the medium, should I change the media for these guys and treat the roots of the orchid with Safers?

Does anybody have suggestions on how to stop thrips from attacking? I like to keep my dens, cyms, catts, and oncs outside during the summer since it's warm and humid here. I just brought everything back instead because the bugs, thrips and was I think are crickets, are chowing on my new growth and destroying everything. Any ideas on how to keep this from happening?