Ants, ants, ants.

[mindy1]

Hello all,

I have a serious ant problem. I jsut bought some organocide to try out. I have a vanda in bloom and am wondering if I use organocide on my orchids and the one in blooom, will the blooms die?

I included a slide show link for everyone to see my beautiful vanda. I do not have a picture of it, but something last night ate part of the buds that have not bloomed.

[chefatplay]

Ants and many other critters are attracted to the sweet juice secreted around the bulbs of the flowers to be. I have had many ants, hornets, wasps, bees, etc on my vandas when they have an active spike. Every once in awhile something will nibble, but I don't think it's ants. I can't really say,though. The only reason I say that is I have so many ants, and very rarely do I have a nibble taken out.

I resist pesticides, so I live with the critters. Someone else will have to advise you on them Hope this helped.

[glossterline]

It is not likely that ants are eating your orchid leaves, UNLESS you can see them cutting off pieces and carrying them away to their nest. A common cause of ant activity is the presence of aphids on plants, because ants 'milk' the aphids for honeydew.
An effective way of dealing with aphids (if present) is to use systemic insecticides. I realise that some people may not want to use pesticides, but the modern preparations for domestic use are not residual and are very safe for use.
Having said that, keeping insects off your plants requires constant attention. Insects are highly successful, often highly mobile, very determined, and they've been feeding on the same plants for hundreds of millions of years before man evolved and started to keep the plants.

Les

[patticake]

It would help to see a picture of the damage. It could be slugs or snails
Thank you for the beautiful slide show, however! It was really nice to watch!