Orchid Care: Pests
Orchids are lovely to behold, but are susceptible to a variety of different pests. Most of these pests are easy to identify and eliminate; however careful attention should be paid to each plant to head off infestation at the onset. Orchids planted outdoors are also susceptible to these pests, in addition to soft-bodied creatures such as slugs, snails and caterpillars. Does this Spark an idea?
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Most Common Indoor Pests
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The five most common pests of orchids include aphids, fungus gnats, mealybugs, mites and white flies. Perhaps the most problematic of the pests is the aphid which sucks the juices from the plant (like white flies) and often transmits viruses. Mites destroy the surface of the leaves, while mealy bugs turn the leaves yellow and weaken them severely. Fungus gnats use the warm, moist potting soil to allow their larvae to grow.
Ridding Orchids of Indoor Pests
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Aphids and mites require washing the plant thoroughly and either brushing them away or wiping each individual leaf to remove them. Fungus gnats can be controlled by monitoring the potting medium to make sure it is neither too warm or too moist. Sticky cards can also be purchased to get rid of fungus gnats. Mealybugs and white flies, being somewhat harder to treat, require repeated uses of insecticide to combat.
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Multiple Indoor Plants
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Multiple plants are susceptible to having diseases transmitted back and forth between them. A plant which is infected can easily take over all other plants.
Other Indoor Pests
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Other pests which are prone to attacking orchids are scale and thrips. Scale is a juice sucking pest (like aphids) which can be treated with rubbing alcohol. Thrips eat both the leaves and flowers of an orchid and can be destroyed with an insecticidal soap or oil spray.
Pests on Outdoor Orchids
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Orchids which are housed outdoors are also susceptible to invasion by typical garden pests such as slugs, snails and caterpillars. There are several ways to prevent these creatures from establishing home base on your orchids. By placing a pie pan of beer near the plant, slugs and snails will go swimming and eventually drown. Caterpillars can usually be picked off by hand. Another method is to place copper wire in a ring around the orchid to prevent the creatures from entering into this space.
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References
- Photo Credit orchid image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
