White bugs on an orchid: ways to get rid of pests

Recognizing a pest on an orchid is usually not difficult. If on the leaves of the plant a fluffy lump of white elongated shape with a length of about 5 mm was found, most likely we are talking about a mealybug.

Briefly about white bugs

Mealybug is a pest of indoor and garden plants with a length of 3 to 5 mm. Its body is covered with bristles and a white powdery coating.

Females and males of the insect have differences in behavior. The former are less mobile and form a waxy, airy white yarn around their bodies. If you lift it, you can see the body of the insect and the laid yellow eggs.

Mealybugs close up

Mealybugs that are dangerous to orchids are of several types:

• Citrus mealybug (Planococcus Citri). The female is oval-shaped, pink, yellow or brown in color, reaches 3-5 mm in length, has bristles on the sides, the body is sprinkled with a mealy bloom. The insect secretes a sweet secret. The lifespan of an adult female is 90 days, and is capable of laying about 300 eggs. Males are flying insects, similar in size and appearance to flies, body color is pink or yellow. Male life span is 2-4 days.
• Bristly mealybug (Pseudococcus Longispinus). The female is orange or red, up to 5 mm long, the body is covered with a mealy bloom, long antennae grow on it. The female secretes a large amount of secretion. Males resemble a fly in shape, the body color is gray, it also has a mealy bloom.

Other white orchid pests:

• whiteflies are insects 2 mm long, have wings and fly between leaves, lay eggs on the underside of the leaf;
• spider mite - they envelop leaves and stems with white cobwebs;
• bulbous mite - affects only roots or an exotic point, promotes the development of a fungus;
• podura - settles only in the substrate;
• springtails - outwardly resemble lice, have a light or dark gray color, can form in a substrate that contains moss.

Whiteflies

Reasons for the appearance of parasites on an orchid

The reason for the appearance of any parasite is non-compliance with the conditions for growing the plant. When white fluffy bugs appear on the orchid, what to do first is to determine the cause of their appearance.

The case may be as follows:

• excessive feeding with nitrogen fertilizer, which leads to metabolic disorders;
• waterlogging of the substrate, which provokes a disease of the root system;
• insufficient watering, dry air;
• deterioration of aeration, stagnation of air lead to disruption of the work of the spongy substance on the roots of the orchid;
• being in the sun or hypothermia, violation of the temperature regime lead to a violation of sap flow;
• finding an infected plant nearby.

Bugs can get into the house from the store where the orchid was purchased. You can also pick up the parasite from a self-assembled substrate, so you should not save and neglect purchased raw materials. Bugs are found in bark, moss, sand, fern - in any component of the substrate.

Possible pest locations

Depending on the parasite, either the roots or the ground part of the flower are damaged.

On orchid leaves

Mealybug, whitefly, spider mite are widespread on the leaves. When buying an orchid, there is a risk of bringing a plant already infected with the parasite, as the larvae can hide in the axils of the leaves or in the roots.

In the ground

Bulbous mites, fools, springtails multiply and live in the ground. Also, the substrate for orchids is suitable for the life of ants, wood lice, millipedes, spiders, thrips, etc. It is extremely difficult to detect insects at an early stage. When the first symptoms of damage appear, it is too late to do anything.

What happens to an orchid when the substrate is affected by parasites

Methods for dealing with bugs

Getting rid of a white beetle on an orchid is difficult, but possible. You can choose any of the methods of struggle or alternate several.

First of all, a diseased flower is isolated from healthy specimens. After that, sanitation (pruning of severely affected areas) and treatment with drugs are carried out.

Roots that cannot be treated must be removed along with a part of healthy tissue, after which the sections are treated with an antiseptic or charcoal. The leaves are cut in half and removed from the growing point. Each insect is removed from the leaf axils with tweezers.

Folk ways

If you do not want to use chemicals, you can use home remedies.

What if there are white insects on the orchids, and there are no insecticides at hand? Insects can be removed with the following folk recipes:

• mix 10 ml of denatured alcohol and 15 ml of liquid soap, add to 1 liter of warm water, wipe the leaves with a solution after mechanical removal of parasites. This solution is recommended only for strong, thick leaves, thin leaves can burn alcohol;
• grate brown laundry soap and make a solution in warm water. Wipe the leaves of the plant with a dampened cotton pad;
• mix 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil in 1 liter of warm water. Wipe orchid leaves to prevent the appearance of worms;
• Pour 50 g of grated orange peel with 1 liter of water, leave for 24 hours. The leaves are wiped with a solution 2 times a day.

Mechanical methods

Mechanical removal is necessarily used before processing the leaves with chemistry. Insects, their larvae are removed with a sponge or cotton pad from stems, leaves and buds. For hard-to-reach places, tweezers are used. Severely affected leaves are completely removed.

In the presence of a pseudobulb, the integumentary scales are removed from it. What if there are white bugs in the orchid and in the ground? Trim affected roots, buy a new pot and fresh substrate.

How deep can a mealybug go

Chemicals

If white shaggy bugs have appeared on orchids, how to get rid of, if folk methods do not help, buy chemicals in a specialized store. They are used as a last resort and used strictly according to the instructions.

Insecticide treatment is carried out in the open air, a respirator mask is put on the face.

The most popular drugs:

• spark;
• doctor;
• fufanol;
• kemifos;
• bison;
• vermitek;
• aliot;
• aktara.

All of the above preparations are suitable for protecting plants in open ground.

Before getting rid of bugs, their appearance is determined by description and photographs. The hardest part will be dealing with root damage.

There is no better defense against parasites than prevention. Proper care, regular inspections of leaves and substrate, a warm shower and periodic quarantine will protect against the appearance of white bugs.