Orchid pests: treatment and parasite control options

Orchid is one of the most beautiful indoor plants. It pleases amateur flower growers with a spectacular appearance and fits perfectly into any interior, creating a romantic, cozy atmosphere at home. Unfortunately, this plant is quite often affected by all kinds of diseases. Most often, diseases are caused by the activity of pests and parasites.

Causes of pests

It happens that the orchid suddenly begins to wither and wither for no apparent reason. In this case, it makes sense to check whether "uninvited guests" are in the land. The following reasons for the appearance of parasites are known:

The orchid has many dangerous parasites

• Excessive watering and high humidity in the room;
• Plant predisposition to fungal and viral infections, weak immunity;
• Lack of minerals (due to irregular feeding);
• Infection from another indoor flower, which is next to Phalaenopsis.

The most common reason is the introduction of insects from the outside. This usually happens when an inexperienced grower places soil from a street flower bed or a summer cottage in a pot.

Types of parasites

Phalaenopsis is a plant that has a lot of "sworn enemies". The most common harmful insects are:

• Thrips;
• Spider mites;
• Mealybug;
• Shield.

Pests often appear due to high humidity.

If you take the plant outside, especially on a rainy and cloudy day, woodlice and caterpillars can crawl into the ground.

Mealybug

White insects on orchids are not uncommon. The mealybug is well known to domestic growers as the most common pest of Phalaenopsis. In the people, this insect has received a funny nickname "furry louse" for its great mobility and white pile, which covers the outside of the body of the parasite. The worm lives in the ground.

Adult insects do not feed; young animals suck juice from stems and leaves of Phalaenopsis. It is easy to recognize an "uninvited guest": when a worm moves along the surface of a flower, it leaves behind a white slimy trail. If white bugs are bred in the soil in an orchid, you need to take action immediately.

If small whitish insects are found, dry leaves should be removed and watering increased, because the worm does not like moisture.

Shield

It is also recommended to regularly wipe Phalaenopsis leaves with a rag soaked in warm water and spray.

Mites

On the orchid, mites are often parasites. There are many varieties of these parasites, the most common of which is the spider mite. It goes deep into the ground, feeding on the roots of the plant, and also actively sucks the juice from the leaves. Brown and dried leaves signal the appearance of a mite. The main insidiousness of this pest is that it is very difficult to detect it, because the length of an adult tick is no more than 0.5 mm.

Usually, flower growers notice a tick lesion when a cobweb appears on an orchid, this is already the last stage of the disease. For control, it is recommended to use industrial insecticides. Different types of drugs should be alternated, because the tick quickly gets used to them and develops strong immunity.

The mite sucks out all the juices from the plant, draining the orchid

It is quite difficult to spot a tick on an adult plant.If brown specks begin to appear on the leaves of the orchid, you should take a closer look at them. Moving dots are tick colonies. In this case, you need to immediately take action, since this insect multiplies very quickly.

Treatment with any insecticide should be carried out several times, at intervals of 5-10 days. It must be borne in mind that chemicals do not act on insect eggs, therefore the most reliable way to combat a tick is to transplant a plant into new soil and burn old, pest-affected soil. Some pest control poisons can be very dangerous to children and pets.

Shield

The scale insect is one of the most dangerous pests on orchids, because of it, plants, especially young ones, can completely die. This insect got its name because it is covered with a hard shell, like a shield or armor.

Adults and larvae feed on orchid stems, depriving the plant of nutrients and depleting it. Yellowed leaves with a bloom of sticky mucus on them speak of a lesion with a scabbard.

The best way to fight at home is to collect pests by hand and then destroy them.

Other types of pests

In addition to the tick, worm and scale insect, there are other pests of orchids. First of all, it is a leaf aphid. Phalaenopsis is also often parasitized by:

• Thrips (small worms that resemble sticks);
• Nematode;
  

  Nematode

• Whitefly butterflies;
• Slugs and snails.

The most reliable method of dealing with them is collection and incineration, as well as replacement of the affected soil. During the Phalaenopsis transplant, you should carefully examine the ground for any insects. Larvae and eggs can hide in the lower layers of the soil, closer to the roots, and gnaw at them. The affected roots are carefully cut and destroyed. Inspection of flowers should be carried out regularly, so as not to miss the onset of a dangerous disease and start treatment on time.

Home care and pest control

In orchids, insects are attracted mainly by stems and leaves. Proper care is the best prevention against harmful insects. Pest control is more difficult than preventing pests. Basic preventive care measures include:

• Regular spraying with water from a spray bottle;
• Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth soaked in water or soapy water;
• Timely pruning of the plant with the removal of dried and deformed leaves;
• Preventive examinations to identify diseases.

After purchasing an orchid in a store, the flower must be disinfected. This is easy to do: the pot is placed in a basin or pot of water for 10-15 minutes. If there are harmful insects in the substrate, they are quickly washed off with water. However, this method does not work with insects that live in deep soil layers.

Good results are obtained by regular use of the insecticidal agent "Aktara". This drug dissolves in the ground, and the orchid assimilates its active components from the soil. The agent causes digestive disturbances in pests and parasites, and insects quickly die. The drug is applied to the soil, you can also spray a flower on which pests parasitize.

Snails and slugs cause great damage to the plant. They are nocturnal, so at night you can leave a bait for them - a small piece of apple, pear, cucumber. In the morning, pests are collected and destroyed. The bait must be removed immediately so that the soil in the pot does not become moldy.

Spraying is often used to control parasites and preventative treatment.

Plant treatment products

The most powerful insecticidal drug of the new generation is Actellik. It quickly destroys such dangerous parasites as:

• Aphid;
• Thrips;
• Shield;
• Mealybug.

The product is available in ampoules, one ampoule is diluted in a liter of warm water. The plant is treated with a damp cloth soaked in solution. After 10-15 minutes, the parasites begin to die.

If small insects are found in the soil of the orchid, you should not immediately resort to "heavy artillery" in the form of industrial insecticides. First you need to try the good old folk remedies for combating parasites and pests. They will certainly help get rid of white bugs on orchids, if there are still few bugs, the main thing is to process Phalaenopsis regularly.

For treatment, you can use solutions of industrial insecticides

The most common and affordable chemical-free pest control method is tar soap solution. Spraying with ash diluted with water also gives good results.

Harmful insects don't like the smell of onions and garlic. You can take an onion, grate it on a fine grater and apply the resulting gruel to the leaves, stems, and Phalaenopsis flowers. After 15-20 minutes, the gruel is carefully washed off with warm soapy water. The plant is impregnated with an onion scent and temporarily becomes unattractive to insects. However, this method does not work on all parasites. For example, the whitefly is completely insensitive to strong odors.

Destruction of pests without removing soil

In order for parasites on orchids to die, it is not necessary to get rid of the contaminated soil. If there are small bugs in the ground in the orchid, the ground can be treated with any disinfectant solution. Sometimes only a thin top layer of soil is removed.

Garlic is considered one of the best antiparasitic agents. With its pungent smell, it scares away pests, forcing them to seek another refuge for themselves. Therefore, if it is not possible to transplant the orchid into another soil, you should try the treatment with caustic garlic tincture.

To prepare the tincture, take half a head of garlic in two glasses of warm water. The cloves are finely chopped and poured with boiling water. After four to five hours, the resulting liquid is filtered, then applied to the leaves with a brush or an old toothbrush.

There are times when a complete soil replacement is indispensable. The orchid needs to be urgently transplanted into another pot if the roots are severely affected. Before transplanting, the roots are thoroughly washed in soapy water to wash off adult insects, their larvae and eggs. This procedure has a good effect, but each transplant is stressful for the flower, so it is better to pay attention to prevention.

In order for a flower to live for a long time, grow and develop well, it is necessary to create the right conditions for it: monitor the temperature and humidity in the room, observe the watering regime, feed the orchid in a timely manner and loosen the soil in the pot, and also transplant the plant into a more spacious vessel in time. Then the orchid will eventually develop a strong immunity to pests and parasites.