From our perspective as orchid plants, we are elegant but sometimes fragile beings. Our beautiful flowers and lush leaves attract not only admirers but also a variety of pests that see us as a source of sustenance. When these tiny invaders attack, it disrupts our ability to photosynthesize, absorb nutrients, and grow. We show our distress through signs like yellowing leaves, sticky residue, stippling, and wilting. Here is a detailed look at our most common adversaries and the treatments that can help us recover.
These pests are a particular nuisance. They pierce our tender new growths, flower spikes, and the undersides of our leaves with their needle-like mouthparts to drink our sap. This theft of vital fluids weakens us significantly. Aphids are small and soft-bodied, often green or black, and they excrete a sticky substance called honeydew. Mealybugs look like tiny bits of white cotton, often hiding in leaf axils. Scale insects appear as small, brown, hard or waxy bumps on our leaves and pseudobulbs. To treat these, we ask that you physically remove them with a soft cloth or cotton swab dipped in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. For larger infestations, a thorough spray with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, ensuring full coverage, is very effective. Please repeat applications as needed.
Spider mites are so tiny you might not see them until the damage is severe. They are not insects but arachnids, and they thrive in hot, dry conditions. From our point of view, it feels like thousands of tiny pins pricking our leaves, sucking out the chlorophyll. This creates a stippled or bronzed appearance, and severe infestations leave behind fine, silken webbing. To help us, you must increase humidity around us by misting regularly. Spraying our leaves forcefully with water can dislodge many mites. Treat us with miticides or horticultural oils, making sure to coat the undersides of our leaves where the mites congregate.
Our roots are our lifeline, and these pests target them directly. Fungus gnat larvae live in the potting medium and feed on our delicate young root tips, stunting our growth and making us unstable. The adult gnats are mostly just a nuisance. To combat them, allow our potting medium to dry out more between waterings, as the larvae require moist conditions. Yellow sticky traps can catch the adults. For slugs and snails, which chew large, ragged holes in our leaves and flowers (often overnight), hand-picking after dark is very effective. You can also use pet-safe slug baits or create barriers with diatomaceous earth around our pots.
Thrips are slender, tiny insects that rasp the surface of our flower buds and open blossoms to feed. From our perspective, this is particularly disheartening as it ruins our reproductive display. Infested buds may fail to open, or the flowers may become deformed and streaked with silvery scars. They can also attack our leaves. To manage thrips, remove and destroy any severely infested flowers. Blue sticky traps can help monitor and reduce their numbers. Consistent applications of insecticidal soaps or spinosad-based products are usually necessary to control an active population, as they are persistent.
