Little egg-like things

[kevinfla]

Help! I have an Oncidium that has something wierd going on. I noticed some new growth that turned brown and was basically rotting. When I pulled on it, I noticed lots of tiny white/tan balls (shaped like eggs) underneath. Looking at the media, I'm seeing the same things, only dark brown. I've never seen anything like this in my orchids and can't figure out what they are. (I also found the same thing on one of my Phals.)

[JoeW]

Kevin, check out this link and see if the white things look like mealybugs. Be sure to click on the photo link. Sorry. Joe
Insect and Arthropod Pest Identi

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I cannot tell from your post, but I suspect that you have some type of mold. I close up of the pest would help in its identification.

cheers,
BD

[ischel1]

I'm with Joe. Sorry BD I think it's an insect, Pic #2 the base of the pb brown spot is scale. Spray with Neem oil. Follow directions on the bottle. Usually where you find scale you're also going to find mealy bugs. At least that's been my experience.

[kevinfla]

Thanks for the replies...i was looking at pictures of mealybugs last night but I don't see anything like those little creatures. Also checked the link that Joe posted and nothing there looks the same. Could the little balls be eggs of some sort? Here are a couple more closeup pics. Also notice the white fuzzy stuff...I'm not sure what that is or if it's related to the little egg-like things.

[Becky15349]

I do think you have some sort of insect leaving eggs in your plants. Where is this plant usually kept? To have any hope of saving this plant, you must treat it with insecticide or neem oil imediately, and every few days. I have a feeling there are some insects living in your potting media. In cases like this, I usually suggest repotting into S&H media because that does not provide a good place for insects to live. You really want to see what is going on in your media, and repot - is your media very broken down?

[kevinfla]

It's new media, only a month old or so...all of my orchids are outside on a structure I built, and they receive morning sun. They get misted in the morning for 10 minutes and normally dry out during the day unless we have an afternoon thunderstorm. Being new to the forum, I'm not familiar with S&H. What's that?

[Cjcorner]

Sometimes interesting things comes in those bags of potting media. I bought a bag awhile back and after opening it noticed a ton of little bugs crawling about. I took it back and got a new bag. Also, if the media contains cedar wood it will actually attract certain types of spider mites as they love a good munch on cedar. lol Live and learn! Sorry about your plants, good luck with getting rid of your pests. Watering the media well with bug killer will also help if you do it every 3-4 days to kill the new ones just hatching. Within a couple weeks you should have them under control.
Good Luck
Connie

[Becky15349]

S&H, or semi-hydroponic media, is a media made of small ceramic pellets that are great for growing orchids. If you search "semi-hydroponic" on this forum, you can find countless posts all about this type of growing. Here are some links to postings about S&H:

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...pictorial.html

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...-into-s-h.html

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...tempt-s-h.html

S&H media is has several names: leca and hydroton, just to name a couple. S&H is a great media for oncidiums in particular because their fine-textured roots dry out quickly, and they enjoy a humid environment. S&H media, because it is ceramic, has a unique "water-wicking" property that stays humid within the pot, yet because the pellets are round, allows for ample air movement around the roots. I grow all of my plants in S&H, and I haven't lost one yet!

Personally, I love S&H because (IMHO) its simply cleaner than bark and chip mixes. I keep my orchids inside my small 1BR apartment, so I like things clean Also, S&H media doesn't seem to attract as many bugs and critters...I've never had a bug infestation using S&H, and that makes me happy, and the orchids happy too!

If you would like to know more about S&H, please feel free to PM me! I'm all ears

~Becky

[kevinfla]

Thanks Becky, now I know what you mean...I've seen that S&H on the internet but have never tried it myself. For some reason I've always liked the "look" of the clay pot & bark media. BUT, this method does look very clean and I'd like to try it. In the meantime, I think I'll try soaking the pot in an insecticide solution.