Possible Bug Problem on phal orchid

[Anteater]

If it is an extremely small white bug that moves quickly, it could be fungus gnat larvae. I'm not sure if that is the same as a springtail. I haven't found that they cause any damage to an orchid, but they are a nuisance when they are in the adult flying stage, and I've never been able to eliminate them completely.

I've used both ammonia and rubbing alcohol on my orchids with no issues. I soak the plant in water and household ammonia when I repot. Probably a 5-10 percent solution....enough to make everyone else in the house complain. I would make it stronger if I could stand it. LOL

For rubbing alcohol, I use 70% diluted in half or stronger to spray on the orchids for scale, or anything else I can see. It works great, but I make sure there is no air movement when the leaves are wet. It has quite the cooling effect when it evaporates. I don't think I've tried it directly on bare roots, just on top of the media and on the plant itself.

[New Orchid Lover]

Anteater, you said you have not been able to get rid of them completely? Did you change the medium?

[Anteater]

Anteater, you said you have not been able to get rid of them completely? Did you change the medium?

No, I have not been able to get rid of them completely. I haven't tried wholeheartedly either, since they aren't much more than an annoyance. I have changed medium, but that doesn't much matter unless I could repot all the orchids at the exact same time, not have any flyers, and not miss any of the larva. It does knock them down considerably though. Moisture has a lot to do with their proliferation. I'll probably give it a shot again in the spring or summer when they start flying around and everyone else complains. I did try one other treatment, but didn't follow through on it, so I can't post anything constructive about it.

Speaking of changing the potting medium, I do seem to remember that is how I got the little buggers to start out with. I bought someone's special premixed orchid media...complete with hitchhikers.

Keep in mind that the bug that I am talking about may not be the same bug you are talking about... a picture?

[New Orchid Lover]

Being new and using a number of sources for my info that I acted on with, I used 70% isopropol undiluted with a couple drops of dish soap on my zygo, catt and oncidium without any negative effect on the plants. 2 treatments of that last week and one insecticide treatment on Sunday. And I have not seen a bug since. And I am looking for them. Because of where I live, if I can kill them before they become an infestation, I can be bug free and only have to worry about bugs when I bring in a new plant.

Did you use the isopropol and dish soap on the leaves only or on the roots as well?

---------- Post Merged at 11:44 PM ----------

No, I have not been able to get rid of them completely. I haven't tried wholeheartedly either, since they aren't much more than an annoyance. I have changed medium, but that doesn't much matter unless I could repot all the orchids at the exact same time, not have any flyers, and not miss any of the larva. It does knock them down considerably though. Moisture has a lot to do with their proliferation. I'll probably give it a shot again in the spring or summer when they start flying around and everyone else complains. I did try one other treatment, but didn't follow through on it, so I can't post anything constructive about it.

Speaking of changing the potting medium, I do seem to remember that is how I got the little buggers to start out with. I bought someone's special premixed orchid media...complete with hitchhikers.

Keep in mind that the bug that I am talking about may not be the same bug you are talking about... a picture?

I don't have a picture of the bug since it was very tiny and I only saw it once. I don't think mine came with the premixed.....it was a sealed bag from boxstore. I'm going to try to clean the plant well and repot it.

[New Orchid Lover]

Here's an update: I've repotted my orchid and while removing the medium, I did not see any cotton like substance but I did see miniscule black bugs at the base and one or two white ones. I just drenched the whole thing with water and then sprayed some diluted rubbing alcohol at the roots and leaves. Then i rinsed the roots again before repotting. I was very surprised to see that it did not have many green roots....a lot of yellow and some dead ones. I'm surprised because during the spring my orchid bloomed on the two pre-existing spikes and each one had 5 blooms. The leaves look very healthy and a new one has come out since then. I had to break some of the green roots because they were coming out from all places in the slitted pot. I hope that it will make it.