Orchid is one of the most beautiful indoor plants. It pleases amateur gardeners 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 insect pests and parasites.
Causes of Pests
It happens that an orchid suddenly for no apparent reason begins to wither and wither. In this case, it makes sense to check whether "uninvited guests" are wound up in the ground. The following causes of parasites are known:
Orchids have many dangerous parasites
- Excessive watering and high humidity in the room;
- Predisposition of the plant to fungal and viral infections, weak immunity;
- Lack of minerals (due to irregular top dressing);
- Infection from another indoor flower, with which Phalaenopsis is next.
The most common cause is insect drift from the outside. Usually this happens when an inexperienced grower puts soil in a pot from a street flower bed or a summer cottage.
Species 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, wood lice and caterpillars can creep into the ground.
Mealybug
White insects on orchids are not uncommon. Mealybug is well known to domestic flower growers as the most common pest of Phalaenopsis. In the people, this insect received the funny nickname "hairy louse" for its great mobility and white pile, which covers the body of the parasite on the outside. The insect lives in the ground.
Adult insects do not feed, young growth sucks the juice from the stems and leaves of Phalaenopsis. It is easy to recognize the “uninvited guest”: when the worm moves along the surface of the flower, it leaves behind a white slimy mark. If white bugs are found in the ground in an orchid, you need to take action immediately.
If small whitish insects are found, dry leaves should be removed and watering should be intensified, because the worm does not like moisture.
Shield
It is also recommended to regularly wipe the leaves of the Phalaenopsis with a rag soaked in warm water, and spray.
Ticks
On the orchid parasites are often ticks. There are many varieties of these parasites, the most common of which is the spider mite. It climbs deep into the ground, feeding on the roots of the plant, and also actively sucks the juice from the leaves. The appearance of the tick is signaled by browned and dried leaves. The main insidiousness of this pest is that it is very difficult to detect, because the length of an adult tick is no more than 0.5 mm.
Usually, flower growers notice a tick infection when a cobweb appears on the orchid, this is 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 stable immunity.
The tick sucks all the juices out of the plant, draining the orchid
Noticing a tick on an adult plant is quite difficult. If brown specks began to appear on the leaves of the orchid, you should carefully look at them. Moving points are tick colonies. In this case, you must immediately take action, as this insect multiplies very quickly.
Processing with any insecticides should be done 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 ticks is to transplant the plant into new soil and burn the old, pest-affected land. Some poisons designed to fight parasites can be very dangerous for children and pets.
Shield
The scabbard 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.
Adult individuals and larvae feed on orchid stems, depriving the plant of nutrients and draining it. Yellowing leaves with a coating of sticky mucus speak of a scabby lesion.
The best way to control at home is to collect pests manually and then destroy them.
Important! This procedure must be carried out repeatedly. It is known that the scabbard does not like the smell of tar soap, so a solution based on it can be used at home for spraying.
Other pests
In addition to the tick, mealybug and scale insects, there are other pests of orchids. First of all, this is leaf aphid. Also at Phalaenopsis often parasitize:
- Thrips (small worms resembling sticks);
- Nematode;
Nematode
- Whitefly butterflies;
- Slugs and snails.
The most reliable method of dealing with them is collecting and burning, as well as replacing the affected soil. During the Phalaenopsis transplant, you should carefully inspect the ground for any insects. Larvae and eggs can hide in the lower layers of the soil, closer to the roots, and nibble them. 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
On orchids, insects are mainly attracted by stems and leaves. Proper maintenance is the best prevention of the appearance of harmful insects. Fighting pests is more difficult than preventing their occurrence. Key preventative care measures include:
- Regular spraying with water from a spray bottle;
- Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth soaked in water or soap;
- Timely pruning of plants with the removal of dried and deformed leaves;
- Examinations to detect diseases.
Note! Transplanting into a new pot also has a beneficial effect on the orchid.
After purchasing an orchid in the store, the flower must be disinfected. It is not difficult to do this: the pot is placed in a basin or pan with water for 10-15 minutes. In the presence of harmful insects in the substrate, they are quickly washed off with water. However, this method does not work with insects that live in deep layers of the soil.
Good results are obtained from the regular use of the Aktara insecticidal agent. This drug dissolves in the ground, and the orchid absorbs its active components from the soil. The agent causes digestive upsets in pests and parasites, and insects quickly die. The drug is introduced into the soil, you can also spray a flower on which pests parasitize.
Great damage to the plant is caused by snails and slugs. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle, so at night you can leave 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 earth in the pot is not covered with mold.
To control parasites and preventive treatment, spraying is often used.
Plant Treatment
The most powerful insecticidal drug of the new generation is considered to be Actellik. It quickly destroys dangerous parasites such as:
- Aphid;
- Thrips;
- Shield
- Mealybug.
The drug is available in ampoules, one ampoule is diluted in a liter of warm water. The plant is treated with a damp cloth soaked in a solution. After 10-15 minutes, the parasites begin to die.
If small insects are wound up in the soil of orchids, 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 controlling parasites and pests. They will certainly help get rid of white insects on orchids, if there are still few bugs, the main thing is to process Phalaenopsis regularly.
For processing, you can use solutions of industrial insecticides
The most common and affordable way to control pests without chemicals is a solution of tar soap. Also good results are obtained by spraying with ash diluted with water.
Malicious insects do not like the smell of onions and garlic. You can take the onion, grate it on a fine grater and apply the resulting slurry on the leaves, stems, Phalaenopsis flowers. After 15-20 minutes, the gruel is carefully washed off with a warm soapy solution. The plant is saturated with an onion smell and temporarily becomes unattractive to insects. However, this method does not work on all parasites. For example, whiteflies are completely insensitive to pungent odors.
Attention! Any plant purchased from private traders at home should be immediately transplanted from a purchased pot into a new vessel with fresh soil. The soil in the old pot can be infected with diseases and eggs (larvae) of parasites.
Pest control without soil removal
In order for parasites on orchids to die, it is not necessary to get rid of the infected soil. If small bugs are wound up in the orchid in the ground, the ground can be treated with any disinfectant solution. Sometimes only a thin topsoil is removed.
One of the best antiparasitic agents is considered garlic. With its pungent smell, it scares away pests, forcing them to seek another refuge. Therefore, if it is not possible to transplant the orchid into another soil, you should try processing caustic garlic tincture.
To prepare the tincture, take half the 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.
Interesting! Many parasites are afraid of tobacco smoke, but you should not smoke an orchid in order to fight insects. Phalaenopsis is a plant that is sensitive to smoke, so such experiments can end in the death of a flower.
There are times when you can not do without a complete replacement of the soil. An orchid should be urgently transplanted into another pot if the roots are severely affected. Before transplanting, the roots are thoroughly washed in a soap solution to wash off adult insects, their larvae and eggs. This procedure gives a good effect, but each transplant is stress for the flower, so it is better to pay attention to prevention.
Interesting. Sometimes an omnivorous leaf aphid attacks an orchid. In this case, do not use insecticides of industrial production, because they adversely affect the flower. It is best to use the old "grandmother" method and collect the aphids by hand with a rag soaked in a solution of laundry soap.
In order for the flower to live, grow and develop for a long time, it is necessary to create the right conditions for it: to monitor the temperature and humidity of the air in the room, observe the watering regime, feed the orchid in time and loosen the soil in the pot, and also transplant the plant in time into a more spacious vessel. Then, over time, an orchid will develop a stable immunity to pests and parasites.
