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Let’s Talk About
¡ Sucking Insects § Boisduval Scale – Worst of the worst
§ Hard Brown Scale – Little Helmets with babies inside § Soft Brown Scale – Hides on the stems & under leaves
§ Mealybugs – Phalaenopsis & Paphiopedilum Menace § Thrips – Flower & Bud damage, especially Cattleyas § Red Spider Mites – Stippling Leaf Damage
§ Aphids – Black or Green, all love flowers
¡ Chewing Pests § Slugs & Snails – Big chew holes and missing buds § Caterpillars – More holes or damage on leaf margins
¡ Farming Pests
§ Ants – they move sucking insects around for the honeydew
¡ System 1 – most practical for large collections § Spray the entire collection with a systemic spray on a regular schedule.
§ Alternate chemicals to prevent resistance.
¡ System 2 – suitable for smaller or in-‐house collections ¡ Careful observation ¡ Spot treatment of infected plants ¡ Thorough cleaning in addition to spraying
¡ I will mostly focus on System 2.
¡ Sucking Insects § Honey Dew on the Leaves sometimes with Sooty Mold § Aphid casts § Discolored or sunken areas in Leaves § Sudden yellowing of a leaf or pseudobulb § No new leads § Scarred or distorted Flowers § Flowers with brown or crisp edges § Pale stippled leaves § Visible bugs
¡ Chewing Pests § Holes in leaves § Damage to flower buds or new growing points
BOISDUVAL SCALE CAN RUIN PLANTS
FEMALES ARE ROUND & FLAT MALES & JUVENILES ARE WHITE & FLUFFY
PALE OR YELLOW AREAS ON THE LEAF
MEANS SCALE CLUSTERS ON THE BACK
A SUDDEN DEAD LEAF IS PROBABLY INFESTED
PALE PITS & CIRCLES ON NEW GROWTH
WHITE CLUSTERS AT BASE OF SHEATH
CLUSTER AT LEAF AXEL AND AROUND THE LEAF BASE
WHITE PATCHES IN GROOVES AND AT BASE OF PSEUDOBULBS
WHITE PATCH & YELLOWING AT THE LEAF TIP
PLANT MAY APPEAR CLEAN CLOSER LOOK REVEALS SCALE INFESTATION
¡ Do not ignore Boisduval Scale. It is destructive and spreads quickly.
¡ Spray with 3-‐in-‐1 or other systemic spray.
¡ Clean off all the scale you can see with a toothbrush. Hold the plant up and inspect.
¡ Check the base of old growths, especially below the media. Also check around growing points for scale on new leads. This scale can kill them.
¡ After you clean, spray again, both leaf surfaces, pseudobulbs, and into the media. You might want to tag the plant with the date you sprayed.
¡ Check the surrounding plants. They may also need treating. Scale moves around.
¡ Spray again in one to two weeks if spraying whole collection. I get around 9 months control on individual plants with the spraying and cleaning method.
HARD BROWN SCALE & CRAWLERS
SOFT BROWN SCALE & CRAWLERS
¡ Oil Spray is quite effective on Brown Scale if you cover the plant thoroughly.
¡ Bayer 3-‐in-‐1 or other systemic spray is also a good option but mostly affects the crawlers.
¡ Clean off all the scale you can see with a toothbrush. Hold the plant up and inspect.
¡ Don’t miss the pale immature scale, often hiding in the leaf stems or on flower spikes. In Phals they hide along the underside edges of the leaves.
¡ After you clean, spray again, both leaf surfaces, pseudobulbs, and into the media. This is your best chance to get any crawlers you might have missed.
¡ Check the surrounding plants for scale.
¡ Spray again in about 10 days..
MEALYBUG UP CLOSE UNDER A PHAL LEAF
ON PHALAENOPSIS FLOWER UNDER THE LIP
BETWEEN THE PETAL & SEPAL IN DENDROBIUM CROWN
MEALIES IN PAPH CROWN MEALIES ON PAPH BASE
¡ Mealybugs are a type of scale with a waxy coating. Therefore it is hard to spray them away.
¡ Spot treat, especially flowers, with alcohol or oil spray. Alcohol desiccates the insect, oil spray smothers it.
¡ Spray & drench with 3-‐in-‐1 or other systemic spray.
¡ Clean off all the bugs you can see with a toothbrush or Q-‐tip. Check under and between leaves. In paphs they are often at the base of the leaves.
¡ Check your other plants. Mealybugs are quite mobile.
¡ Spray again in one to two weeks.
THRIPS LIFE CYCLE THRIPS CLOSE-‐UP
THRIPS FLOWER DAMAGE THRIPS ON A FLOWER
¡ Thrips are tiny (1/8”) but destructive. They show a preference for cattleya flowers and harm both buds and flowers. Mature thrips can fly.
¡ Often blowing on the flower will cause them to move around or tapping the flower over paper will make them drop out where you can see them.
¡ For best results spray the flower directly and spray unopened buds. Also spray the medium surface where the thrips pupate.
¡ Orthene or Spinosad can be used without flower damage. Alternating sprays is a good strategy.
¡ Always cut off spent blooms and discard old flowers.
¡ Look around your growing area for any bushes or flowers that may be infested with thrips.
¡ Check out the article by Sue Bottom for the full scoop on thrips. They can be difficult to control.
STIPPLING OF LEAVES THEY FORM DELICATE WEBS
¡ Mites are usually found on the underside of leaves.
¡ If you run the leaf between your fingers and find brown residue, you likely have mites.
¡ Dry weather can bring out the mites.
¡ Soft leaved orchids are the most susceptible -‐ e.g. cymbidiums, dendrobiums, oncidiums etc.
¡ Systemic insecticide such as Bayer 3-‐in-‐1 which contains a miticide can be used as a spray & drench.
¡ Wiping the leaves with Oil Spray on a cotton pad can work as well.
¡ Check the neighboring plants as mites travel.
SLUG OR CATERPILLAR SNAIL OR SLUG DAMAGE
¡ Look for the offender and get rid of it.
¡ Sprinkle slug pellets around and even in the pot.
¡ Pots sitting on the floor may pick up slugs from below. Try putting them on a stand.
¡ Caterpillars can be controlled with Spinosad or Bacillus thuringiensis spray.
¡ Bayer Advanced 3-‐in-‐1 ¡ Orthene ¡ Spinosad ¡ Oil Sprays ¡ Alcohol ¡ Home Defense Max ¡ Sluggo
¡ Hand Sprayers ¡ Hose end Sprayer ¡ Toothbrushes ¡ Q-‐Tips ¡ Cotton Squares ¡ Toothpicks ¡ Rubber Gloves
¡ Good for Scale,Mites,& Fungus ¡ Aphids, Thrips, Scale – OK on flowers ¡ Thrips, Caterpillars, Fruit Flies ¡ Scale, Mealybug, Mites ¡ Spot treatment for Mealybugs ¡ Ants -‐ as a barrier & along trails ¡ Slugs & Snails – safe around pets
¡ Pump up 2qt or 1 qt hand sprayer pre-‐mixed ¡ For broadcast spraying many plants ¡ For scrubbing off insects ¡ For reaching mealy bugs on flowers ¡ For wiping off mites ¡ For hard to reach pests ¡ Disposable latex or nitrile gloves
BAYER ADVANCED 3-‐IN-‐1 IMIDACLOPRID + MITICIDE & FUNGICIDE
ORTHENE SOLUBLE GRANULES
SUMMIT OIL SPRAY SPINOSAD – ALSO AS MONTEREY
GARDEN INSECT SPRAY
ALCOHOL – USE AS IS ANT SPRAY
2 QT PUMP UP SPRAYER 1 QT HAND SPRAYER
MY PERSONAL FAVORITES USE SATURATED SOLUTION FOR STERILIZING BRUSHES & SCISSORS
¡ Look at your plants – carefully and often.
¡ Treat pests early before they get everywhere.
¡ Wear your gloves when using pesticides.
¡ Don’t spray outside when bees are active.
¡ Really scrutinize new plants to avoid bringing in bugs.
¡ Practice good sanitation – remove dead flowers and leaves, always sterilize scissors and toothbrushes between plants.
¡ There is no cure for virus.
¡ The two most common orchid viruses are: § CymMV -‐ cymbidium mosaic virus § ORSV -‐ odontoglossom ringspot virus
¡ Viruses can affect flower quality and overall vigor.
¡ Virus infections can be obvious or very hard to spot.
¡ Virus testing is the best way to determine if a plant is infected.
¡ Orchid Viruses do not spread through the air. The most common way to spread virus infections is through careless handling and dirty tools.
¡ Older plants are more likely to be infected because they have been cut, divided and handled more often than young seedlings.
¡ Mounted plants are less likely to be infected, as they get manipulated less often.
¡ Discard or isolate known infected plants.
¡ Test new plants before adding to your collection.
¡ Assume virus is hiding in one of your plants and practice good sanitation.
¡ Sterilize your scissors EVERY time you use them. 5 minutes in a saturated solution of TSP works well. Own a lot so you don’t cheat.
¡ Repot on clean newspaper, then discard.
¡ Don’t reuse medium.
¡ Sterilize used plastic pots by soaking in 1c bleach/gallon for 30 minutes.
¡ Sterilize used clay pots by baking at 400 for 1 hour.
¡ Control pests like aphids & thrips that could spread virus.
Virus Testing
The tools you will need: Agdia Home Test Kit – pouch & test strip for ORSV and CymMV Gram Scale to 1/100 gram Letter rack Razor Blades Tweezers Mashing Tool (e.g. shot glass) Gloves Labels If you would like to join in a bulk order from Agdia, let Kay know. Kits will cost about $5.50 including shipping.
