Orchids are surprisingly beautiful flowers, which, with proper care, can be grown at home. Of course, this will require some effort, because this flower is whimsical and extremely demanding. If you do not provide him with the necessary conditions, the plant can get sick. But, except for diseases from improper care, the orchid is often exposed to infectious diseases and attack of all kinds of pests.
Buying a flower, future owners, of course, first of all pay attention to its external attractiveness, and only then they are inspected for the presence of harmful insects and external damages. But it often happens that it is impossible to immediately detect pests on an orchid. Having brought home a new inhabitant, the flower growers can notice undesirable settlers only after some time.
Pests can be classified as follows:
- pests of orchids living on the plant;
- pests of orchids living in a substrate.
Consider the most common pests attacking orchids, and methods for their treatment.
Pest of phalaenopsis orchids: mealy bug
On the most widespread form of orchids - phalaenopsis, pests are most often found, for example, mealybugs . There are several types of worms, but outwardly they are similar to each other: the body is oval in shape of white, beige or pink flowers with transverse grooves and setae along the sides, covered with powdery dust. Around themselves, they form wax deposits that look like cotton wool. Hide on the back of the sheet, where you can see them and the laying of yellow eggs. Infected with mealybug, the plant loses leaves - insects suck the juice out of them and they fall off.
Pests of orchids: thrips
Small insects outwardly resembling black dots on leaves. Their reproduction is promoted by the high temperature in the room, where the orchid is kept, and also the low level of humidity. They also settle on the bottom of the sheet. Symptoms of thrips damage are: leaf ripening and drying, deformation and the appearance of spots on the flowers.
Pests of orchids: mites
- red spider mite - on the leaves a cobweblike appearance appears, as well as light spots that eventually grow and turn into one continuous spot. As a result, the plant weakens, its leaves drop prematurely, and blooms are absent altogether;
- red flat tick - these insects are extremely difficult to see with the naked eye, but can be determined by the symptoms of damage to the plant: yellow spots appear on the leaves, the peel dries and cracks, and the flowers are deformed and twisted.
Pests of orchids living in the ground
They include:
- root mites are small insects with a pear-shaped body. They move slowly enough, but can not be seen with the naked eye. Symptoms of lesions can rarely be found on leaves, more often on roots: mites corrode them, leaving small grooves filled with powdery dust;
- armor pliers - often found in substrates based on the bark. Most plants are affected at the seedling stage - young leaves are a real treat for insects. Externally manifested in the thinning of the upper leaves, they become as if corrugated.
Fighting pests in orchids at home
Treatment of orchids affected by pests includes several stages:
- insulation. Affected plant should be immediately isolated from others to prevent the spread of insects;
- correction of the conditions of maintenance - for example, lowering of temperature in a room and humidification of too dry air;
- treatment of flower leaves with a soap solution and their subsequent washing under running water;
- if it is a matter of pests living in a substrate, then a new transplant should be transplanted;
- Treatment of leaves and stems with chemical preparations intended for certain types of insects.