Recognizing a pest on an orchid is usually not difficult. If a white fluffy lump of an elongated shape about 5 mm long was found on the leaves of the plant, it is most likely a mealybug.
Briefly about white bugs
Mealybug - a pest of indoor and garden plants with a length of 3 to 5 mm. His body is covered with bristles and a white powdery coating.
Females and male insects have differences in behavior. The former are less mobile and form white waxy yarn around their bodies. If you lift it, you can see the body of the insect and the laid yellow eggs.
Mealybugs close-up
Mealybugs, which are dangerous for orchids, are of several types:
- Mealy mealybug (Planococcus citri). The female is pink, yellow or brown oval in shape, reaches 3-5 mm in length, has bristles on the sides, and the body is sprinkled with powdery coating. The insect gives off a sweet secret. The adult female has a lifespan of 90 days, capable of laying about 300 eggs. Males - flying insects, in size and appearance similar to flies, body color pink or yellow. The life span of the male is 2-4 days.
- Powdery mealybug (Pseudococcus Longispinus). The female is orange or red in color up to 5 mm long, the body is sprinkled with a powdery coating, long antennae grow on it. The female secretes a large amount of secret. Males resemble a fly in shape, body color is gray, it also has a powdery coating.
For your information! Male worms have no function in procreation and are safe for orchids. These insects breed without fertilization, so most of their population is female.
Other pests of white orchids:
- whiteflies - insects 2 mm long, have wings and fly between leaves, lay eggs on the underside of the leaf;
- spider mite - envelop leaves and stems with a white spider web;
- bulb mite - affects only the roots or exot point, promotes the development of the fungus;
- podura - settles only in the substrate;
- nailstail - outwardly resemble lice, have a light or dark gray color, can form in a substrate, which contains moss.
Whiteflies
Important! Before choosing a treatment, it is important to determine the type of pest.
Causes of parasites on the orchid
The reason for the appearance of any parasite is the non-compliance with the growing conditions of the plant. When white fluffy bugs appeared on the orchid, what to do first is to determine the cause of their appearance.
The case may be as follows:
- excessive feeding with nitrogen fertilizer, which leads to metabolic disorders;
- waterlogging of the substrate, which provokes a disease of the root system;
- insufficient watering, dry air;
- deterioration of aeration, stagnation of air lead to disruption of the spongy substance on the roots of the orchid;
- exposure to the sun or hypothermia, violation of the temperature regime lead to a violation of sap flow;
- the presence of an infected plant nearby.
Bugs can enter the house from the store where the orchid was bought. You can catch the parasite from a self-assembled substrate, so you should not save and neglect the purchased raw materials. Bugs are found in bark, moss, sand, fern - in any component of the substrate.
Note!A completely healthy orchid has little chance of getting sick, as it gives off special protective substances that repel parasites.
Possible pest outbreaks
Depending on the parasite, either the roots or the terrestrial part of the flower are damaged.
On the leaves of an orchid
The mealybug, whitefly, spider mite are common on the leaves. When buying an orchid, there is a risk of bringing a plant already infected with the parasite, as the larvae can hide in the axils of the leaves or in the roots.
In the ground
In the ground, a bulbous tick, a fool, and a nailtail multiply and live. Also, the substrate for orchids is suitable for the life of ants, woodlice, millipedes, spiders, thrips, etc. At an early stage, it is extremely difficult to detect insects. When the first symptoms of the lesion appear, it is too late to do anything.
What happens to orchid when the substrate is affected by parasites
Bug Control Methods
Getting rid of a white bug on an orchid is difficult, but possible. You can choose any of the methods of struggle or alternate several.
First of all, a diseased flower is isolated from healthy specimens. After this, sanitation (cutting of severely affected areas) and treatment with drugs are carried out.
Roots that cannot be treated must be removed together with a part of healthy tissue, after which the sections should be treated with an antiseptic or charcoal. Leaves are cut in half and removed from the growth point. Each insect is removed from the bosom of the leaf with tweezers.
Note!White bugs on an orchid are eliminated for a long time, up to several months, with a positive trend, processing is carried out less and less, and then it is reduced to nothing.
Folk ways
If you do not want to use chemicals, you can use home remedies.
What to do if white insects wound up on orchids and there are no insecticides on hand? Insects can be removed with the following popular recipes:
- mix 10 ml of denatured alcohol and 15 ml of liquid soap, add to 1 l of warm water, wipe the leaves with a solution after mechanical removal of parasites. This solution is recommended to be used only for strong, thick leaves, alcohol can burn thin leaves;
- grate brown laundry soap and make a solution in warm water. Wipe the leaves of the plant with a moistened cotton pad;
- mix 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil in 1 liter of warm water. Wipe the leaves of orchids to prevent the appearance of worms;
- 50 g of grated orange peel pour 1 liter of water, leave for 24 hours. The leaves are wiped with a solution 2 times a day.
Important! Home remedies are more gentle and suitable only at the initial stage of infection.
Mechanical methods
Mechanical removal must be used before leaf treatment with chemistry. Insects, their larvae are removed with a sponge or cotton pad from stems, leaves and buds. For inaccessible places, tweezers are used. Heavily affected leaves are completely removed.
For your information! Parasites love young, not yet mature shoots and leaves. On such parts, bugs easily damage the integumentary tissues and suck out the juice.
If there is a pseudobulb, integumentary scales will be removed from it. What to do if white bugs are wound up in the orchid and in the ground? Trim the affected roots, buy a new pot and fresh substrate.
How deep a mealybug can climb
Chemicals
If white shaggy bugs appear on orchids, how to get rid, if folk methods do not help, buy chemicals in a specialty store. They are used as a last resort and are used strictly according to the instructions.
Treatment with insecticides is carried out outdoors, a respirator mask is put on the face.
The most popular drugs:
- spark;
- doctor;
- fufanol;
- kemifos;
- bison;
- Vermitec
- aliot;
- Actara.
All of the above preparations are suitable for the protection of open ground plants.
Before getting rid of bugs, their appearance is determined by the description and photographs. The hardest thing will be to deal with damage to the root system.
There is no better protection against parasites than prevention. Proper care, regular inspections of leaves and substrate, a warm shower and periodic quarantine will protect against the appearance of white bugs.
