Moss in orchids: how to save your favorite flower?

Several types of pests called gnats can develop in orchids. To learn how to get rid of them, you need to try to determine the look. Most often harm to orchids such species of midges:

• sciarids or fungal mosquitoes;
• thrips;
• whitefly;
• fruit fly.

Only when your unwanted little "neighbors" are identified, you can choose the way to get rid of them, the most suitable for you and for the plant.

Next, we'll look in more detail each of these types of pests and ways to get rid of them.

Mushroom mosquitoes

The fungal mosquitoes themselves do not do much harm to the flower, although they irritate the florist, but the larvae of these insects can destroy the roots of the plant. Therefore, it is better to get rid of them in a timely manner.

How can you tell if it's a mushroom mosquito? First of all, check the condition of the leaves - if they do not have black dots and a silvery film, then, most likely, in your flower saricides have been found. To pinpoint who you are dealing with, look at the appearance of the pest - fungal mosquitoes often fly over the flower in large numbers.

Most often, the syridides are added together with a new substrate. For reproduction, they prefer a moist soil or substrate rich in peat or moss. Therefore, it is important to grow the plant in a special substrate for orchids.

Also midge can be wound in the remains of decomposed soil, so it must be changed in a timely manner.

How to fight?

1. The most effective method is to capture adult individuals manually or with a special adhesive tape or plate, preferably yellow. Adult individuals live only a few days, so they are fairly easy to deduce with this method.
2. You can place a yellow dish next to the plant, filling it with water with a few drops of any dishwashing detergent.
3. Plant a number of plants with sticky leaves, they will perfectly cope with mosquitoes.
4. Ensure proper watering of the plant - between watering the substrate must dry completely and stay dry for 3 days, in the dry substratum of the larva and do not survive.

Tip

Ensure the correct mode of watering the orchid and check which substrate composition you are using.

Triposes

This kind of midges autumn is dangerous for all colors, so the plant needs to be isolated from the rest.

To determine the infection with thrips is quite simple:

• changes the color of the leaves, and they gradually die off;
• appears silvery film;
• black dots on the leaves.

It is quite simple to identify the Trips: these insects have an elongated shape of a body with two wings.

Orchid can catch thrips from another plant, but the effect of low air humidity is not ruled out.

The strategy of struggle implies the consistent performance of the following actions.

1. It is necessary to wash the flower under warm water, which will wash some of the individuals.
2. You need to remove all damaged parts of the leaves.
3. To get rid of adult individuals and / or to treat the plant with special means. Adult thrips can be caught on sticky tape / strips are not yellow. You can also place blue saucers with water. From chemical agents, sprays or root sticks can be used for hard-to-reach places. Sprays are very effective in controlling thrips, but can make photosynthesis of plants difficult due to the sticky structure, so it is highly undesirable to use them on orchids with thin leaves.

If you do not want to use chemicals, then you can try one of the folk methods.

• You need to make a soapy solution consisting of 300 ml of water and 1 tsp.liquid soap.
• Garlic broth - it is necessary to grind 3 cloves of garlic and pour it with 0.5 liters of boiling water, let it brew for 4 hours and apply to all leaves.
• You can do oil spraying with a solution of 0.5 liters of water and 1 tbsp.l.olive or grape oils.

Advice

Try to ensure optimum humidity and constantly inspect the plants to detect infection in time.

Whitewood

These are small white butterfly moths that live inside the pot and take off from the plant as soon as you touch it. Most often they settle on plants with thin leaves.

Infection occurs from other plants. Gradually, the color disappears on the leaves and stems, then they deform and fall off.

How to get rid of this dangerous pest? It is most effective to treat the flower with an appropriate insecticide, but insects often fly away, and what to do with them is unclear. So, so that the butterflies do not scatter, you can carefully approach the flower with a vacuum cleaner and, having scared them, quickly collect the take-off insects. Then the plant can be washed and treated with a soap solution.

Drosophila

They are also called fruit gnats, and they, in general, are safe for orchids, but they still need to be disposed of.

If these midges are wound up in a pot with a flower, then most likely you are over-watering it or adding tea leaves to the substrate.

It's quite easy to fight against fruit flies. You just need to remove the source that attracts them( welding, moss, etc.) and reduce watering.

If you find some flying insect, similar to a midge, near your favorite flower, do not hesitate to think about what to do with it. Do not delay with the destruction - regardless of whether it is very dangerous for a flower or not. Any insects interfere with the normal life of the plant, and if you get rid of them in time, your favorite orchid will delight you for a long time with its flowering.

We advise you to read the article: gladioli