White bugs in the potting medium
 

Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

White bugs in the potting medium
 

I'm not sure what you have is the same thing we see occasionally -- ours
resemble small albino ants.

But in general, for mobile critters nesting in your pots, this is what we
recommend:

Get a good-size dishpan or bucket. Fill with water to a depth about 1"
taller than your pot. Submerge the pot [clay will usually stay down on its
own, plastic may have to be held down or weighted]. The critters will swarm
up out of the water onto the plant -- it may take 5-10 minutes to drive them
all up. Once they're up on the plant where you can get at them, rubbing
alcohol cut 50/50 with water will kill most insects.

Critters nesting in your potting mix are also an indication that your mix is
breaking down; check for that and, if so, your plant should be repotted at
its/your earliest convenience.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Guogang" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

White bugs in the potting medium
 

I'm not sure what you have is the same thing we see occasionally -- ours
resemble small albino ants.

But in general, for mobile critters nesting in your pots, this is what we
recommend:

Get a good-size dishpan or bucket. Fill with water to a depth about 1"
taller than your pot. Submerge the pot [clay will usually stay down on its
own, plastic may have to be held down or weighted]. The critters will swarm
up out of the water onto the plant -- it may take 5-10 minutes to drive them
all up. Once they're up on the plant where you can get at them, rubbing
alcohol cut 50/50 with water will kill most insects.

Critters nesting in your potting mix are also an indication that your mix is
breaking down; check for that and, if so, your plant should be repotted at
its/your earliest convenience.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Guogang" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

White bugs in the potting medium
 

This sounds like a good method. I have tried an extreme way: spray
with combination of insecticide and fungicide. But, if the bugs are
still there, I will try this next time.

Thanks,
Guogang

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message . ..
I'm not sure what you have is the same thing we see occasionally -- ours
resemble small albino ants.

But in general, for mobile critters nesting in your pots, this is what we
recommend:

Get a good-size dishpan or bucket. Fill with water to a depth about 1"
taller than your pot. Submerge the pot [clay will usually stay down on its
own, plastic may have to be held down or weighted]. The critters will swarm
up out of the water onto the plant -- it may take 5-10 minutes to drive them
all up. Once they're up on the plant where you can get at them, rubbing
alcohol cut 50/50 with water will kill most insects.

Critters nesting in your potting mix are also an indication that your mix is
breaking down; check for that and, if so, your plant should be repotted at
its/your earliest convenience.

--
Kenni Judd
Juno Beach Orchids

http://www.jborchids.com
"Guogang" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

White bugs in the potting medium
 

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 11:14:55 -0800, Guogang wrote:

Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

Don't freak too much. Unless your Orchid appears to be weakening, or you
see these guys somehow eatting roots/etc, they are probably just mites
that live on the bark and organic potting matter. You'll see them if you
go out and grab a handful of mulch from nearly any yard. Mites are
everywhere, and unless they are the kind that eat living plant tissue, and
harmless, and are part of the normal diversity of soil.

White bugs in the potting medium
 

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 11:14:55 -0800, Guogang wrote:

Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

Don't freak too much. Unless your Orchid appears to be weakening, or you
see these guys somehow eatting roots/etc, they are probably just mites
that live on the bark and organic potting matter. You'll see them if you
go out and grab a handful of mulch from nearly any yard. Mites are
everywhere, and unless they are the kind that eat living plant tissue, and
harmless, and are part of the normal diversity of soil.

White bugs in the potting medium
 

Well, it is true that this is the first time I look at the mix so
closely, and the discovery is scary given the quantity there. And, I
found similar bugs in my other plant too (in soil).

I think my orchid does have scales (there are white lumpy spots on the
leaves), and I heard that mealy bugs (I have no idea what it should
look like in real life) can hide in the pot. And there are a few small
round black spots on the leaves.

Thanks,
Guogang

"Daniel Joyce" wrote in message . ..
On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 11:14:55 -0800, Guogang wrote:

Hi,

I saw some white bugs in the potting medium. They are very small
(barely visible), hide under the surface barks, move fast(when I
remove the surface barks, they rush to find a dark place to hide),
high quantity (I saw a few clusters of more than 10)

What could this be? How can I deal with it?

Thanks,
Guogang

Don't freak too much. Unless your Orchid appears to be weakening, or you
see these guys somehow eatting roots/etc, they are probably just mites
that live on the bark and organic potting matter. You'll see them if you
go out and grab a handful of mulch from nearly any yard. Mites are
everywhere, and unless they are the kind that eat living plant tissue, and
harmless, and are part of the normal diversity of soil.