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#1
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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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. |
#6
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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. |
#7
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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. |
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