The exotic beauty who has settled in your house is fragrant, pleasing to the eye. You do not get tired of admiring its stunning colors, their unusual color, amazing shape. At the same time, it is naive to believe that nothing in your apartment threatens the plant. Since all his natural enemies are far away in the tropics. However, this is a false calm. And in our latitudes, an orchid can seriously suffer . Diseases and pests (the photos presented in the article demonstrate their detrimental effect) affect leaves, flowers, roots.
In order to insure against possible troubles, do not forget about mandatory prevention. All parts of the plant are subject to weekly inspection. We regularly sterilize the substrate. For these purposes, a
solution of potassium permanganate will also work. Many
orchid pests come to you with newly acquired plants. Therefore, we arrange for beginners a quarantine and treatment with any low-toxic universal insecticide.
Now let's deal with the main parasites that threaten your tropical beauty.
Tiny worms - nematodes - can live in the ground and fallen leaves. Due to their microscopic size, the presence of parasites can be identified only by the tracks that they leave. These are brown or black marks on the leaves. These orchid pests are afraid of high temperatures, so it is worth sterilizing pallets and pots over a water bath. Formalin disinfection and treatment of the whole plant with a solution consisting of water and a Dekaris tablet helps. And do not forget to carefully clean all the fallen and dried parts.
The following orchid pests at home are wood lice. They gladly absorb young tender leaves. And the mentioned creatures live in the substrate. It is humid and warm - exactly what this insect needs. To repel woodlice, you must first lure them out of the pot. To do this, take a damp cloth, put a piece of apple or potato on it. We put the bait near the flower, and do not water the soil for a day. Insects will leave their usual housing and in the morning you will find them on a rag. True, you will have to repeat this procedure more than once.
But the most common orchid pests are thrips and aphids. Both those and others feed on plant cell sap. And if you do not fight them, then soon the flower will simply die. Here you can not do without special preparations. Well exterminates parasites "Confidor". It is possible to recommend processing with Aktara. If you are an opponent of chemical methods of control, then use the biological drug "Actofit."
The same drugs are used to eliminate scabies and
mealybug. The latter can be traced by the characteristic white plaque in the sinuses of the leaves. But the adult scale is a small waxy tubercle on the surface of the plant. These orchid pests love a dry, hot climate. Therefore, we generously moisturize the air, do not be lazy to arrange a light shower for our green pets, wipe and examine all parts of the plant.
In the summer, when your beauties enjoy the fresh air on the terrace or balcony, tiny snails or slugs can settle on them. They must be immediately removed from the leaves and destroyed, because these gluttonous creatures will nibble on the leaves, stems, flowers, and even roots.