Orchids are gaining huge popularity among lovers of indoor plants. Almost every one of them seeks to have this flower on his windowsill. However, despite the fact that growing orchids is no more difficult than the same senpolia, sometimes their owners have to face some difficulties, and even fight pests. For example, the question becomes very urgent: if midges are wound up in an orchid, what to do, how to get rid of this scourge?
Causes of midges
Often, as soon as midges become wound up in the orchid, what to do with it, every grower begins to think in panic. However, sometimes it is necessary to find out the reason from where they penetrated into the plant and what is the root cause of their appearance. Very often, their larvae are found in poor-quality soil. After planting plants in such soil, midges begin to multiply rapidly. At the same time, there is such a negative side that if insects appeared in one of the pots, then they will certainly settle in neighboring ones if there are favorable conditions there.
A favorable factor for the habitat of midges is the humidity necessary for them. Therefore, if midges are wound up in the orchid, what you can do, you don’t know and you don’t have the necessary preparations for their destruction yet, the first thing to do is to stop excess watering. After this, you should start figuring out exactly what kind of midges wound up in your plants and what methods of control are most effective for it.
Types of midges that can live in orchids
How to save orchids from midges, most likely, you will find out only after you decide which of their varieties has settled in you. Most often, flower midges live in pots with orchids, also called sciarids. Outwardly, they are a small insect, whose body length reaches three to five millimeters, have a black color. In fact, this pest is a mushroom or fruit mosquito. This pest can lay its eggs in the ground, after which small white worms appear there.
Sciarides are not dangerous for the plant, but their larvae can not only damage the seedlings, but also destroy the small roots of seedlings or weakened plants. As a result, rot may appear or fungal disease may develop.
If midges are wound up in the orchid, what to do with them, you will not find your bearings right away. Especially if they look like tiny butterflies and fly very quickly and playfully, as well as excellently hide. To detect this pest, just touch the ground or leaves, and they will immediately take off. These midges usually neglect varieties with hard leaves, but prefer thin-leaved plants with very delicate skin, since they feed on their juice, which is sucked out of the leaves. This can lead to the fact that the plant begins to gradually wither, and the affected leaves will curl up and dry out. The eggs of this pest are yellowish in color and, as a rule, are located on the surface of the leaves or under them.
The danger of thrips
If there are midges in the orchid, what to do with them, you need to decide as soon as possible until they have done significant harm and destroyed the plant. In particular, it can also be thrips - small insects with a length of only two and a half millimeters, but causing great damage. They look like black-brown or black sticks with two pairs of wings folded neatly on the back.
They can excellently hide in the ground, which greatly complicates their detection. They feed on leaf tissues, as a result of which the plant literally fades away before our eyes.
How to deal with midges in orchids?
If there are midges in the orchid, what to do with them and what preparations to process, you need to orient yourself as quickly as possible. After you have decided on the type of pest, you need to choose the right method of dealing with it. For example, for Drosophila, it will be enough to remove the upper mulching layer from the soil, as well as slightly reduce watering. You should also make sure that there are no rotten vegetables and fruits in the room. This will ensure that insects completely lose their food and disappear.
Anti-sciarides can be effectively helped by drugs designed to combat flying insects. The most common of these is Neodichlorvos.
You can deal with butterflies by periodically spraying with insecticidal drugs. Leaves can be washed with a solution of water and laundry soap.
In the fight against thrips, drugs such as Fitoverm or Actellik effectively help. They should be treated a couple of times a month.