I think my orchids have a bug problem...

[Melissa8705]

i have 3 orchids. i had 2 of them for a least a year and i just got my third one this past mother's day and everything's been fine. Recently,starting only a couple weeks ago, i've noticed small fruit fly sized bugs flying around the house. I didn't know where they were comming from and then I checked on my orchids and i discovered a lot of these tiny bugs crawling on the leaves and potting mix of all 3 of my orchids. this has never happened before as i said and i'm extremely worried. what are they and what sould i do/buy?

[GreggC]

what you have is fungus gnats. Most of the time, unless they lay eggs in the potting mix, they are nothing to worry about. What you might do is to get some of the yellow sticky strips and put one in your growing area close to your plants.

[Melissa8705]

How do i know if they laid eggs?

[GreggC]

but here is a link that might provide a little help. If not, you can backle "fungus gnats on orchids."

Fungus Gnats

[quiltergal]

Fungus gnats in your medium is a sign that it's time to repot. New medium = no fungus = no gnats.

[Melissa8705]

I just repotted them shortly after mother's day...i thought i was only supposed to repot phalaenopsis's once a year or something like that....

[priz_m]

Don't worry Melissa, although that may be the standard you have to keep in mind to repot when necessary, specially when there are pests involved.

Phals are very forviging

[Melissa8705]

Thanks!! I was so worried. I love my plants so much & my daughter is starting to enjoy them as well. I didn't want to have to say good bye.

[CoolPhrog]

Originally Posted by GreggC

but here is a link that might provide a little help. If not, you can backle "fungus gnats on orchids."

Fungus Gnats

Great article Gregg, thanx for sharing that. We battled a HUGE infestation in the house after we moved all of the orchids back outside after the winter months....MAN, I didn't think we would EVER get rid of them...they had taken up residence in our kitchen sink pipes...we started dumping huge pots of boiling water and dish soap down into the pipes (twice a day)...took about a week...

Sorry for the highjack

[GreggC]

we're all in the battle against pests and diseases together. I have bugs, too. It makes good topics for orchid society meetings, too, especially when somebody finds something that works really well.