Phalaenopsis with tiny round black bugs after watering

[floatandsting]

This is my second post on the Orchid Board and I just want to say everyone is so warm and helpful, I could not be more grateful or impressed. So thank you all for being so amazing!

In sadder news: I have had this Phal for a couple of weeks, and yesterday morning I gave it a good, thorough soaking, then fertilized it for the first time.
By the time I came home in the evening, I found the medium and roots COVERED in tiny, very round, shiny little black bugs.
They moved pretty slowly, and after doing much research, I poked them with a stick and they did NOT jump, which disappointed me greatly as that seemed to be a sign that my plant will be fine.
I did however, poke something very different (pale and egg shaped) this morning and IT jumped, but this doesn't make me feel much butter.
It's now been about 27 hours since I watered the Phal and I can only find one of the round black bugs. Still, if anyone has any advice (so I can stop crying, ha), it would be so appreciated.

(This is as close as I could get with my camera last night during the invasion)






Couple closer, from the side. (Sorry, so gross!)




Thank you very much for your time.

[Zoi2]

They look like mites. Try an insecticidal spray--I usually use Safers 3 in 1, it's really easy to find at the big box stores.
Joann

[Ray]

Based upon your description of the circumstances, I'd say it's something that lives on decomposing organic matter, rather than on plant tissues.

If that's the case, a thorough soak (30-minute dunk) with an insecticide solution, repeated weekly three times, should rid you of them.

Not meaning to be contradictory to Joann, but true mites are rarely affected by insecticides. In fact, quite often, if you have both mites and insects, treatment with an insecticide often results in a population explosion in the mites, as their competition has been reduced.

That said, soaps (like Safers), isn't really an insecticide per se. A true insecticide is a toxin of some sort. Soaps work by dissolving the protective, waxy coatings on the critters, making them vulnerable to the environment - they often desiccate to death afterward - so may very well be effective on some mites.

[Junebug]

I ran across this post while trying to identify "tiny round black bugs". I've got them too and stumbled across them by accident. I was trying to get rid of snails and had baited the top of my potting medium with sliced potatoes one night. The next morning I checked the potato slices. I caught just a few snails and hundreds of shiny little beetle looking bugs. They were so small that I couldn't tell they were bugs until I used a magnifying glass. They crawl pretty fast for their size and I didn't notice any jumping or flying. I still don't know what they are, but you can catch a bunch of them with sliced potatoes.

[ezil]

I have no idea what they are, so I can't help you there. Have you considered repotting the plant in fresh medium? Throw everything (old pot, medium etc.) out. Carefully soak the roots clean and repot in new medium. I'd keep the plant isolated for a while and if you have other plants in that area, check them out too, since you don't know where these critters came from. Good luck.