effin birds!

[frostedeyes]

okay I'm a bit worried that none of my orchids would bloom... you see... everytime i see flower spikes.... the next day its chip of... im guess its the birds who's eating up my spikes! hate it! one of my phal violacea alba has been eaten aRGH!!!! been wanting to see what it looks like! anyway any tips? i wish i could shoot them into bits and fry them !LOL!

[WhiteRabbit]

hmm ...
I can understand your frustration - are you sure it's not insects? Of course I don't know about in the Phillipines, but most birds eat bugs, seeds, fruit - and of course fish, rodents, snakes - don't know abuot them eating vegetation - tho I am certainly not an expert

But even if it is birds - The world would be a sadder place without them - imo ...

[Gin]

I doubt it is birds doing the damage I have a lot of them and never lost a bloom ..

[rdlsreno]

I had the same problem back in the Philippines. I keep a small area under my shade house under a covered of fish net from top to the floor. Be sure that it is well secured so that when the wind blows it does not hit the flowers or plants. This acts like a mosquito net (kulambo) for the birds and insects for special plants I like to see or for competition. I hope this helps.

Ramon

[Poison Ivy]

Bring them indoors, or use a scarecrow. HAHA

[thakshila smith]

Where do you keep your orchids . Outdoors .. Or not on cemented floors.
I suspect the cause is not birds .bec orchids are not sweets.
In the night better have a watch for slugs and snails . They usually come out in the nights.
Disinfect your floors.

[Rosiefuture]

I have trouble with the 28 parrots eating my geraniums in hanging baskets but they never seem to touch my orchids.

Marion

[fotofashion]

I was having trouble with snails and grasshoppers eating both the plants and the flowers. I resorted to picking off the snails, going out at night with a flashlight. I also sprinkled a snail bait and used some cut-up pieces of potato. Results: Haven't seen a snail lately. For grasshoppers, etc, on a plant that is getting ready to bloom, I cover the bud with nylon net. I find that it doesn't have to be too tightly fastened, just enough to discourage the 'hopper. On a Den. giganteum, I had to cover the entire plant with the nylon net because something ate the newly emerging leaf. (this is a small plant). If it truly is birds then net will discourage them. I guess we are assuming you keep your plants outdoors.
Beverly A.

[Junebug]

Don't know about other types of birds but parrots will eat orchids. I seem to remember a Utube video featuring such an event.

Palmetto bugs will do extensive damage to orchid bulbs, spikes, buds and blooms. They look like big cockroaches and they can fly. I recently caught one drilling a large hole in my cattleya bud. I think they're native to Florida but they might have relatives in the Philippines. Most of their damage is done at night.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Junebug

Palmetto bugs ...... They look like big cockroaches and they can fly.

That's because they are roaches, my dear.

I have seen birds nip off pieces of plants (had some birds demolish some venus flytraps of mine -- not a happy moment) but I would be inclined to first suspect some sort of insect, mollusk, or rodent as the culprit. In any case, very frustrating -- I feel you pain.