Thrips - dish soap or insecticide?

[Onyx]

If the bugs are only running around the bark/whatever mix you're using, they might actually be springtails, which are harmless unless you're growing seedlings or the like. Annoying as heck, yes, and I don't want them in my own plants, but everything I've read has them listed as harmless because they just eat decaying plant material in whatever potting mix. If the bugs show up on the plant itself or in flowers, then it's pretty much for certain thrips.

If you want, grab a magnifying glass and check out the little bugs next time you see them and compare to pics of springtails and thrips online. At least from comparative google imaging, springtails look more rounded on the ends (the ones I had looked kinda like mini elongated beetles to me) and the thrips look a bit more pointed.

If they are springtails, just wash off your orchid's roots really well and remove all the old mix, then repot it in fresh stuff and they should go away. I'd assume you could bake bark in the oven before using it if you really want to make sure it's bug-free -- running boiling water through it instead of baking it might help too. I seem to have springtails coming in from outside. I don't know how, but they keep showing up by the window, ugh!

[Island Girl]

Originally Posted by Onyx

If they are springtails, just wash off your orchid's roots really well and remove all the old mix, then repot it in fresh stuff and they should go away. I'd assume you could bake bark in the oven before using it if you really want to make sure it's bug-free -- running boiling water through it instead of baking it might help too. I seem to have springtails coming in from outside. I don't know how, but they keep showing up by the window, ugh!

Running boiling water over bark is also a good way to increase its water-holding capacity, so the new bark isn't so dry as it normally is when brand-new (I think u can do this instead of having to soak overnite, although I don't have first-hand experience on this)

I've had infestations of springtails in my house a few years back (they never made it to my orchids that I was aware of ~ tho this was pre-addiction, so I wasn't as diligent as I am now Lol). One thing they r attracted to, which is prob why Onyx has them showing up on their window-sill, is the color white... They were always hanging out on my white tile, (have black & white tiled kitchen counters, & bthrm floors) and ONLY the white tiles, as well as my white window-sills (think that's why they came inside) ... I would sit there for hours squishing them!

And, they also seemed to be attracted to water.. Maybe not for a swim, but for hydration/mold? ...maybe?... Can't remember, the exterminator that I finally called told me about the water/dampness attraction... Don't remember his answer for why they r attracted to it (the infestation got REALLY bad, that's y I finally called the Extrmtr... Worth it tho, they haven't been back since!)

EDIT: There were thousands of them!