White worm-like bugs

[mattryan]

I am hoping that someone has has these before. I looked under pests/disease tab and the closest I have found is springtails. I googled them, but they don't look like that in my orchid. They are really small and don't move until I water them then they move all over the place. They aren't on the orchid only in the bark mix. I had them before, but I guess re-potting and good flushing of pots got rid of them. Are they harmful? Springtails aren't, but I'm not sure if this is what I have. I tried my best to get a good pic, but they are so small. They are the white specks on the bark. Thanks for the looks.

Cheryl

[No-Pro-mwa]

I have no idea what they are , but sure would get rid of them. Me I would water with neem oil. I have been going to ask if anyone else uses it, I have done this before and I didn't think it hurt my orchids.

[My Green Pets]

Some kind of maggot? Anything flying around?

[Brooke]

They actually look like fungus gnat larvae but I've never found any larvae in bark, only in peat based mixes.

Brooke

[WhiteRabbit]

I've gotten gnat larvae in all sorts of media, including bark. Are there gnats around?

[daveh_sf]

I had those once before, but I don't know what they are. One dunk in Bayer Insect Disease and Mite Control (imidacloprid) got rid of them completely.

[mattryan]

Do they look like fruit flies? Like that size, if so yes i've seen them. I did a total repot only had them in 2 of my orchids. I hope that they aren't bad for them. Thanks for the help.

Cheryl

[Bill U.]

Yes, fungus gnats do look like fruit flies. Fungus gnats feed mostly on decaying matter in potting media, so your orchids shouldn't be terribly affected from it. However, if you are having fungus gnats, that could be an indicator that your potting media may not be drying out very well- causing some rot/decay to set in... Just a thought.

[mattryan]

Thankyou for the help. I did a repot they were due anyway. I don't see them in any of my orchids.

Cheryl

[ALToronto]

Fungus gnat larvae do eat orchids, especially root tips. You should get rid of them. The least nasty remedy that works well against them is garden sulfur spray. You need to use it for about 3 weeks to get rid of them completely, but at least it's not toxic to people.

You may also want to keep your orchids a little drier while you're trying to kill off the larvae.