general pest erradication

[jkhom]

I occasionally notice signs of pests on my orchids. I've had spider mites, occasionally I see snails (about 1/16" shell), and yesterday I saw a little flying insect that was silver/white and about the size of a misquito sucking on a leaf. Usually I don't actually see the pests, just the tell tale signs like little brown dots on the leaves of the small webs.
To get rid of these pests, should I get insecticidal soap or should I use neem oil? Which is safer for the plants? Plants are indoors under lights if that makes a difference.
Thanks for your help.

[lepanthes89]

I would increase humidity/ mist more often for the mites,put non-toxic snail bait(escar-go is a good brand from Gardens Alive!,but there are others),and use neem on any insect that still is a problem.
Soap is good,but you have to watch the dosage carefully,as some plants are more sensitive than others.
I'm glad to see you do not consider chemicals.They really have no purpose in the home.
Good luck.

[Ocelaris]

I will spray 1 cup water, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, and a 1/2 tsp of dish soap, mix it up in a spray bottle, and spray the plant liberally. The soap and alcohol basically dissolve the shell of scale, and work as a dessicant to dry the bugs out. Works for most general bugs before you need to get serious.

[jkhom]

Thanks Ocelaris. The mixture you recommend sounds pretty safe to the plants.
Do you use the on a Prophylactic basis or just when you detect evidence of pests?

[cowboy51278]

Originally Posted by Ocelaris

I will spray 1 cup water, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, and a 1/2 tsp of dish soap, mix it up in a spray bottle, and spray the plant liberally. The soap and alcohol basically dissolve the shell of scale, and work as a dessicant to dry the bugs out. Works for most general bugs before you need to get serious.

ive used a very similar solution with great success. ill put a cup of rubbing alcohol, two teaspoons of dish soap, and a teaspoon of neem oil in a one quart spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way up with warm water. seemed to take care of a plant i bought off ebay that was loaded with scale and another that had mites. just remember that you need to repeat the spraying process about 7-10 days later. and ill usually do it again another week or so after that. just to make sure you got the bugs that were in different stages of they're life cycle.

[Ocelaris]

Originally Posted by jkhom

Do you use the on a Prophylactic basis or just when you detect evidence of pests?

I do Like Cowboy said:

just remember that you need to repeat the spraying process about 7-10 days later. and ill usually do it again another week or so after that. just to make sure you got the bugs that were in different stages of they're life cycle.

Only thing to watch out is that it doesn't dry out your plants too much, they're already weak from pests (and usually were weak when pests invaded). The soap and alcohol work to dry out the bugs killing them, neem oil has some magical properties that bugs don't like. So just don't do it too long if you don't see bugs after 2 weeks. Like I will spray it once real good, then 2-3 days later, and then 7-10 days later. Assuming there are no bugs, I stop at that point. Less medicine the better. This is assuming all other conditions are being properly met, no fungus etc...

[Stasisgate]

I am going to try this recipie. I have pest problems myself and do not feel safe using chemicals (although I have been using some).

[Ocelaris]

I want to say something on behalf of chemicals, because I have a basic chemical background, and I feel they're often unduly relegated to something dangerous (which they're not under the right circumstances). I treat chemicals like I treat doctors. I think I can usually take care of myself, and these home treatments are like Nyquil. If I'm really sick, I'll go to the doctor.

There is no reason to shun modern day chemistry when we've worked so hard to develop these tools. There is a lot of rejection of "chemicals" in the misplaced desire to resort to a more natural world. It's too easy to blame "chemicals" for everything wrong in this world. Be a knowledgeable consumer and know the difference between deleterious reliance on chemistry, and using it to benefit our lives. There are plenty of situations where chemicals are important and necessary. Knowing that placing them on your plants will not some how infect your aura. Once mixed, they are powdered wettable substances that don't permeate the air. As long as you don't lick your Orchids, or allow your pets or children to lick your orchids, there is no reason to fear chemicals in the house. It's like aids, you can't get it by merely being in their presence, there is no mysterious chemical boogey man that invades your home. Read the labels, be informed, and be careful; don't be chicken little claiming the sky is falling because you used some insecticides on your plants. It's one thing to use them on a small scale in our home collections, as opposed to mass produced crops where there may be an environmental side effect because of the sheer scale. I'm as much an environmentalist as anyone on here, I just believe the best way to a better environment is THROUGH the knowledge and application of chemistry, as opposed to going backwards in time.

On the other hand, don't expect chemicals to solve every worldly problem. Even the best drugs/chemicals/insecticides are useless if you don't follow proper care for your plant. A healthy plant is a insect free plant. Drugs like insecticides are meant as a crutch to get you back on your feet, not a dependent friend. But most of us have small enough collections that simply transplanting into fresh medium, washing thoroughly with soap/alcohol/neem will cure all but the most invasive pest problems. The biggest key in this is just paying attention and making sure to clean out the medium as that is where they mainly reside. Just because the leaves are clean, doesn't mean the medium isn't holding spores/eggs etc... doesn't hurt to spray a liberal amount of the soap/alcohol (and/or neem) concoction into the medium; and then give a good rinse to wash the nasties away. I would afterwards leave plenty of spray on the medium, but a good wash and/or replanting is almost always beneficial.

Remember, just when someone pulls out the "chemical" card, Plants ONLY absorb nutrients in their inorganic chemical raw state. Plants do not absorb guano, earth worm casings, manure, or any other "organic" fertilizer. The microbes must break down whatever "organic" medium into inorganic compounds before plants can absorb them. Plants are by their very nature, chemical workhorses, they are born, bred, and live soley on inorganic chemicals. There are no special "organic" chemicals which bypass this rule, they're all in the end inorganic chemicals, and so you should not be afraid of them, because they are the power that drives all of our plants, and our own bodies in turn.

[Stasisgate]

I also have a chemical background so all that you have mentioned is not new information to me.

However, even though certain pesticides ( or fungicides/bactericides) have worked they damaged my plants even though I was told that it was safe to use on orchids, and even when I diluted to half recommended strength, hence I do not feel safe using them. Any suggestions of a tried and proven product with little or no effects will be gladly appreciated.

I will of course prefer to try simple solutions like the alcohol-soap-neem recipe, and cinnamon powder works pretty fine and will not burn my plants if over used.

So you see, I have nothing against chemicals, I just don't trust them (could also be the fault of the garden shop owner who recommended the crappy chemicals). When I say chemicals, I mean the stuff you buy in the garden shop that are recommended as pesticides, etc.