Tiny dark red/brown crawling bugs in the media

[mtessa]

Sorry the photos are not that great. I just saw some dark red tiny bugs crawling in the media, not on the leaves. I’m worried all of my orchids have it. I can’t see any webs.

I’ve read soaking the plants in soapy water may get rid of bugs. Won’t that harm the plants? My orchids are potted in bark, sphagnum moss and a combination of both. Should I use a particular soap? I have Castile soap but maybe I need something stronger, dish soap maybe? How long should I soak it? I‘ve also read of hydrogen soak but I’ve also read that hydrogen peroxide may be harmful to the roots.

I also saw a similar looking bugs (tiny, round-ish) in an orchid with bark media but the colour is more white/silvery.


Thank you.

[Dollythehun]

Check your medium to see if it's broken down and your plants need repotting. I soak mine and soapy water, and Dawn is usually on my sink so that's what I use. It's never hurt them at all. Just be sure to rinse them when you're done. And I have no clue what those are. I'm sure someone will be along with a diagnosis soon.

[mtessa]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Check your medium to see if it's broken down and your plants need repotting. I soak mine and soapy water, and Dawn is usually on my sink so that's what I use. It's never hurt them at all. Just be sure to rinse them when you're done. And I have no clue what those are. I'm sure someone will be along with a diagnosis soon.

Thank you. May I know how long you soak them? Is it okay to soak the pots with sphagnum moss? This particular plant was repotted around three months ago. The oldest media in all of my orchids is probably a year old at most. Maybe it’s not the media decomposing but the dead roots?

[Dollythehun]

I've soaked a few minutes, or gone out to get groceries and come back hours later. I'm not good at perfection or specifics. But, you have to soak long enough to either drown them or have them jump ship and die.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by mtessa

but I’ve also read that hydrogen peroxide may be harmful to the roots.

It can harm the roots for sure, or even set the roots or plant back in terms of growing. That was great how you did a lot of reading, and encountered those warnings about hydrogen peroxide.

I'm sure that all orchidboard growers here don't use hydrogen peroxide on roots.

If those bugs happen to be insect (if), then consider maybe imidacloprid (but being wary that this is very nasty to bees - so have to watch it with that).

If you do soak ----- watch out for moss getting water-logged, as that can possibly lead to roots drowning if media gets real watery for too long.

[estación seca]

There are beneficial tiny things and there are harmful tiny things. I know there are beneficial mites that eat the harmful ones. I personally don't treat for bugs unless I'm sure the bugs are the thing causing a problem, or even if there is a problem.

[SouthPark]

mtessa ----- if you can get hold of a jeweller magnifying lens loupe (with built-in LED), you should be able to take a look at one of those red/black bugs close-up; just to see what it is.

Or capture one - so that it could possibly be placed under a microscope/imaging system - to get a snapshot of one, for identification purposes.