Tiny red bugs on my orchids

[seaj]

Hello!

I have a small collection of orchids that are all suffering from some kind of infestation. They’re all still growing, and even blooming, but I’m sure that they’re suffering from all of the damage I see in the leaves. I also have a large collection of African violets, but none of them seem to be suffering, so I’ve put off treating my orchids.

Here are some pictures of some of the bugs I took on a miltoniopsis flower.

Any idea on what these could be? Thanks!

[aliceinwl]

Looks like spider mites. I’ve only had to deal with infestations on a few newly acquired plants. I used an insecticidal soap. They have about a five to seven day lifecycle and the soap won’t kill the eggs. I think it took me about 6 weeks worth of weekly treatments to eliminate mine.

[seaj]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

Looks like spider mites. I’ve only had to deal with infestations on a few newly acquired plants. I used an insecticidal soap. They have about a five to seven day lifecycle and the soap won’t kill the eggs. I think it took me about 6 weeks worth of weekly treatments to eliminate mine.

Thanks for identification. The damage they’ve done to the leaves does match up with other people’s pictures. I just wanted some input from other growers. Trouble is, that I also have about 400 African violets, lol. I might have to save a leaf from each variety, treat all of my other plants, and just regrow each plant.

[aliceinwl]

There are also systemic pesticide options that might be a better option for a large collection. I don’t have experience with them, but if someone doesn’t chime in on this thread, you can probably use the search to turn up relevant threads.

Good luck!