Very small and tiny white fast running bugs on the roots of my orchid

[Vilija]

Good morning,

I have my orchid for nearly 4 months now and it was blooming all this time, a week ago new spike started to grow and new roots and one new leave were growing for about a month but yesterday evening when I touched one of the old roots I noticed 2 very small tiny white bugs running very very fast. I saw them for a very short time as they were so small (about 0.5mm) and were running so fast.

I need an advice please as I don't know what to do next? I am afraid to repot a plant now as new spike just started to grow and 2 old spikes still have about 16 blossoms in total.

Does anyone knows what kind of bugs they are and how to get rid of them please and if they are harmful or not, is re-potting needed?

[RosieC]

Hi Vilija and welcome to Orchid Board.

They sound a bit like springtails to me. You tend to find they jump arround a lot if you use the dunking method of watering. There used to be a good picture of them on the RHS website but it's been moved/removed and I've not found another good one. They are very very tiny and run/jump arround very quickly. The pics I can find now are not the same looking as the old RHS one which I found clearly looked like what I had.

If it IS springtails then they will not harm your orchid and you can leave them. They just eat decaying matter in the pot.

BUT... their pressence can indicate that your medium is breaking down and needs replacing, althoguh that is not always the case, I have them in most of my Phals.

[Vilija]

RosieC,

Thank you very much for your answer. I was reading about all the bugs orchids can get and it looks like my plant has springtails, they are white, very quick and very small. Probably the size of . or , or somewhere in between.

Can I replace medium and re-pot my plant while it is blooming/new spike is growing? I lost two orchids before (one due to fire in my house and another one didn't get enough light in my old flat) so I am very careful with this one as I don't want to loose it.

[RosieC]

Many people do repot when in spike or flower. I've done it with a spike almost fully grown with no problems.

I think some people have experienced loss of the buds due when doing that, but others have said that as long as you are careful not to break the spike then you should be fine. In my own experience there has been no problems.

[Vilija]

Thank you very much. The spike is only 1 inch lenght so I wil try to re-pot it as soon as it gets a bit bigger and stronger.

[RosieC]

I actually go for repotting when the spikes are smaller if possible. I think they are more likely to loose buds once the buds have formed, but if there aren't any buds yet then it is easier on the plant.

No idea if I'm right though!

[Vilija]

Thank you very much for advice. I think you are right about re-potting. I will read more and will re-pot as soon as possible.

Thank you

[RobS]

I doubt that repotting will get rid of springtails completly and they are harmless I wouldn't bother repotting just for them. They could be an indication that the medium of your orchid is a decaying though and as your orchid is making new roots repotting now might be the best solution (but I value roots / growth over flowers).

[Eyebabe]

You say springtails...I actually thought these were fungus gnat larvae. These are also treatable with mosquito dunks/bits. Are we talking about the same thing??

[RobS]

The gnat larvae are white / transparent and don't move very fast. These look like thiny maggots and they might harm the roots of your plants.