Millipedes/Centipedes

[Daethen]

I am not sure which these are or if they are something like them. I have a mounted octopus orchid. It is on a really nice mount and has rooted to it quite well. I have yet to flower it, but it has several new growths and looks like it is developing sheaths. I was giving it a good soak overnight last night. I picked it up to return it to its place and saw 6 or 7 of these little s*&ts on it. I took it outside and flicked them off. NOW WHAT DO I DO??? Do I need to take it off of the mount? Is there something I can drench it with that will penetrate into the mount? It is on a really nice cork mount with lots of crags. Help me do right by this, please!

[Leafmite]

Are they the red ones or the ones with the long legs (shudder, shudder)? I would just soak them for a while once a week to get rid of newly hatching eggs or new occupants. Pesticides breed resistance as well as cause damage to you and the environment so it is best to use them on that which nothing else will kill, in emergencies, or on that which cannot be treated in other ways. Good luck!

[Daethen]

They are the reddish ones. They were almost the same color as the sphag. You know the color it turns after a while, not the new sphag color. They were about an inch long and had the hard looking body covering.

[wuness]

Whoa!!! If these are reddish, quick, and flexible, you have centipedes. Centipedes are carnivores and do no harm whatsoever to your orchids. They eat bugs, some of which may harm your orchids. To me, they're a good thing. If they find nothing to eat in your mount, or eat all that's available, they'll move on to your other plants and look for critters there. They're your friends. Let 'em do their thing.

God (speaking through wuness)

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Centipedes have 1 pair of legs per segment.

Millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per segment.

[Daethen]

Why do good bugs have to be so creepy looking????