I don't do well with bark for the orchids and, after trying LECA, I have no regrets. It is very nice not to have to pot the orchids into new medium every year or, in December, do an emergency re-pot for a Cattleya due to the medium retaining too much water. LECA saves quite a bit of money over the long-term, too. Moving the orchid to a larger pot is easier, too, as you don't need to pick off the old pieces of bark and, as already said, you just drop the entire thing into the larger pot. I do use sphagnum moss now and then but mostly, I have relied on red lava rock and LECA as my mediums.
The first replacement medium I used was red-lava rock. I even grew Paphs in this with success (watered daily or twice a day). I do like the LECA better as it doesn't do as much harm to the roots when you first re-pot orchids into it. I think LECA is the perfect medium.
I would be careful to read and follow all those cautions when using pesticides. Believe me, if the chemical companies did not have to put these warnings on the bottles, they wouldn't. However, the effects of pesticides and fungicides are well known and documented and by using them safely, you minimize the risks.
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