Fungus Gnats?
 

I've always had a fascination for orchids. A year ago, my fiance bought me my first Phal., and then about 6 months ago, he bought me another Phal. Two days ago, I bought a Catt. at lowes (its a "bag baby"). About 2-3 months ago I bought some new soil to re-pot the the Phal's into slightly bigger/more decorative pots. I believe the plant mix I bought was Better-Gro orchid bark mix (the contents were damp). I just recently returned home from being out of town where I bought my Catt, and I was going to re-pot it because it is in such a small pot. After re-potting it, I went to do my weekly watering of my Phal's and there were little black 'fruit fly' type bugs flying around, I squished about 10 of them with my hands, I then looked into the bark mix, and there are extremely tiny (practically microscopic), round-bodied, practically clear insects crawling around on the bark. I tried to chase one with my finger, hoping it would 'hop' (hoping it was maybe a springtail) but to no avail, it just scampered around quickly. Would you say these are fungus gnats? I only water once weekly, sometimes once every 8-9 days, and I fertilize with Better-Gro every other time that I water. I'm scared that this may be an infestation that may be hard to cure and I just brought a new baby plant into the apartment. Any information at all would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I live in Pennsylvania. Thank you!!

It sounds like your potting medium is staying too wet. Is it dry before you rewater and are your pots just big enough for the root mass? Here is a link on fungus gnats you might find interesting. Fungus Gnats
Joann

Oops, I forgot....Welcome to the Orchid Board!
Joann

Thank you! Yes, it typically is dry between waterings. The only thing that I can think of.. is that I was speaking to someone on here the other day because i was having salt build up on the medium and found that I must not have been flushing the pot/medium enough between fertlizing. So, I flushed it very heavily, and it had remained very wet for a while. I read somewhere on there that you shouldn't buy the pre-dampened orchid bark mixes, and someone even said that they actually bake their mix in the oven before use. Have you ever heard of doing that? Reason I'm asking is I wonder if it'd be beneficial to take them out of their mediums and put the bark mix on a few baking sheets for a little while? I was also reading about Physan-20.. problem is I'm not quite sure where I'd purchase it from locally..

Oh, and as for the pot size, they're 8 inch pots. They do have a drain-hole that empties into a dish.

Search 'fungus gnats' on this board and you'll get a plethora of great threads that might offer some insight.

As to round, clear, crawling insects, I'm not sure about that. Not well versed in insect pests yet.

Thank you, I did some reading late lastnight after I figured out how to search using this website. I plan on attempting to find Physan-20 locally.. as for right now, I grabbed some yellow construction paper and cut into long pieces and rolled them up and rubbed vaseline on them and stuck them on the outside edges of the pot to hopefully catch the adults. I'm just quite curious about the little round-bodied insects.. I wish I knew what they were and if the Physan-20 would help kill those off too. Does anyone know if lowes/home depot carry Physan-20? If it comes down to it, I'll order it offline. Thank you!!

I don't know if HD/Lowes carries Physan products.
I would not reuse your potting media, even after baking it.
I believe 8" pots are way too big for your plants and that is probably one of the reasons for the gnats. The center of the media is not drying out but the top and sides are. Most HD/Lowes big bag babies are ready for 3-4" pots, the smaller ones 2-3" pots. Your phals should probably go into a 4-5" pot depending on the roots. Most orchids are planted according to root mass.
Joann

I've never found Physan at HD or Lowes, but those on the coast have found it at there's.

I HAVE found it at larger garden centers and nurseries though.

The cheapest I've found it online is from Ray Barkalow.
https://www.firstrays.com/cgi/cart/commerce.cgi

Joann makes some great points.
Plant in a pot that just big enough for the root ball- otherwise, the media takes too long to dry in the middle and it leads to rotting.

And of course, throw that old media out in the garden for mulch- no reusing.

The only place I have been able to find Physan 20 is the hydroponics shop. I've tried HD, Lowes and multiple garden centers.

Wynter,

Are you having trouble with something other than the Fungas Gnats?
Physan 20 isn't meant for killing insects if that's why your looking to buy it. It's for controlling Algae, Fungus & Virus. It is also used to disinfect and sanitize & deodorize.
You can sometimes find it cheaper than buying it in a store or online on eBay.

Judi

Thank you to everyone for responding! I will be buying new, smaller pots and new bark mix this weekend, as well as ordering the physan 20. I put the Phal's in bigger pots because one of them has a leaf that is 12 inches long and it didn't seem right to keep them in such a small pot that may tip over, and the leaf were laying on the counter-top. The new Catt. that I got is in a 5" pot, which was only 1" larger than the pot that it came in when I got it (it was a large bag baby). I'm going to make an attempt to post pictures of them in their pots.
SweetJBlue: I am having problems with fungus gnats, but no one has yet been able to determine what that round/oval bodied clear microscopic crawling insects are.

Opinions needed on the bark mix, I read that I shouldn't buy it pre-dampened. What are your opinions and do you suggest a specific mix. I would have to purchase it from Lowes or Home Depot due to where I'm located at. Also, do you have a preferred type of pot to grow them in? I wasn't big on the look of the clay pots, so that is why I got the decorative ones.

I hope these pictures work

.

Hey Wynter01Beauty, I had the fungus gnat problem when I was using the Miracle Grow Orchid Mix after I changed the medium the problem went away. Good Luck!

Beautiful plants ...use some mosquito dunks add to your water that you ar going to use to water and use it to water a bit ....kils the fungus gnats

Good tip, John! Would never have thought of that.

It is indeed but I can not claim the credit GIN told me

Thank you, I'll keep that in mind while I'm shopping this weekend.

Physan 20 isn't an insecticide... almost positive that's not gonna help you with insects. It's a fungicide/algaecide/virucide. I get mine from rePotme Orchid Supplies - Orchid Mix - Orchid Pots - Orchid Care - Orchid Fertilizer. Really great site and has everything you need to get rid of your bugs.

Soooo I just visited that website, and I think I fell in love. Everything I could ever possibly need in one website?! Hooray! My biggest concern is that I kind of worry about ordering things online.. I know it's a big trend, and I love the idea, but I'm currently dealing with online-related credit card fraud, and honestly, I've only ever ordered 4 things off-line and now I'm dealing with false charges and insane phone calls on a daily basis.. So, I'll be thinking about it, I'll have to talk it over with the fiance, but I greatly appreciate it, I love that website (and this one of course!).

You can call and pay over the phone or they also except paypal...

Wynter,

It sounds like you have two pests bothering you. The first are probably fungus gnats. They are "mostly" harmless. More of an annoyance than anything, but they do indicate that you have some rotting occurring in your pots. I know that you have a small collection, but I have had incredible success with Pinguicula (butterwort) plants. I have two different species (Pinguicula ehrlesiae and P. agnata). They trap fungus gnats on their sticky leaves and digest them. Also, they put up charming little flowers. Mine have stayed in near-constant bloom since I got them and have become beloved members of my collection. You can buy them on-line or at an orchid grower quite cheaply.

I believe that your other pests are Collembola (aka springtails). These are also not particularly harmful to plants, but also annoying. Also an indication that your pots are staying too wet. They are pretty short-lived and if you change your watering habits, they should just go away. You can learn more at this link: https://class-insecta.com/Collembola__Springtails.html

Hope this helps!

John