Dealing with pests with fly spray
 

Today I noticed a few little flying/jumping sap-sucking pests on my orchids. I’m not too sure of the right name for them but I suspect they are just called leafhoppers.

I was thinking that as most of my orchids are in confined spaces while I build our new house, I could just use ordinary fly spray (bug spray, insect spray - the stuff you buy from the supermarket and has names like Raid or Baygon). However I haven’t heard of anyone using these to deal with orchid pests. Is there a reason?

Cheers
Arron

thats an australian brand that I have never heard of.
It used to be that pesticides were no good for sensitive plants like orchids so there is always an aversion to use an untested poison on our orchids but these days they are all safe for orchids as far as I know. It's still always wise to test it on a patch first and see if it causes any negative side effects.

I use bug Clear Ultra 2 available at the supermarkets here. Got rid of some mealy bugs and mites instantly but can't seem to get rid of thrips

The Raid I’m familiar with should not be sprayed on plants, but there certainly are mainstream pesticides commonly sold at hardware stores and the like that are usable. If it’s labeled for roses, it’s generally acceptable for orchids.

I picked up a bottle of Bioadvanced (Bayer) 3-in-1 Insect, mite and disease control last autumn for treating my collection prior to bringing it in for the winter, and I have seen no signs of phytotoxicity.