Attack by a squirrel, what should I do?
 

Hi guys,
Three months ago, my orchid was attacked by a squirrel after I repotted it around 3 weeks. Now some pseudobulbs shows some dark rotten spots and some leaves was wrinkle. Should I remove them?
Please help!

Thank you very much,

I don't see anything too serious. The plant looks a little dry. But it looks like a Cattleya and they do need to dry out between waterings, but not stay dry. You could very gently peel off some of the papery coverings around the older pseudo bulbs. Be careful not to damage any eyes or tiny new growths. They papery coverings provide a hiding place for insect pests.

I would just leave it as is and observe, making sure no dark spots begin to spread or turn soft and mushy. In nature orchids will be attacked by animals too sometimes.

Have you taken steps to prevent a recurrence?

Squirrel is good eatin', Just sayin'.....

How to prevent it? I have no idea. I might not take the orchid out during summer again. :(

I keep my plants outside on a balcony and had this happen to me once, I put some cinnamon on the little bites and that help with any infections on the plant.

After that happen I started leaving sunflower seeds out in the balcony away from my orchids and the squirrels have never bother my plants again.

so you can try that next time you put your plant out.

You have to keep the squirrels from your plants. The only thing that works is a very sturdy metal cage with no gaps whatsoever. Providing alternate food sources just attracts more squirrels and other pests, who will soon run through the other food and move on to your plants.

If you have a fenced yard, having a dog (or even a cat) is a deterrent to squirrels.

If you have trees or other plants that can sometimes drop edible seeds and fruits onto your plants, you need to check pots & clean out any edibles. I have a maple & a holly in spring and a persimmon in the fall that drop seeds/fruits, I get squirrels and tipped pots if they are not kept cleaned out.

I would also recommend a dog, but if that isn't feasible a decent quality air rifle will suffice. Just make sure to eat what you shoot.

A dog might be helpful, but watch out - even they may have an 'orchid tooth', like in my case... :D