Ants and insects - Orchid Board

Leisurely · #1 (**permalink**) 04-29-2008, 10:00 PM

I am beginning to see large numbers of very tiny ants in my greenhouse. When I get ants I also get some scale insects. I usually spray the entire house with Orthene wettable powder and kill the ants thus eliminating the insect problem. My concern is this: At this time of year the greenhouse is bursting with flowers making it impossible to do a thorough spraying without getting the flowers wet.
The ratio calls for 3/4 tsp. per gal. of water. Does anyone know if that strength of solution will cause flower damage.
I would certainly hate to damage or kill any of the flowers . Your advice would be appreciated.

Leisurely · #2 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 01:57 PM

Well, I got no response to my question so I answered it myself. I went ahead and thoroughly sprayed orthene throughout the entire greenhouse with a hose-end sprayer. I used 3/4 tsp. wettable powder to one gallon of water. It has been three days since I sprayed and I see no damage to any of the flowers. So, for those of you who are interested, you can control insects on your flowers without the risk of any damage by using orthene. It could present a problem though for people who grow inside their home because the odor is pretty bad for about a week.

Ross · #3 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leisurely

Well, I got no response to my question so I answered it myself. I went ahead and thoroughly sprayed orthene throughout the entire greenhouse with a hose-end sprayer. I used 3/4 tsp. wettable powder to one gallon of water. It has been three days since I sprayed and I see no damage to any of the flowers. So, for those of you who are interested, you can control insects on your flowers without the risk of any damage by using orthene. It could present a problem though for people who grow inside their home because the odor is pretty bad for about a week.

Jerry, sorry you got no response, but this info is valuable. Hopefully someone will keep this post up top for those that have this question.

Dorothy · #4 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 05:44 PM

Jerry - next time no one answers .. bump the thread so it appears as recently posted ( you can just post -

).. sometimes threads get lost in the shuffle

Leisurely · #5 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 05:50 PM

Thanks Dorothy. I will try that next time.

Leisurely · #6 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 06:06 PM

Ross, when I think of what I did in retrospect, I probably should have done it differently. Not knowing for sure, I took a big chance of possibly damaging all of my flowers. I have about 400 plants and at least one third are in bloom. Seventy five are phalaenopsis and the rest are various types. I feel a little stupid now for not taking a couple of plants and spraying them first to determine the safety. The only thing I could think of at the time was to get rid of all of the ants.

Jerry Delaney · #7 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 11:56 PM

Jerry,
I am sorry that I didn't see this when you really needed it. A personal observation over the years would make me say that if you use Orthene soluble powder there will be no damage to your flowers. However, if you use liquid Orthene it can be disastrous on your flowers. The real culprit is not the Orthene its self but the petroleum based carrier. A quick caution; some say that Orthene can cause chromosome breaks and it is best not to use it if you are spraying stud plants that may be used for hybridizing within the next 6-8 months. I have no idea if this is true or not. The majority of the hybrids that I have made look like a little chromosome damage might have been a GOOD thing!

Leisurely · #8 (**permalink**) 05-07-2008, 10:57 AM

Thanks for the info Jerry. I won't be affected because I don't do any hybridizing.

vmax3000 · #9 (**permalink**) 05-20-2008, 11:13 PM

Hey guys,
Just a random thought here and possibly late on the uptake, but ants are "shepherds" and the scale are their "sheep". Kid you not. I have gotten some ant bait to try and eliminate the "herders". I have fought scale continuously, it seems, for the last couple of years and a good friend (who I got to join OB recently

) asked me if I was having an ant problem...Yup. I will let you know results, if you are interested.

...or maybe not!?!?

Leisurely · #10 (**permalink**) 05-21-2008, 09:36 AM

Please keep us informed. I haven't seen any ants since I sprayed orthene but they are likely to come in from the landscape. After I sprayed I put out Harris Roach Tablets which is boric acid in a pill form. It works on roaches and ants and is safe for children and pets. I needed to eliminate colonies of them so I had to get out the big guns in the beginning. The baits should keep them under control now. A Shepherd and his sheep is a good analogy. I have heard it said for a long time that ants farm insects for the honeydew that is secreted.