Thinking through my cunning plan
 

I've been super pleased with the results of just sticking a bunch of my new orchid purchases into a sort of hydro S/H situation by sticking them into my pond's waterfall gravel. Due to the fact that a leak is currently causing my pump to turn off dang near every night, the stupid thing ended up being more of a flood and ebb system. The orchids seem to LOVE it.

So do bugs and slugs and whatever else. We just got our first cool even which made me suddenly think about how I'm going to need to eventually move them inside aaaand my Phrag is spiking. I was trying to figure out the best way to bring them in, and in the case of the phrag, make sure it's bug free enough to hang out on display for a week or two.

I was thinking about letting them fully dry out and see what just runs off that way, and then submerging the pots and media fully in soapy (weak non detergent soap) water for fifteen to twenty minutes. Any suggestions?

Your dry/soap-down plan might get rid of some of the bugs, but will surely stress the plants unnecessarily.

Buy a decent insecticide and treat the plants thoroughly three times at one-week intervals and be done with it.

I have become a big fan of Azamax. It is an insecticide/miticide containing azadirachtin, the active ingredient in neem oil, but without the oil, which can burn plants. Unlike most insecticides, it kills juveniles in addition to adults, and act as a repellent.

I didn't even think about systemics because I don't use them on anything, but I have a little bottle of Bonide Systemic Insect Control with acephate. That should work right?

I hope it works for you. Let us know. :)

Acephate is my go-to "big gun". Again, three treatments...

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According to the sheets, acephate shouldn't bother the koi unless I got excessive with it long term, but none the less I decide to take everything out and treat them in a bucket and give them a day to absorb and a quick rinse before I stick them back in the pond. Then twice more weekly.

Good move doing it separately. I would not even consider putting them back in the water supply with the koi for at least a month.

Acephate is an organophosphate. I suspect that a dose adequate for killing insects would wipe out the koi in a heartbeat.

I didn't calculate doses and stuff but it did appear that the koi people didn't think it was a huge problem for a little run off after to get in, but these stupid fish have been so much work that it's not even worth it. Instead, I am going to just bring them all in for the winter super early. I realized today that I have essentially no organic materials in almost any of the mixes, so once I rinsed them gently and set them on the patio table a few days for dosing and I don't see any bugs anyway. I went ahead and brought them in the house but I am keeping them away from the other plants for at least that second dose and making sure nothing hatches for a week or two.

Step 1, clean the kitchen.
Step 2, wait to see if she notices I covered the dining room table.

Step 1, clean the kitchen.
Step 2, wait to see if she notices I covered the dining room table.