et’s admit it, most of us have been faced with a pest/disease problem at one point or another, despite the best care and attention we give our orchids. Do the words crown rot, mealies, scale or rot sound familiar to you? When I first started with orchids two and a half years ago, I naively thought that I would never have any problems with my orchids since they were indoors. Boy was I wrong! I have had minor problems like small spots of rot, and bigger problems, like a large scale mealy bug invasion. Reaching for the bottle of commercial chemicals products will usually get the job done, but why use those when there are plenty of useful, less harmful (to us at least) things in our own homes? There are many home remedies that can help the overly anxious orchid addicts rid their much loved orchids of pests and rot issues.

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ugs create a host of problems and can seriously damage a collection if left untreated. Scales, mealybugs, aphids and mites are the most common orchid pests. You will find that bugs are attracted to certain genera. For instance, mealybugs like phalaenopsis and bifoliate cattleyas, while scale prefers cattleyas and cymbidiums. Aphids are attracted to the buds and flowers of dendrobiums and oncidiums, but they do not discriminate between orchid genera. Spider mites will show up when there is a lack of humidity especially on dendrobiums, oncidiums and cymbidiums.

Always keep a close eye out for bug damage. They like to hide under leaves and sheathing and, if left untreated, they will quickly spread through your collection. By removing old sheathing once it becomes loose, it will be easier to recognize the early signs of an insect problem. Scale depletes chlorophyll leaving yellow spots on the foliage. They also love to feast on the tender eyes at the base of the pseudobulbs. Aphids will leave a sticky residue on the foliage below where they are eating. Spider mites can be identified by the silvery scarring they leave under the leaves. The good news is that most orchid pests are easily exterminated. Home and garden sprays will provide a long list of bugs they will kill. We recommend spraying the plant, then manually cleaning it as much as you can with a Q-tip or toothbrush, followed by another treatment of spray. Follow up treatments after five to seven days may be necessary to fully eliminate the problem.
Schultz, Bayer and Ortho all carry a good line of sprays that are available at any garden center, hardware store or home improvement warehouse. For a less toxic approach, we recommend using denatured alcohol, neem oil or insecticidal soap. Remember to always be extra careful of what you spray, especially on the flowers, and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions to prevent plant and flower damage.

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This was my 90gal diamond shaped prior to the Operation Jungle Fever . Millipedes got so bad that I could count hundreds of them crawling all over the tank...it was disgusting!!! I did not want to rip my tank apart because I sunk a lot of work and money into making the background and water features, foggers, lights, etc. I embedded tubes and wires in the background, plus things were healthy and well rooted and growing beautifully.

I wanted to kill only millipedes and a few slugs, but nothing else. Pesticides and chemicals were out of the questions, since I kept dart frogs in the tank. Eventually they would go back into the tank.

I started experimenting with carbon dioxide - CO₂. It is heavier then air, thus easy to put into a tank. Any bug will eventually need air, so I figured it will die without any oxygen... Plants love CO₂. After the procedure the tank would just need to be vented for a little bit to replace the air. Seemed there would be no downside!

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