Here
is just an example of Part 10a of the 12 Part mini
course on “Insider’s Secrets on Growing and Caring
for Orchids Like a Pro”.
Orchid
Pest Control
Effective
orchid pest control starts with prevention.
Following some basic rules for the housing and handling of your orchids
will
prevent many infestations from happening, reduce the impact of any
pests that
get through your defenses, and give your orchids the best chance of
recovery
afterwards.
- Give
your orchids space. Overcrowded plants will tend to be less healthy
anyway, as they compete for sunlight, air and water. Plants that are
touching or overhanging each other provide an easy route for pests to
travel from plant to plant.
- Remove
the breeding grounds. Many orchid pests love to hide in dead leaves,
rotting vegetation and unhealthy parts of plants. Make sure you
constantly remove all this material from each of your orchids
individually as well as from the benches and ground around them.
- Be
hygienic. Wash your hands after handling any suspect plants or
materials. Keep all your tools spotlessly clean – many orchid
growers even sterilize their tools when they are cutting into a plant.
- Early
intervention. You should never have so many orchids in your collection
that you cannot handle each one regularly. Many orchid pests can only
be spotted by carefully examining individual plants. If you wait until
the infestation is visible from a distance, it may well be too late.
Once
they have appeared, orchid pests can be controlled in a
number of different ways.
Physical
Removal
This
is the first approach to controlling many orchid pests.
In the case of slugs and snails, placing baits (beer, damp wood, citrus
fruit
halves) overnight and disposing of them in the morning is a labor
intensive but
effective control method.
Small
numbers of scale insects and aphids can also be
removed either by hand or with a small cloth or sponge as part of
regular plant
inspections.
P.O.
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