Insect Pests

Sooner or later, no matter how diligent you are in maintaining the cleanliness of your plants and growing areas, some of nature's nasty critters are going to come for a visit. If you pay fairly close attention to your plants, inspecting them periodically, most of them can be "sent packing" with some simple remedies. But, before you know what remedy to apply, you'll need to know a bit about your adversary.

While there are plenty of creatures out there that are ready and willing to munch on that favorite plant, we're fortunate in that there are only a handful of insects that are commonly seen in orchid collections. We've put together brief descriptions of the symptoms of their presence, their habits, and some fairly simple controls:

Aphids	Fungus Gnats
Mealybugs	Scale
Spider Mites	Thrips

If you want more details, or are looking for info on other pests, we suggest that you take a look at the "Crop Protection" index on the Hark Orchideen website from Germany. Click here to check it out.

As usual, if you feel that something here needs improvement, or you can add something, please feel free to let us know!