What scale insects look like on an orchid: control measures and prevention

Description, photo of the parasite and the affected plant

The pest feeds on plant sap. The scale insect is covered with a kind of shield, so it cannot be destroyed simply with a chemical. In the photo you can see what scale insects look like on orchids.

The scale insect sticks to the orchid leaf and drinks juice from it.

Females and males are covered with a shield that protects them from harmful influences. At the same time, males are quite mobile, and females are attached to one place and give birth to children. At one time, a female can produce 3 thousand larvae , which remain mobile for a short period of time.

Signs of appearance. How dangerous is the pest?

Scale insects and false scale insects have a rounded body. All pests of this species have one characteristic feature, by the presence of which they can be identified. This is a fairly dense shell in the form of a shield, the color of which can vary from light brown to black.

On orchids, these pests look like small growths or tubercles. They can settle on the stems of a plant, or on the underside of a leaf, choosing places near the veins. But over time, a colony of scale insects can infect other parts of the flower.

What is the danger of an orchid being affected by scale insects?:

• Parasites suck out the juices of the plant, weakening it.
• Fungal infections spread in the sticky coating secreted by scale insects.
• False scale insects are capable of injecting saliva containing a poisonous secretion. This can be noticed by small brown sores on the stems, leaves or inflorescences of the orchid.
• Colonies of scale insects slow down the photosynthesis processes of the plant.
• Leaves heavily infested with scale insects dry out and die.

Types of scale insects

differs from the false scale insect :

• Scale insects have a convex shell;
• False scale insects have a flat shell.

There are different types of scale insects that are found on orchids:

• Californian;
• Brown;
• Oleander;
• Palm;
• Cactus.

You can add scale insects to your home collection by purchasing a new plant that is already infected and has larvae on it.

IMPORTANT! Any new plant must be quarantined, where it will stand separately from other plants for 2 weeks.
This time is necessary to ensure the health of the plant.

How to identify an infection?

Scale insects prefer the hard leaves of orchids, on which they are located on both sides. They do it like this:

• They stick to one place;
• Pierce the leaf;
• And they suck the juice.

Later, a small hole with a yellow border remains . And there are a lot of such bites. All this causes great harm to the orchid. Since the number of holes grows rapidly and soon the sheet:

• Turns yellow;
• Dries out;
• And it disappears.

  
  If treatment is not started in time, the orchid's leaf may dry out.

In this case, the waste product of the scale insect is a sticky substance located on the leaf plate. It attracts sooty fungus, which further accelerates the death of the plant.

Signs that the plant is affected by scale insects:

1. Small parasites attach to all parts of the plant and this is noticeable by the light brown growths;
2. When pressed, they are easily removed;
3. The leaves have a transparent sticky coating;
4. Leaf plates become deformed, fade and turn yellow, starting from the edge of the leaf.

If a scale insect is detected, it is worth starting treatment as quickly as possible so that it does not affect the entire orchid bush.

Thrips on orchids

The thrips orchid is no exception among other indoor plants; they can also settle on it. There are several types of pests called thrips, you will get to know them below. Miniature parasites are very dangerous for flowers of tropical origin and not only, as they feed on the juices of the plants on which they live. As a result, it fades: the leaves dry out and the flowers wither, and the roots also decline. How can you avoid these terrible pests from appearing in your life and the life of your plant? What methods of struggle really help get rid of the “enemy”? If these pests appeared on your plant, but they were not there before, then where did they come from? You can find the answers to these questions in this article.

Thrips should not be confused with other insects. The bugs live inside the stem, leaves and flowers of the plant; they are very small and not so easy to notice. Thrips have a body length not exceeding 1 mm, very flexible and resourceful, mobile insects, move quickly and hide very skillfully.

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Thrips could have come to you from wildflowers, garden flowers, or from the purchase of a new plant. The insect is difficult to notice and can only be seen with a magnifying glass. Thrips are also often called fringed-winged and bladder-footed insects.

Once on a plant, this insect feeds on its juices, which causes it to become lethargic and shorten the flowering period. There are a huge number of varieties of this parasite, but not all of them harm orchids. Specific species pose a danger to orchids, namely:

• tobacco thrips,
• Californian,
• American,
• Dracaena

The insect can be detected by black spots on the plant; these are waste products of the parasite. Due to the fact that thrips feed on the vital sap of the plant, the flower’s immunity weakens and it becomes easily accessible to fungal diseases.

It is very important to detect this parasite in the early stages of flower disease. This can be done by carefully examining the orchid with a magnifying glass.

Larvae are more difficult to find than adults. The larva has a whitish-transparent color, and the adult is dark in color. Take a close look at your plant using a magnifying glass. Do not forget to also inspect the roots of the flower, leaves on both sides and axils, as well as the points of development, growth of the plant, petals, buds, peduncles and buds. It's great if you have experience with thrips so you can spot them without effort.

The pest can be recognized by small black dots on the leaves of plants. Don't let this scare you, it's all just insect feces that helped discover it. If there are brown or dark spots on the orchid leaves, dry, without pus, you know that this is a female thrips that has laid larvae. By opening the stain, you can find the offspring of the pest.

There is another popular method of detecting the parasite - shaking the plant's flower stalk. Holding the flower above the water, you need to shake the peduncle by tapping it. If thrips is there, it will fall into the water.

Control measures

How to get rid of a pest? The first immediate step when a scale insect is detected is to separate the infected specimen into a quarantine zone.

This is necessary so that the males do not run over to neighboring flowers. Especially if the flowers are very dense.

During the entire treatment, the flower is in the quarantine zone and even 2 weeks later remains in it. This is necessary in order to be completely sure that the pest is no longer on the flower.

Way to get rid of scale insects:

1. It is necessary to mechanically remove all visible shields, since the chemical will not get under them during processing;
2. Wash all leaves and flower stalks with soapy water, getting rid of sticky residue;
3. Only after this do they begin to process the plant.

If the infestation is small, then you can try to get rid of the insect using traditional methods , but with a large infestation they do not produce results.

Folk remedies

How to fight scale insects with folk remedies? Since this is not a new pest and people have been fighting it for a long time, there are certain folk remedies to get rid of it.

Garlic juice

To do this, cut off the tip of a clove of garlic and, using the protruding juice, treat the places on the leaf blades where the pest was noticed.

A folk remedy for fighting scale insects is rubbing the orchid leaves with garlic juice.

But if the damage occupies a large area, then the garlic is grated on a fine grater or crushed using another method, the main thing is that it releases juice and turns into pulp. After which this paste is spread on the affected leaf.

Olive oil

To do this, make a composition by mixing 2 tbsp. spoons of oil with a liter of water. The orchid is treated with this infusion with an interval of 7 days.

Soap and alcohol

To do this you need to mix :

• Liter of water;
• And 10 ml. alcohol;
• Adding 15 grams there. liquid soap or dishwashing detergent.

Mix everything thoroughly and wash the plant where the scale insect was noticed.

Biological agents

Fitoverm - fights scale insects quite well. It is used in cases where, for various reasons, it is impossible to carry out chemical treatment, and traditional methods do not help to completely get rid of it. This drug is of biological origin and is not dangerous for humans and their animals.

To make a solution of the drug, 2 ml. diluted in 200 gr. water and spray the affected plant . This drug can be used to treat other plants in the house to prevent the disease. You also need to wipe the place where the affected flower stood.

To completely remove scale insects, treatment is carried out three times after 7 days.

Fitoverm.

Promanal is considered non-toxic and is used at home not only against various types of scale insects, but also helps get rid of ticks and scale insects. It affects egg laying and the larvae die without hatching. When treating an orchid, it must be thoroughly sprayed so that the solution drips from the leaves. In this case, the substrate must also be treated, since it may contain eggs and larvae.

Promanal is a remedy that helps plants fight pests.

Avertin is a broad-spectrum drug designed to remove pests. It affects the nervous system of the pest, causing its paralysis. Processing is carried out according to the instructions indicated on the packaging.

Nemabakt - the weapon of this biological product is a nematode, which penetrates the scale insect larva and eats it. The drug is absolutely harmless to beneficial insects, people and pets. The nematode continues to fight the pest for quite a long time, and the latter has no chance of surviving against it.

Biological drug Nemabact.

Insecticides

If the orchid is completely affected by this harmful insect, then it is worth using chemicals that can save the plant. When working with such drugs, you must be careful and if they come into contact with the mucous membrane or skin of a person, you must rinse everything well under running water.

Permethrin

The drug is quite effective and one treatment is enough to remove the parasite.

Permethrin helps the orchid fight pests well.

Penetrates the scale insect through the skin.

Aktellik and Aktara

These drugs are treated three times with an interval of 5-6 days. It is very toxic and must be processed outside . Penetrates insects through the oral cavity.

Phosfamide and Methylmercaptophos

The drugs enter the insects through the sap of the plant, which becomes poisonous .

Whatever drug is chosen, it is diluted and used according to the instructions given on the package. Experienced flower growers believe that sometimes chemical treatment cannot be avoided when a large area in the greenhouse is infected or the flower itself is severely damaged by pests.

IMPORTANT! There is no need to increase the dosage or frequency of treatments - this can lead to the death of the plant.

Treatment: how to get rid of scale insects

It is very difficult to fight scale insects. But this does not mean at all that you cannot rid your flowers of unwanted tenants. First of all you need to:

1. Isolate the infected plant.
2. Take care to increase the humidity near the diseased flower. To do this, he needs to create a mini-greenhouse. This can be a glass jar or a plastic bag. The structure should be ventilated every day for at least half an hour.
3. Check other plants for infection. Even if nothing is noticeable yet, this does not mean at all that scale insects from the diseased plant have not moved onto them. In addition, scale insects usually hide, so you need to check the axils of the lower leaves, pseudobulb involucres and other similar hiding places. If this is not done, in just a few weeks the pests will be able to build up a large population.
4. Rinse the diseased plant with warm water. This will help wash away the young larvae and honeydew.
5. You should not use growth regulators and stimulants, as well as fertilizers containing nitrogen, at this time, as this will only worsen the situation.
6. Make sure there are no ants in the house, which is usually possible in the summer. These insects can spread pests to other plants, so if at least one individual is noticed in the house, action must be taken immediately.

Tip #2. Some of the males and larvae can be caught using sticky yellow plates, which are used to catch flies. The plates need to be changed every day.

Application of growth stimulants and nitrogen fertilizers

When getting rid of pests, you should not use :

• Various fertilizers;
• Growth stimulants.

At the time of illness, the orchid will not grow new leaves and it will not accept the stimulant. Therefore, an excess of nitrogen fertilizing will lead to softness of the leaf plates and the possibility of their rotting. All the flower needs is a poison that will rid it of the pest.

Methods of struggle: folk and chemical

When scale insects are detected in a small amount, they are removed using an ordinary brush or a cotton swab dipped in ethyl alcohol, and they try to apply it pointwise - directly on the pest’s shield, drying it and destroying the insect. This procedure is not always suitable for thin-leaved orchids - they get burns from exposure to alcohol, so this method is not safe to use on them.

The plant is bathed in warm water to get rid of sweet honeydew on the foliage and to wash away young individuals that have not had time to stick to the surface of the leaf blade.

After this, the orchid is isolated in another room, placed in a very bright place and covered with transparent plastic film on top to increase humidity, not forgetting to lift it daily and ventilate the flower. The quarantine lasts at least 2-3 weeks, and only after making sure that the pest has been destroyed, they remove the mini-greenhouse and observe the plant for some more time. Do not feed an infected orchid.

Folk recipes

A solution of laundry soap is used most often if the colonies of the pest that attacked the orchid are few in number. Usually an alcoholic agent is also added to it: 15 ml of liquid soap and 10 ml of denatured alcohol are dissolved in 1 liter of warm water. Plants are sprayed, but orchids with thin-skinned leaves are first tested and, if they react painfully, the solution is applied only to the pest using a brush.

Among other traditional methods, the following are used:

• Emulsion with olive oil - add 2 tablespoons of oil to 1 liter of water, mix and apply to the plant. The procedure is repeated after 7–10 days.
• Garlic - with a clove cut lengthwise, rub the affected areas on the orchid leaf or grind it into a paste and spread it on the pests.
• Infusion of tangerine or orange peels - 200 g of peels are crushed in a blender and poured into 1 liter of warm water. Infuse in a dark place for 5 days, then dilute half a glass of infusion in 2 liters of water and add a spoonful of grated laundry soap. The resulting solution is used to treat the plants once a week for a month to a month and a half.
• Fern decoction - 10 g of dry fern is poured with water and left for a day, then boiled for half an hour, cooled, filtered and sprayed on orchids for a week, having previously tested them for sensitivity to this product.

Chemicals

Used to treat orchids that are massively affected by a pest that has produced a new generation of young individuals. All drugs are divided into three groups:

1. Contact - entering the insect's body through the skin: pyrethrins and pyrethroids, the most popular of them are Spruzit-AF Schädlingsfrei (made in Germany), Permethrin.
2. Intestinal - penetrating inside the insect along with food: Actellik, Aktara, Arrivo and others.
3. Systemic - they enter the sap of the plant on which the pest feeds: Bi 58, Lizetan-Plus-Zierpflanzenspray and others.

Most preparations for combating scale insects, created on the basis of paraffin and other oils, are applied only to the affected areas, because they seal the pores of the plant and stop the access of oxygen to the tissues - the flower will simply suffocate. The well-known German-made product Promanal AF Neu eliminates the presence of pests from the orchid the very next day.

With chemical means, no matter how effective they turn out to be, it is necessary to repeat the treatment after a week or two, sometimes it is necessary to use insecticides up to 3-4 times.