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The orchid plant’s natural enemies include insects and other small creatures. The main pests are red spiders, cockroaches, thrips, woodlice, ants, and certain slugs and snails.

To grow orchids successfully, you must take measures to defeat these pests before they can damage your plants. There are specific things you can do for each kind of pest. Attention to cleanliness will do the most toward defending your plants from pests.

Pests come in on imported plants, despite the best efforts of agricultural control officials.But even nursery grown orchids can have pests clinging to their roots, or hiding in their potting soil.

Don’t bring any plant into your home until you have inspected it thoroughly. Immediately kill all the pests that you are able to find through visual inspection. If you don. The flowers too will be destroyed by these marauders, which is frustrating after you’ve lavished care and expense on a plant.

It is wise to treat every new plant with suspicion, especially if you already own other orchids. It’s an excellent idea put it in an “isolation” room or other structure for the first few days. If you find insects anywhere on it, don’t rest until you have completely got rid of them.

Pests cannot easily escape destruction if you wash every part of your plant’s leaves, bulbs and roots. Thoroughly cleansing the foliage and bulbs is the best procedure. Carefully tap the plant out of its pot, trim off any decayed roots, wash the good roots in clean water, and then re-pot using new material and a clean container.

If done with thoroughness, this is a good way to eradicate pests that a beginning grower would have to look closely for to see. Some pests might be seen in the shape of eggs. Others appear as insects but are so tiny they cannot be seen without a magnifying glass. However, a good cleaning regimen, as suggested, will destroy even the pests that you cannot see.

A good guide to orchid growing will have many more tips and suggestions for making sure that a pest doesn’t put an end to your prized plants. The most complete guide to today’s orchid care, in the opinion of many, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard’s guide is a complete course in itself, suitable for novices as well as the more experienced. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of information on many aspects of orchid cultivation.

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