The Orchid Garden

Earthworms, Earwigs, & Slugs…UGH!

Question:

HELP!  My orchids, having sat outside under a nice tree for several weeks (doing wonderfully well!), have become home to earthworms and slugs. They all have nice new shoots/leaves on them, but I’m worried about future tremor if they get chewed up down in the roots. Also, I took some out of the pots and saw earwigs. What’s the cure/prevention? I don’t have a greenhouse yet.    Thanks.

Response:

HELP!  My orchids, having sat outside under a nice tree for several weeks (doing wonderfully well!), have become home to earthworms and slugs. They all have nice new shoots/leaves on them, but I’m worried about future tremor if they get chewed up down in the roots. Also, I took some out of the pots and saw earwigs. What’s the cure/prevention? I don’t have a greenhouse yet.   Thanks.

        Wouldn’t worry about the earthworms…  But, the best way to get rid of the nasties is to take the pot and put it in a big bucket of water. Everything that requires oxygen (read, all insects) will come to the surface eventually.  You might want to put a few drops of soap in there too, to reduce surface tension.  Change water between plants. Rob  Rob’s rules to live by:                          | Send me seeds! Will flask    (1) There is always room for one more orchid.  |  for food.    (2) There is always room for two more orchids. |    (3) There is no rule 3.                        | Don’t go to grad school!     (3a) When one has insufficient credit to buy  |            more orchids, obtain more credit.        | Future Starving PhD. http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~rhalgren| http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~rhalgren/

Response:

Donna, Come see mine.  I have a bunch outside.  Had a few anys, but got rid of them fairly quickly. Harold

Response:

Hi! you also might try placing a "ring" of diazinon (spelling?) on the ground around the orchid pots. It usually will slow down the earwigs and snails.  DON’t put it into the orchid pots.  It works with my herbs and other plants I have in my garden. Anita Schoenfeld

Response:

HELP!  My orchids, having sat outside under a nice tree for several weeks (doing wonderfully well!), have become home to earthworms and slugs. They all have nice new shoots/leaves on them, but I’m worried about future tremor if they get chewed up down in the roots. Also, I took some out of the pots and saw earwigs. What’s the cure/prevention? I don’t have a greenhouse yet.    Thanks.

The thing to worry about is slugs, snails, grasshoppers, and animals.   Try hanging the plants under the tree with pot hangers.  Also use snail and slug bait around your tables(especially around the base).  ALso look for ant hills within 100′ feet of the tree and treat with Ant bait and posion.  If you live with grasshoppers, like we have in Florida. about the only way to kill them is smashing them. And don’t forget the cattapillers, the can reek havoc very quickly.   Archie — Archie Green, Wacahoota Orchids  See our Web Listing at http://www.wacahoota.com

Response:

Donna, Come see mine.  I have a bunch outside.  Had a few anys, but got rid of them fairly quickly. Harold

It seems to me that some little benches for your orchids would solve some of your problems, and spare you having to contaminate your soil with Diazinon. Sarah

Response:

It seems to me that some little benches for your orchids would solve some of your problems, and spare you having to contaminate your soil with Diazinon. Sarah

By pure luck, I found a teak slotted bench at a garage sale for $5 that I can just barely crowd all my cymbidiums onto.  It has cut down on crawly-thing infestation substantially. I have one mini-cym that seems to be dying of rot, and I don’t know why. All the others appear healthy.  I cut back the watering schedule to every other week about a month ago.  I’m hoping that helps.  In fact, all the plants are going to every other week watering, with twice-a-day misting.   I haven’t noticed any detrimental effects so far, but it could be too early to tell. Everything is potted in fir bark with the exception of some catt seedlings that I’m trying in Klehm’s peat-based potting medium. The point of all this?  None really.  Just rambling. Charleen

Response:

Sarah. You need to talk to Donna about "little benches".  I have em.  It did not stop the ants, however. I think anytime you put plants outside, you are going to have a pest battle.   I am even having a tug of war with a squirel over my mini-cats in my Vanda house. BUT, I halfway expected outside to be a challenge. Harold

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sarah. You need to talk to Donna about "little benches".  I have em.  It did not stop the ants, however. I think anytime you put plants outside, you are going to have a pest battle. I am even having a tug of war with a squirel over my mini-cats in my Vanda house. BUT, I halfway expected outside to be a challenge. Harold

Harold, I confess that I have the little benches, the wire plants stands,and the whole nine yards … up on the porch to boot, and the ants are all over my orchids.  But Squirrels…that would be more than I could take. Sarah

Response:

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