Welcome to OrchidsForum.com. We are a friendly online community for Orchid Growers all over the world. If you haven't joined yet we invite you to register and join our community. Hope to see you on our forums!

Problem guests

Discussion in 'Issues, Disease and Pests' started by Marni, Sep 20, 2019.

  1. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,773
    Likes Received:
    3,572
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Problem guests #1.jpg Before I go to great lengths to get better photos I thought I would ask if anyone can identify these from this image. These were in the cool house. It looked like I found a whole family so these may be juveniles. They are on the back of the mounts and I assume they are eating detritus, but would like to know for sure.
     
  2. Paul Bernardeau

    Paul Bernardeau New Member

    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    1
    They almost look like barklice as they are called, also related to booklice. They like Humid places with mold. Yours looks different though.
     
  3. pcolman

    pcolman Well-Known Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    1,073
    Likes Received:
    1,578
    Location:
    NYC
    They do look like book lice or bark lice. They're not harmful to your plants, but imagine they could get annoying in large numbers. Most advice suggests lowering your humidity. I don't think that will happen. However, one site recommended Cy-Kick for control. Since the active ingredient is cyfluthrin, Tempo should also work, or stuff like Talstar as well since it's another pyrethroid.
     
  4. Nisanisa

    Nisanisa Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    373
    Location:
    Indonesia
    To me they look like termites. we have many of them around here. They don't eat plants, but once I found them in my dendrobium pot, ruined the medium, and brought soil into the pot. Termites are capable to cause serious damage to a big building.
     
  5. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

    Messages:
    13,773
    Likes Received:
    3,572
    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    We do have termites here, but they don't live on surfaces where there is light.