Sow bugs are infestations that you will likely encounter in your home, greenhouse, or certain areas in your garden shed. They don’t come with hazards and aren’t on themselves, but they can become a nuisance with their consistent appearance.
However, they also only come around a little, except some conditions are satisfied, causing them to appear in your compound. So let us look at the details surrounding sow bugs, including the causes and solutions to implement.
Contents
What Are the Reasons for Sow Bugs Infestation on Orchids?
The reasons for sow bugs infestations on orchids are because of the increase in moisture content, and it can also be due to issues with the structure. It can also be because of decaying organic matter, and lastly, because of climate changes.
– Increasing Moisture Content
These types of bugs thrive most in locations with high moisture content supported by high humidity. This factor makes them move in search of occasions that satisfy these conditions and settle in your yard if it satisfies the conditions.
Their attraction mostly causes the infestation of these bugs you experience in dark and damp environments in your home. Other essential reasons can also be increasing moisture content, issues with the structure, or decaying organic matter around you.
You will notice these pill bugs present in places with poor drainage system channels and water leaks from bad plumbing. The increasing moisture also creates an increase in humidity which increases the number of pill bugs that you will come across, and they would begin to infest on them again.
– Issues with Structures
Structural complications allow the bugs to infest your home through cracks in the walls and other openings in the building structure. Their entry is not restricted to the gaps in walls alone but also roofs and foundations, providing room for them to breed, and to grow more in their number.
They mostly resort to these places if it needs to be properly ventilated and meets high moisture content condition for their infestation. The cracks also give them free entry into your building as they won’t only stay and breed in the ceilings but also the interior sections of your home.
In certain cases of an insect pest infestation, you can barely do anything to salvage the situation. In cases like this, you are likely to have lost a plant or two due to the aggressive infestation of the insect. I
This bug’s infestations only become aggressive when overpopulated, and their numbers have grown considerably. You find them confidently crawling around your orchid potting mix and plants with no leaves as they salvage everything edible to feed their rising population.
– Decaying Organic Matter
The cause of your bug infestation might also be due to decaying organic matter surrounding your home. Organic matter such as mulch, dead leaves, and debris of other plants contribute to creating the ideal environment for pill bug infestation, and this is a matter that would trigger their increase and
Other forms of organic matter that also support the infestation of these insects are compost creating the same effect for pill bugs. The effect increases when this factor combines with the increasing moisture surrounding your environment, increasing the bug numbers.
– Climate Changes
The changes in climate conditions also promote the infestation of these bugs in their search to get a comfortable environment. Sunny climates make these bugs search for a cooler environment making them resort to places with shades, moisture, or both.
Unlike fungal infections, when insects have been chased out of your garden, they rarely ever find their way back. Still, in cooler environments, they will reduce the severity of this situation but don’t show any effect after the infestation process. However, if the climate conditions fall too low, the infestation will also increase due to their demand for warm places.
What Are Efficient Solutions to Get Rid of Sow in Orchids?
The efficient solutions to get rid of sow bugs in orchids are to reduce the moisture content around them and to remove the organic debris surrounding the plant. You can also apply some insecticides and try to seal any cracks or holes around the pot.
The solutions you should implement when handling a bug infestation should help drive these insects away completely. You can use several methods to eliminate or ward off these insects to protect your environment.
– Moisture Reduction
Since the base of the stem of your orchid is where dampness and moisture are concentrated more than the rest of the plant above the soil, then improving air circulation around that part will also help. Instead of watering your plants, mist them with a spray bottle, so it has just enough to keep them going and not enough to foster an infestation.
As you reduce the amount of water that you give to irrigate, the bugs will not thrive as much and even though orchids like water, but not when it is in excess. Since these plants thrive in environments with high humidity levels, it is vital that you accurately regulate your watering schedule to prevent creating a damp environment where they could grow and thrive. These bugs multiply very quickly on an orchid, spreading even faster from one plant to another.
Before you know it, you have a garden we sow bug infestation. When you notice these bugs on your plant leaves and in the soil, the first thing to do is to make the environment uncomfortable for them, so stop watering too much or misting. When handling the infestation, reduce your watering frequency as much as possible and induce dry spells more frequently.
– Removal of Organic Debris
Waste in and around your orchid plant serves as food and a hiding place for sow bugs. It also acts as the perfect environment to lay and hatch their eggs. Most of the time, the organic water results from decomposing potting mix, dead leaves, or wilted blooms after the blooming cycle.
Proper garden maintenance is all you need to cater to this issue. Most orchids don’t need to be trimmed, but you should do it after they’ve bloomed because they shed some leaves and flower buds that are wilting. When pruning your orchid, ensure it is done with sterilized equipment, which has been treated with fungicide before use.
After trimming your orchids, remove any dead leaves and other parts that might fall off. This will attract insects that may lay their eggs and cause bacteria to spread. When decomposing potting mix is the issue, you should change the orchid potting mix for a new one. When doing this, avoid any spare change that might stress your orchid and slow its recovery and adaptation to the new environment.
While they have good durability, they are organic substances that will break down sooner or later. On a standard, your orchid potting mix should be changed every two years, and you can then use this opportunity to transfer your orchid into a bigger pot. The absence of any decomposing organic material reduces the breeding place of insect pests.
– Apply Some Insecticides
As an orchid gardener with beautiful orchids with stunning blooms and lush leaves, remember that insect pests are a non-negotiable factor in your garden. In some cases, these insects help with your plant growth. Some would also help the pollination process, and others help you eliminate dangerous insects without benefit to offer your plant.
Using diatomaceous earth and scented candles are some of the most effective ways to keep them out, as they cannot stand the strong scents of the essential oils or the repelling abilities of fossilized diatoms. Nonetheless, every insect visitation to your plant can likely become a full-blown infestation, especially when they lay eggs on it.
These insects, especially the crawling insects, will take over your plant and multiply very quickly. Applying insecticides as a part of your garden maintenance will help keep them away from your plant and raise your plant’s resistance level against these insects.
Opt for natural, organic insecticides to keep these pests away. Good options include rubbing alcohol on parts of your plant; You can mix dish soap, some water, and a bit of essential oil into a bottle and use it to spray your plant to keep sow insects away. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as a good insecticide option and they will be gone.
– Sealing of Cracks and Holes
The holes of the plant may be plugged with caulk, or with some cement, urethane expandable foam, steel wool, copper mesh, or other suitable sealant so if planting your orchid indoors, you will need to seal cracks around the windows of your orchid and prevent the insects from creeping in through the windows and taking refuge in your plant soil mix.
Use caulk cracks around windows, doors, and fascia boards to seal off holes, cracks, and crevices and keep insect pests away from your plant and from your home. It is even more devastating for indoor plants as they do not stick to the plants alone but begin to repopulate and spread around your home, giving you an expert-level infestation problem.
When treating insecticides, adding fungicide treatment to the procedure is also advised. It is because most insects are vectors for harmful pathogens that could invade your plant with a fungal infection much after the insects are gone. This way, you can protect your plant on two fronts and ensure its healthy growth.
Conclusion
At first glance, insect pests do not seem like a big deal, especially since they hunt each other and help with pollination, but here are several things to keep in mind when you have an infestation on your hands:
- Always check and control the insect population in your plant and garden. Intentionally search for eggs and destroy them before they hatch.
- When their population is not checked, they can quickly become a problem for your plants, threatening your orchid plant’s life, so reduce the moisture to get rid of them.
- Use organic insecticides and natural remedies when treating your orchid not to cause a pH imbalance or affect the chemical status of your orchid’s soil.
- Seal up all holes and crevices that can be a hiding or breeding place for these insect pests.
- When it gets out of hand and you start losing plants, do not hesitate to call in an expert to help.
Insect pests are easy to control when you take the right steps, and this guide is here to help you do just that, so take up these details and use them to get your sow bug issue from a top problem to nonexistent without any hindrances.
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