What eats orchids is a worrying question that gardeners have often been left wondering what is eating their orchids after finding their plants completely or partially devoured by unknown organisms. This can be incredibly frustrating for green thumbs that don’t know the symptoms left by different pests that feed on orchids.
Apart from the common orchid pests and diseases that attack these plants, there are several animals and insects that feed on their leaves, flowers, roots, and stems. This article will provide ten of them you are likely to encounter and how to prevent them from causing additional damage to your orchids.
Contents
10 Common Insects and Animals That Eat Orchids
1. Slugs and Snails
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Slugs and snails commonly attack young orchids’ leaves, flowers, stems, and roots, leaving a slimy trail in their wake. However, they are more prevalent and cause significant damage to orchids grown outdoors or in greenhouses because they can’t easily access houseplant, but if they do, it would be due to the moisture.
These locations make it easy for them to hide under branches, shrubs, or any other place that provides warmth and moisture. You can remove these mollusks by handpicking them or placing barriers around your orchids, or even a beer trap that would have them drawn.
2. Spider Mites
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Spider mites are tiny pests the size of a full stop that feeds on orchids by sucking nutrients from the tissues of their leaves. These orchid mites don’t cause severe damage in small numbers, but they reproduce quickly, becoming large and causing severe problems for the plant in a short time.
For this purpose, the best way to get rid of them is by regularly applying neem oil or insecticidal soaps until the infestation is gone.
3. Caterpillars
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Caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies that feed in between the veins of leaf and flower tissues. Adult caterpillars start feeding from the leaf margins until they’ve devoured the entire leaf, as they love to feed on them.
One of the most effective ways to destroy caterpillars on your orchids is to use Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium that produces toxic proteins, and your orchids will no longer look crooked because of their bites.
4. Grasshoppers
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Grasshoppers are intelligent insects that target new growths and flowers of orchids. For this, you have to find grasshopper infestations on orchids grown on or near grasslands, and they can cause severe damage quickly.
You can apply diatomaceous earth to kill them or apply a coating of Carbryl or Confidor on them, and they will no longer feel welcome.
5. Cockroaches
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Cockroaches are some of the most annoying creatures to have in your home and feed on your orchids’ leaves, roots, and flowers after months of care and hard work. Roaches can attack indoor and outdoor orchids, depending on which location provides more warmth.
You can control these pests by using a pyrethrum solution or natural deterrents like garlic or tea tree oil spray. This will also help you as you won’t see them growing and producing numerous their eggs around the leaves.
6. Beetles
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Beetles feed on orchid leaves and flowers and lay eggs in their pseudobulbs, feeding on the plant’s tissues when they hatch. On the bright side, you should know that the beetles are most active at night, so they are dormant during the day and can easily be dislodged by shaking the plants.
Ensure you place a large cloth or paper underneath the plant while shaking, so you can collect the beetles and crush them.
7. Rats and Mice
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Rats and mice are common house rodents, but they become pests when they start feeding on the flowers and pseudobulbs of your orchids. If you eliminate them before the infestation worsens, your orchids might survive because the damage would be big.
Otherwise, they can do severe damage to them. You can eliminate these rodents using a pest repellent, placing some humane tape, or by planting mint leaves around your orchids as they find the smell offensive, and they will no longer aim to come again.
8. Fungus Gnats
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Fungus gnats feed on orchids and have an irritating habit of flying around people’s faces. However, they are completely harmless since they don’t bite. They are only attracted to moist, warm soil, where they lay their eggs, allowing their larvae to feed on the fungi in the orchid’s roots, decaying and weakening the plant.
You can use yellow sticky traps to trap adult fungus gnats and Bacillus thuringiensis to feed on their larvae so they won’t have time to hatch and eat the plant.
9. Deer
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If you grow your orchids outdoors without a fence or barricade, you might provide deer in the area with free meals. Deer are attracted to orchids with fragrant flowers, but they generally eat orchids because their leaves are highly nutritious.
For this, you can use scare tactics to get rid of deer from your garden or put up a fence around your orchids or you can also plant some flowers that are deer repellent.
10. Moths
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Moths often act as pollinators for the flowers of orchids, but the leaves become the next best thing when they change appetite. Not all moths feed on orchids, but those that do lots of damage. You can control moths and their caterpillars by introducing predatory insects to feed on them or by spraying them with neem oil.
Conclusion
Orchids are beautiful plants to grow in your garden and your home, but they can’t stay healthy by having their parts eaten by animals and insects. Here are a few points to note about organisms that eat orchids:
- Physical fences and barricades can help keep deer and slugs away from your orchids.
- Maintaining a clean environment can help prevent pests from attacking your plants.
- It is best to eliminate pests and animals immediately after noticing any of them on your orchids to prevent killing.
You now know what could be eating your orchids, so next time you notice any of the symptoms in this article, you’ll know what is causing them and how to control them.
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