Nine Tips for Orchid Pest and Disease Control

We know that orchid pests and diseases are usually treated by spraying pesticides, but pesticides also produce many side effects, such as polluting the environment, and long-term spraying of a single product can also make orchid pests and diseases develop resistance. In response to these phenomena, flower growers, through their wisdom and long-term exploration and research, have discovered many natural control methods. Below are nine tips to explain how to eliminate orchid pests and diseases.

Tip One: The Clever Use of Tea Seed Cake

Tea seed cake, commonly known as tea seed cake, is the residue left after tea seeds are pressed for oil, and farmers often use it to wash clothes. Tea seed cake contains saponin and glycosides, and the water it has passed through is alkaline, giving it good stomach-poison and contact-killing effects on pests.

Tip Two: The Clever Use of Strong-Smelling Vegetables

Strong-smelling vegetables each have their own distinctive odor, and their smell can play a role in killing insects and sterilizing. For example, take a small amount of garlic, crush it and squeeze out the juice, then dilute it with water, and spray it on orchids to treat aphids, red spider mites, scale insects and gray mold.

Tip Three: The Clever Use of Cigarette Butts

Cigarette butts contain nicotine, which has a strong contact-killing and stomach-poison effect on pests. For example, collect some leftover cigarette butts and one portion of quicklime, add water, stir and soak, then filter, add clean water and stir again, and use it to spray the orchid plants, potting soil and the bottom of the pot, which can eliminate ants and other pests without a waxy coating.

Tip Four: The Clever Use of Washing Powder

Washing powder can dissolve the waxy covering of scale insects, and at the same time forms a layer of foam that wraps around the insect body, suffocating the scale insects to death. Therefore, washing powder solution can control some pests and diseases.

Tip Five: Alcohol Insect-Killing Method

Mix baijiu and water at a ratio of 1:2, spray the orchid plants, once a week, for three consecutive sprays, and it can kill scale insects.

Tip Six: The Clever Use of Orange Peel

Putting orange peel at the bottom of the pot can prevent ants and other pests from entering the potting soil and harming the orchids. You can also cut orange peel into small pieces and scatter them on the surface of the potting soil, without watering for a few days, to treat aphids, scale insects and so on.

Tip Seven: Brown Sugar

Mix powdered brown sugar and boiling water at a ratio of 1:100, and after it cools, spray the orchid plants with the brown sugar liquid, once every 3 days, for three consecutive times, and it has a fairly good effect on preventing and treating downy mildew, powdery mildew, black spot and leaf blight.

Tip Eight: The Clever Use of Plant Ash

Soak plant ash and water at a ratio of 1:50 for two days and nights, then filter, and use the filtrate to spray the orchid plants; it can both treat aphids and increase potassium fertilizer.

Tip Nine: The Clever Use of Table Vinegar

Mix table vinegar and clean water at a ratio of 1:8, and use it to evenly spray the front and back of orchid leaves, which can treat scale insects. If the scale insects have already become adults, the acidity of the mixed liquid can be slightly increased, sprayed once every three days, for three consecutive times, and it can kill the adult scale insects. Spraying vinegar liquid on the leaf surface can also eliminate black spot, powdery mildew, leaf spot, yellowing disease and so on.