I feel your pain. I always get so excited when I see the first buds on a new spike, specially on an orchid which never bloomed for me, just to notice a few days later that it’s all dried out: the thrips got there before I noticed them😩. So, now, I am spraying like crazy🤞🏻😍
Awesome and very informative video!! Also I hear ya as I try to have nature balance itself out but I feel like it always needs a little extra help when it comes to thrips and orchids haha! But definitely love the bug biological warfare method!
We're not trying to feed all the critters and creepy crawlies with our flowers so there may come a time here shortly where they will be uninvited chemically. Time will tell if the good bugs and mites can earn their keep.
Can’t wait to see your update. I’d like to try beneficial bugs too! Can you share the link to where you can get them? I hate spraying and thrips keep coming back. 😔
Thanks, Melissa! I updated the bio to include the company’s website and listed out everything we’ve purchased. Hope this helps you and your collection too! 👍
Will the beneficial organisms reproduce? Looking forward to the update. I do get you seeking an alternate option to spraying. I am very hesitant to spray as I have a dog that runs around the yard.
Yes, they will reproduce and colonize an area given ample prey and the right conditions to grow. Hopefully, that's what will happen. You have to select predators that will survive in your climate and conditions.
Probably one of the most interesting videos you guys have done (don't tell Kathryn and her Frosty Dawn). I am in a similar situation, lots of orchids in a lanai as well as spread around the 2 acre yard in clusters. Also with 3 younger kids and pets frequently in the lanai. Also have your extreme dislike of thrips wrecking that fresh bloom from the bifoliate seedling that after 4 years of careful growing has finally bloomed. As the collection has grown I have became a regular sprayer of orthene, bifren, and IGR to try and prevent damage. I love the idea of the beneficial "pests" to help curb this problem. Even it does not completely eliminate the need and just reduces the frequency that would be great. Will curious how this plays out, especially if you notice a difference between response in the lanai versus outside the lanai. Also, do you have a resource you can link for were you purchased the mites/lacewings?
Thank you so much for watching, Matthew! Glad to hear we’re in the same boat together. I’m interested to see how everything turns out and will definitely provide an update on this! Just updated this video’s description to include the company’s website and the sachet details we ordered. Hope this helps you and your collection too! 👍
Have you tried insect frass? You just sprinkle a little bit in each pot and it causes the plants to make their own defense to become more resilient to future insect damage.
Haven't tried that. Will look into it to see if there's any good research papers on it. We do try and use probiotic bacteria and some beneficial fungi that theoretically elicit a defensive response in the plant against pathogens, but we haven't heard about a product producing a defensive response against herbivorous insects/pest.
its very understandable that you would want an alternative route to controlling your pest problem because you have kids and a dog i believe. so it makes sense to want a more eco-friendly control. but with the amount of money involved in your all's beautiful orchid collection, maybe spraying to eradicate the problem then once under control, switching to beneficial control might be the answer, if your little buddies can't control the thrips. either way experiments are fun as well, but i am sure the wife will not be to happy if she finds her favorite orchids snacked on like a all you can eat buffet till the food is gone...lol
Absolutely agree! I don’t think the spraying will ever go away. It’s the cost of growing outdoors. But hopefully if these predatory mites can help reduce the frequency in which we spray the collection, that would count as a win! No more orchid buffets!!! 😂 Thank you for watching!
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