Question
Jim,
It has been getting unusually cold in Orlando, Florida lately which has made me think about bringing my orchids inside; I keep them in my screen-in pool area.

While re-potting one of my orchids months ago, I ran into a cockroach; I have no idea how it got into the bark given that I have a screen-in pool area, perhaps it came inside the bark OR just got in through an open door or something. The fact is that it was there. :-(

I am wondering if there is anything I can put on the orchids (i.e. water them with something) to get rid of any roaches, lards, eggs, etc. so that I don't bring them into my home. Obviously, I don't want to put insectide on my orchids as I think that my kill my orchids while killing anything else.

For now, I've been putting a tarp on the top of my orchids, but am concern about the growing spikes which are soon to come; I would not want to put a tarp on them and break them off or mess them up.

Please advise, I hope all is well with you and your mother; I recall you had been spending a lot of time visiting her lately.
Angelo

Answer
Hi again Angelo,

Yuk!  A cockroach!!!  It is almost impossible to keep all creepy crawly insects out of a growing area, they seem to be able to get into everything.  

What I do 2 to 3 weeks prior to moving any orchids into my house is spray them with an insecticide that is recommended for orchids, be sure to follow the directions and precautions before using.  I spray all over them including the underside of leafs, the bench they sit on, etc.  By the time I bring them in, most of the insecticide smell is gone.  I also sprinkle some slug and snail bait on top of the pot, I prefer a product whose main ingredient is iron phosphate because it is safe to use around children and pets.  

If you choose to spray insecticide, only spray the leaves and not the spikes or buds.  Also, it is best to do any spraying in the morning.  

A tarp is probably not a good idea but you could try some shade cloth material as it is much lighter.  Many nurseries carry shade cloth along with Home Depot and Lowe's stores.  

Hope this helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.