Question
Hi Jim,

I live in Southern California and I have a large, beautiful cymbidium growing under lath in my backyard.  Which of course exposes it to pests, and it definitely has at least one.  Something has been chewing on the surface only of the flower spike stems, leaving dry-looking brown areas. There are no snail trails that I can find.  Also, the flower buds have developed small bumps on the exterior, and it looks like something has been chewing on the edges of the unopened petals.  Today I noticed that two of the flower buds on one of the affected spikes had turned brown and shriveled, and fell off when I touched them.  I have also noticed scale on some of the leaves.  I'm relatively certain I have more than one pest, do you have any suggestions for eradicating the problem(s)?  

Thanks,
Jennifer

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

Yes, it does appear you may have several different pests attacking your cymbidium.  Exactly what they are, I'm not certain without actually seeing the damage they've done.  But, what you can do is to get some systemic insecticide that is recommended for orchids from your local garden center.  I use a product called Orthene WP (wettable powder) to keep chewing insects under control, one bite and they are history!  There is another product (I forget the name right now) that works pretty good, the active ingredient is Imidaclod (spelling?) you might look for.  What ever you use, it will require three applications over three weeks to make sure you get any unhatched eggs.  It would be a good idea to treat it twice a year, once in late winter or early spring and again in early to mid fall.  

Hope this helps get rid of them!  Good luck.