Clarita, I have used Safer's on buds many times without any harm to them.

I can't remember if I've used it on flowers, but if you have lots of flowers around, why not try some on a less precious flower as a test?

Seems to me, if they're hiding in the flower most of the time, they are up to no good -- tunnelling, laying eggs, all sorts of evil doings.

Oh my, a locusta :) I totalled my tiny one, it isn't half gorgeous and it's one of the few lycastes that is a must have.

I would have thought if you used some sort of systemic insecticide (I know bayers rose insecticide is) that bugs wouldn't be able to cling to any part of it at all.

You wouldn't need to spray it on the flowers too.

RP1

Thank you! I have to do something fast. What would you do about the room infestation? My clients are going bonkers. These bugs are also attracted to the human head. They must be "head bugs". Flowers and people.

They are more annoying than fungus gnats. Gnats fly at a slower speed. These fly at F1 speed. BTW RP, you shouldn't have been doing your Schumacher impression with your locusta ;-) hee hee. Lycaste's are a bit of a challenge to recover but with a G/H your chances are better.

I have been meaning to ask, what is it like moving from indoors to a G/H? Can you tell us about the experience and the differences? What was your indoor set up like? Your orchids have always been inspirational no matter where you are growing.

Clara

How about some sundews or droseras?

Well, some orchids like it better in the greenhouse which would be much harder to grow under lights, but others have been fried and my catasetinae seem a bit slower this year, but that may not be the greenhouse.

The differences, well, you don't have to worry about getting water everywhere, a greenhouse leaks whilst a house doesn't, much more heat to deal with in a greenhouse and much more cold, more space. But judging by the heating costs last winter, I'll be moving them inside for the winter.

RP1

You might consider getting the yellow strips that are sticky and hang them around the office. The insects are attracted to the color yellow and get stuck. I also saw something homemade with yellow paper that you coat with Vaseline.

And you can try laying a fresh slice of raw potato on the medium. In the morning the beasties will be clinging to the underside. Throw it out and put a fresh one on.

These are biological remedies. Myself, I would get the Bayer Rose and Flower Spray that is the systemic as the poster above has suggested.

that is a beatiful flower. i love green flowers. how about taking it outside with a fan if there is no breeze and disturb the flower a bit so that the bugs will fly and let the breeze blow at least most of them away? (and stand away from the direction of the breeze.) keep us posted as to how the plant is doing. good luck.
sue

Thanks for all the imput. I finally have a pic of one of the creatures. They have now invaded my apartment, not just the office/shoppe. They are not attracted to yellow. I have sundews and droseras. They won't budge. I sprayed safer's and they laughed at me, flew back in when the plant was dry. I think putting it outside with the chicago breeze may be the way to go. But every time I get near the locusta they fly out. I am wondering if I will be left with the creatures in the office?

I am so nervous about outside. The spike on this is as tall as a paph. If anyone knows what the devil this bug is, please let me know. How can I get them out of my house?

RP thanks for the info. Will you be able to maintain indoors in the winter? I didn't realise that it was that expensive to heat. I was thinking about making a small one either in the shoppe in the winter or in an outdoor locked area. I think I'll stick to upgrading bulbs...
Thanks
Clara

{{gwi:192844}}
They are a red & black colour. Now I see them on my Bellina hybrid!

hello, Clara, when i was at a garage sale couple years ago, there was a vaccum for bugs on sale. i had never seen one before or since; i wonder if a vaccum cleaner would work. i don't mean vaccum the plant but as they fly around you can vaccum them up but you would have to open up your vaccum outside each time so that they cannot get back into your apt/office. the bug vaccum had a flap to keep the bugs from flying back out. good luck..

sue

Looks like a fruit fly, like the ones you breed in high school biology. They are quite a nuisance! Wikipedia has more information about them than you probably wanted to know.

Yeah last year it cost £100 to heat the greenhouse per month and then there's the constant worry if the gas goes out, you have to rush them all in.

This year I can't face that, so I'll be moving them in probably between september and october. It's no fun getting up at 2:00 am just to shift all your plants inside.

Besides, it's also £15 if that to light them during winter.

I still think you should use something like bayers systemic for roses, only way the buggers will stop.

RP1

Thanks again everyone. at 1st I thought it was fruit flies but they are too quick. I have no fruit or garbage. I am religious about the garbage. Are fungus gnats and fruit flies the same thing? The source was 100% from H.H.H. They are now in my car! No wonder my neighbours think I'm nuts. I sprayed Safer's in my car.

Whatever they are; please watch out everyone. They are horrible. I did not see them until the next day. Just a reminder to really inspect plants before bringing them into your area. Let them sit for awhile. Give them a shake. I am discovering not only do these bugs like the human head, they possibly sting or bite. I have an itchy rash on my face.

I am so upset I cried. I've even though the unthinkable... destroying it. It's just too perfect a specimen. The entire locusta drama has been very shady. One mysteriously pops up, infested? Maybe my punishment for saying bad things about them in public. The truth hurts sometimes when you don't run a clean operation. Its the only plant I have ever gotten from Hausermann's that is acclimated to light. It had to have been somewhere else. Everything I have ever bought from them burns under tubes or a 23 w cfl. locusta did not. Their lycaste's usually have white drips all over the leaves from the G/H window coating. This one did not.

I am going for the Bayer systemic. Bayer does ok by me systemically! What do you think about the rose dust powder?

Interesting RP about the G/H costs. You grow equally as beautifully in both places, but you're right, I have seen more diversity from your pic posts since you've had the G/H. Must be fun though! The 2am thing would be a total nightmare!

15£ for the entire winter or a month? CFL's? That is really cheap by comparision to the Chicago. FL was much cheaper. My Electric bills are frightening (~175$/mo), so are my gas bills for heat and a/c. The worst has been 985$ in a month for gas in winter. The shoppe gets closed during winter. I have 2 HVAC systems. Only run 1 at a time.

I have to move back to Europe. You guys get all the gorgeous orchids and a discount on electric.

Clara
Off to see Montoya race this w.e in RP's locusta! ;-)

I am not really familiar with lycastes but I have a 'what if' scenario:
Is there any possibility that the flies are attracted to the lycaste fragrance?

Fruit flies have relatively short life span, maybe it will just disappear in your area after some time has elapsed. Unless of course, you have the right conditions in your growing area for them to breed and create the next generation of nuisance.

Any chance you can employ a natural pest control? I grow indoors and this happened in my case by chance. Tiny wolf spiders took residence in my grow area and got rid of all the flying fungus gnats. It's been over a year the last time I used my Bayer rose insecticide and I'm happy that the spider population managed to keep the gnats under control. I notice once in a while some baby spiders in my plants, which I assume that they are thriving :)

Good luck in your crusade. I know its tough to get rid of surprise visitors in your grow area.

-Harvey

A systemic will only kill the ones (probably the larvae) muching on your plant. That will keep more from being born from that plant, but...

To get the flying ones, and keep them from establishing another stronghold somewhere else, maybe hanging some flypaper will do.

Whether they "like" yellow or not, some at least will fly into the strips if you put enough of them about.

Took a peek this morning on my way out to the store for the systemic:
{{gwi:192845}}

: ` `- ((

Clara

$985 for gas in winter? You must be heating botanical gardens somewhere :)

I think i've worked it out as being £15-20 for running a 250-400w metal halide for 10-12 hours a day each month.

No idea what the rose dust powder is.

RP1

Clara, can you put the plants outside for one day?? Don't ask how I know this but...if you can spray Orange Guard around the outside of the pots and the ground around the pots, it might make them lose interest in this plant. They might be breeding in the plant. I have had good luck with Orange Guard. I never use it on the plant itself.

Jane

Total bummer little sister, sorry for your pain. Hausermanns pulled a ___-tease on ya. I've had my dealings with them. They know all the tricks. Ya think they'd care about a unique critter in their midst. Never saw such a quick ravage. Good reminder to all of us to isolate the new chids.

You can look forward to next year. Lycastes seem to love you. Bet you'll grow it better.

Get your growing area under control. Get the plant outside if you can. Nice plant BTW. Get rid of the crap Hauermann medium. Hose that beautiful baby down with Bayers. Too late for rose dust. That is for buds. Orange guard is a good idea. Polish your furniture with it. Get Febreeze Allergy Reducer. Kills mites. Worth a shot on soft furniture. Bomb the place. Get a bug zapper if it flies and bites.

That's one spooky looking critter. You may want to contact your local Dept. of Agi since we'all can't ID the bug. Report Hauermanns as the source. Maybe that will get 'em off their hanuches and clean up their act. Talking to them is 'deaf ears'.
Mike

Good ol' fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster. They could be 'drain flies' or some other variant. Aside from being much better fliers than gnats, the flies have red eyes. That's the easiest way to tell the difference. Another way is that gnats get stuck to pings and sundews and sticky things in general, much more readily than the flies.

I wouldn't be surprised if your (nice) Lycaste bloom didn't attract them from outside. In any case, I would (and do) use Raid Flying Insect Killer, the 'outdoor fresh' scent. It works like a charm and works even better on mosquitoes. By the time other, more 'natural' remedies work, they will breed another million and you'll be doomed. It might be worth a try to mix up some BT water and use that to water your pots. It will kill any fly larvae that are in the mix. Google 'drain fly' for more info. on other possible culprits.

For what it's worth, I was just at Houserman's greenhouses in June and I didn't notice any bugs. However I wasn't really looking for bugs, I was looking for Angs!
-MB