....well done Ed, a easy, cheap, very effective, ..but almost forgotten treatment.......just shows why, your plants look so good, cause you use common sense, treat with sound methods, and dont pick at them all the time......great reminder of a forgotten practical way to treat bugs........I remember green houses yrs ago, with a wet pad inside the door, for wiping feet.......always had bleach mix in them .......keep it simple, ......great example of orchid care.....
The best plant advice anyone ever gave me. No where i have got a solution that worked 100% yet so simple. No words to praise your experience and you are a blessing ❤❤❤
Thank you Daisy. I'm so pleased that I have been able to help you in some way....thanks once again for your very acceptable comment........take care, Ed.
After reading some of the comments, I did a bit of research looking at Domestos bleach vs a North American equivalent (Clorox® High Efficiency Regular Bleach). I went to what we call here in Canada the Materials Safety Data Sheets or MSDS (in the US they are simply the Safety Data Sheets). The active ingredients in both the UK version and the North American version are identical and in identical concentrations - sodium hypodhlorite: 1 to 5% and sodium hydroxide:
Good morning Judith and thankyou so much for the research and information. I think this will clear up for a lot of growers being indecisive about using it. Have a very good day and thsnkyou once again. Ed.
Best pesticide i have seen for orchids on the internet. Wow job made so easy wonderful. Thanks for sharing the procedure. I cannot thank u enough. Tried on my Dendrobiums too for scales.
It is now used in many countries Miria Ann and I hope it goes the job for you...put plenty of bleach in followed by a food rinse. Entirely my pleasure to offer you a subscription.............Thank you. Ed.
Thank you for this advice! I had a phal which did not good, and I also found some white furry bugs on it. I was like, what can I loose? So I took the domestos "treated" the orchid. And wow, after 2 weeks, it looks much better, has hard leaves, no damage, no bugs. So thank you again!
Glad I could help Szilvia and thank you for for letting me know of your success. I have said many times that bleach will not harm plants and there are many who gladly think I'm a little crazed for using the stuff. I just hope that growers like you will make the using of bleach known to many more growers. Thank you once again....take care and remain safe. Ed.
I just tried this method for two different orchids just today, and keeping my fingers crossed it works to stop a bacterial leaf spot problem as well as mealy bugs...thank you for your useful tips. Cheers!
Washed my tradescantia in bleach water, vviolet leaves for propagation - they are doing great, good as new. Ed, I am so endlessly grateful for this tecipe you have shared... Knew it in my heart there must be something that is easy and effective rather than chemical sprays.. Jeff told me about your channel. I always watch his videos, very helpful Thanks to the both of you. God sent!
Wonderful CROCHET PLUS. It does me a world of good knowing that some of my ideas have proved successful. May you also have continued success with your plants...Thank you and take care, Ed
Hi Ed, just found you thanks to the lovely Rick. This is an absolutely brilliant video, will definitely remember it. Now off to watch some more of your vids. Much love Ju xxx
Dear Ed! I tried immersion treatment against the Domestosos pest. I don't know, but I may have misunderstood something. Since you dipped not only the root but the whole plant in the water I did the same. But my plant was flowery to me. The next day, all the flowers of the treated orchids shrank and began to fall. Unfortunately, that's how I went. True, when you treated your plants, there was no flower on it. -It would have been nice to weigh the -domestos dose, because I also just measured it, saccra. Thanks for the idea, I hope my orchid opens for a second.
Hi and I'm sorry to hear of you losing your blooms but the blooms are fragile things unlike the plants and will not tolerate the bleach. The bleach will not harm plants providing they get a good rinsing afterwards. I hope it;s not too long before your plant provides you with some more beautiful blooms......take care, Ed.
Hope every thing will go well for you Karen. Plenty of air to the roots for most orchids and plenty of good clean water for phragmipediums. What kind of orchids meet your fancy? Ed.
Yours is another comment I've just picked up after looking back over many of my videos. Sometimes the comments don't get through to me I think it's probably because the little bell hasn't been clicked on my channel sight. My sincere apologise Sarah G . I hope you have used the bleach and that it has proved to be a good remedy for the bugs. Take care. Ed.
That's wonderful Crochet Plus......Entirely my pleasure to show you and pleased that your African Violets are now doing wel.........thank you and take care, Ed.l
Hi Ed. Just thought I’d tell you the slight change I’ve made to this routine. Apart from using quite a bit more bleach than you, which the orchids tolerate well. I’ve started adding a few drops of ph down to the rinse water. My rationale is the bleach is extremely alkaline, therefore I want to put put the acidity back into the orchid. I usually try for a ph of 6.5 or so.
That's sounds like a novel idea Lynn and something different is always worth a try. I rinse in tap water and I don't have any concern about the pH because they will be getting new media and an acitic watering within a day or so. Let me know the results of your experiment/ Take care and have a lovely Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Ed.
Hi Ed, I'm so glad I happened onto your channel, quite by chance! I'm going to try this...although we don't get Domestos here in Canada, I guess its household bleach. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Fern Crafts. Many thanks for taking a look at my channel. Yes ordinary household bleach will do the job for you providing you give the plant a strong dose for a few minutes followed by a very good rinsing. Ed.
I have been fighting a spider mite infestation with my miltoniopsis and oncidium. I did a lot of spray washing and neem oil, but the thing that REALLY helped my orchids was Ed's bleach trick. It's absolutely the best solution for pests and critters. Thank you so much!
Thank you for those very kind words Joy. I can't understand when some growers say the bleach doesn't work and others say it kills the plants......I think they are just wrapped up into too much hokey-pokey!! Take care and thanks for using the bleach. Have a lovely Christmas, Ed.
thanks for this informative vid. I saw Rachel's video and came here. and subscribed emediatly 👌 well done easy peasy and cheap cure for a lot of narly bugs
Ed, I thought I was subscribed to you but obviously something went wrong along the way because I wasn't and have been missing all your great videos. Sorted now. Thank you for this great video.
Thanks for this tip I haven't seen any insects on my orchids are my houseplants maybe it's because of the software and the Epsom salts I used all the time in my nutrient solution. And I give calcium supplement in the form of the brand-name calmagic which is calcium and magnesium. Rick always says you give the best advice and I think he gives great advice also I pray for him and his wife all the time. God bless you Ed for your wonderful videos
Kathleen. I really miss my orchid chats with Rick and I hope he can get back to some kind of good health. You are giving them correct nutrients but never over feed the plants and make sure you flush yjem with good clean water on a regular basis. Good to hear you don't experience any bugs at the moment.....mealy bugs especially can find some funny places to hide. The sulphur and the pottasium will go some way to prevent certain types of bugs like spider mite but always keep your eyes open for the mealies which can frequently be found in the leaves which are close together at the base of the plants. Ed
@@EdsOrchids thank you for that advice I know I have been negligent and doing the flushing I used to always do that before every soak but things got kind of complicated around here so I haven't done it before every nutrient soak. I am going to try your Epsom salts flush since I haven't done that for about a month. I was trying to use the water from the dehumidifier to do that flush. Rick always talked highly of you I'm said he learned a lot from you. I like the videos where you and Rick talk about the nutrients and how they work in a plant because even though you're talkin about orchids I'm sure that's the same way they work in all plants. Since I live in Maryland the only places I can buy orchids are supermarkets Lowe's Home Depot. And I just looked out the other day and was able to get some Bag babies at Lowe's and instead of $14 since they have been there a while I only paid five. So I'm new to dendrobiums and Katt leya I know how to spell it but I use the microphone on my cell phone keyboard to dictate my comments so I'm not going to correct it takes too long! Also maybe you can tell me a good place to buy a cymbidium I would love to have a couple of them. But I do love my phalaenopsis because they bloom for so long and I have been a estatic because I got them to rebloom. And I guess even more important than that I've got them to grow new leaves and I really enjoy seeing the root tip start to grow
@@EdsOrchids and also thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to respond to my post I appreciate it very much. I have a little RUclips channel was just a few hundred subscribers close to 300. I started my channel because Carolyn who maybe you know her RUclips channel is a combination of her name and her husband's name Jack so it's Jacqueline's orchids but Jaclyn spelled with an O. She was responding to me along with Rick and she said just start a RUclips channel so I could show her my orchids and what was going on. So my first videos were on my orchids but then it branched out to also include my houseplants but since so much is going on lately I haven't had a chance to post. Once again thank you sir for your helpful information and also for taking the time to share your knowledge with all of us on RUclips. I'm 71 years old and who would have thought there'd be such a wonderful thing as RUclips so we could keep on learning all our life
I am glad it works. Good to have a straight out effective bug control. I use mayonnaise real mayo on my phal leaves for a shine and indoor pest. 💚. Great video!
Eds Orchids Spider mites have not been seen in 3 years when I purchased the phal with the one root that is yellow it had a small bit and out went the bark outcame the water and mayo..lol Have not seen them since.
HELP. HELP, HELP! Ed, I don’t have bugs but I do have orange rot on my Miltoniopsis. 😥😥 It is like they have all lined up and are marching steadily to THE BIN. I have tried everything and now I am going to take a few of them and do the bleach dip. I have a 10:1 solution - it froths when stirred - and going to dip them, rinse them (7-10 minutes for each step) and dry them in front of a fan briefly and repot. I expect if it kills them, I’ll be none the worse off than before and at least when they get pitched in the bin, they will be clean. ANY words of wisdom, encouragement or prayers are appreciated. If you read Roger’s Face Book page lately, you’ve seen my whining and fussing about this issue. Thanks so much for all your videos. My husband and I watch every one you post.
I'm so sorry you're having this problem Pix but to be honest I have never kept Miltoniopsis so I know very little about them. The only thing I can think of is that you have a root problem and that Miltoniopsis shows a 'pinkimg ' when they are not at all well.with pink pseudobulbs and dying yellowish leaves. Sorry I don'r use facebook but I'll make and exception and see what he says about the problem.......I still think it will be a root problem which will rob the plant of vigour which in turn will not be able to provide with the essentials nutrients the plant will need. I don't think the bleach will help/ Sorry I can't be more specific but I wish you all the best in trying to rectify the problem. Ed
Hi Ed- I've been looking for an effective way to get rid of those darn pest and going to try the bleach method on a few. Can I dunk the whole plant- media and all? I'm just worried about it not being the right time for some of the cattleyas and dendrobiums. Don't need further set-back. ... Thanks Ed!!
Yes you can dunk the whole lot in the bleach. Make sure the bleach is a STRONG solution and you leave them in for two or three minutes. the solution will not harm the plants in any shape or form so don't worry about the strength. It is necessary to give the plants a good rinsing afterwards. Thank you for the question. Ed,
Yes you can try it Kanagaraj but I would only try it on s couplr of plsnts to see if Avocados will respond badly to bleach........very safe with orchids though......thank you and I wish you luck with your plants, Ed
Hi Ed, Great, I have been looking for a solution to mealy bug and scale. Will spraying the plant with the same solution as affective, without taking thr plant out of th r pot?? Looking forward to your reply.
@@EdsOrchids Instead of taking the whole plant out of the pot or basket, just your solution on the plant for mealy bug and scale on the infected areas. Will this work??
Hi Ed. Instead of pulling the orchid out of the pot. Could I spray the orchids with bleach water or watering the orchids with the bleach water, then watering them with water?
Wow thanks for sharing your incredible knowledge! I hope many more wonderful ideas to come. You were kind enough to give me some insight into re-potting my ang. Magdalenae which I will be doing soon thank you. Do you grow any Masd or Dracula orchids?
Hi Judy. Sorry I don't grow Masd or Draculas. I tend to just stay with 3 varieties namely Paphs, Phrags and Angs but I do have a variety of others but only in small doses!! Ed
Hi Ed. Thank you so much for this video. I never thought that bleach can be used as insecticide. Had thrips infection over the winter months and spend to much money and time trying get rid of little buggers now I will use this method. Thanks again. Jelena.
Good afternoon Jelena and thankyou for taking a peak at my channel. Don't be frightened of using too much bleach it will not harm the plants especially if you give them a good rinsing afterwards. Let me know how you get on with the treatment. Have a lovely day. Ed.
You certainly can do that Elena....make sure you give them a good rinsing afterwards although bleach will not kill or harm your orchids.....regardless of what others think. Thank you and have a lovely weekend, Ed.
Hi from South Africa-- This looks great - can I do this with all my orchids? (when necessary) And will it be a problem if done in winter ? I have a shade house with polycarb roof with temps in May-June (beginning of winter here) at min 12 -max 27 degrees . This morning I found some mealy bugs on one of my Phals . I treated some scale on a cymbidium last week ,by cleaning off with isopropyl alcohol then spraying with malathion. Your method looks easier to do and more thorough. Thanks for the advice - will definitely be watching as many of your videos as possible -need to learn a lot , fairly new at this.
Good evening melene. You certainly can do this with all your orchids without fear of doing them any harm --you can also do it in winter if necessary. Your temperatures look very good they are above what I expect here in summer!! The treatment you have been using is text book and should do the trick but you will find that the bleach treatment will work and you can do it again after a week if the infestation is very bad. Thank you for taking a look at my channel and have a very joyful weekend. Ed.
Thanks for such a prompt reply - one other thing , the phal that I mentioned has 2 spikes (no flowers yet) will they be fine if dunked in the bleach? Should I wait a week before re-potting in pine bark ,in case I need to repeat the treatment?
Hi melene. If the phal has buds which are not open in any form I think they will be OK being dunked. The bark needs to be replaced if the outbreak is sufficient to have advanced to the substrate, From not seeing the plant this is the best advise I am able to give you. Hope everything turns out fine for you. Ed.
Yes you can Regine. If you don't want to dunk the whole plant into the mix then you can make a much weaker solution and spray the plant. Thank you for your comment.....take care and thank you, Ed.
Eds Orchids yes all checked and repotted. small snails in one pot the zygo . one pot 2 slugs the other plant we found scale so it's away from the rest. your video tonight will be useful. it's a learning curve for us Ed. Every new plant gets cleaned and repotted
Hi Ed, can this be done on a monthly basis? For health reason, I want to make sure that all fungus/mold (and even algae) are removed from the orchid I keep in my bedroom. I grow my phal bare-rooted (has been doing very well so far), so there is no need to worry about potting media issue with this bleaching method. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.
@@EdsOrchids Thank you so much for your reply and advice. I will definitely do it on a weekly basis. So far, they are all looking well after your recommended bleach(none scented) treatment, with flower buds are still intact ( I didn't soak the flowers). As I have a bottle of aquarium anti-chlorine that I was about to throw in the bin, I just added some after the bleach treatment hoping to remove as much bleach smell as possible. They do smell great after a thorough rinse. I will definitely give an update if anyone asks for it. :) Once again Ed, thanks for the advice and your awesome videos!!
I am in Fl. right now but when we get back to Signal Mountain, Tn.USA I will put it to good use. Someone is caring for my Orchids right now and I am afraid when I get home I may have some scale to deal with.
Have a safe flight and I hope you don't find any scale. The bleach will kill them but the dead scale will remain on the plant so give them a wipe with a damp cloth to remove them completely. Thanks for watching. Ed.
This was a very interesting video. Thank you. May I ask what is the active ingredient in domestos ? I wonder if it is equivalent to our Clorox. (In the USA).
I think it will probably be the same --chlorine/clorox bleaches sound very similar. Just try it and rinse afterwards I would be very surprised if it had a bad effect on the plant. Ed
First rays has info on using bleach in the USA. I believe he mentions what kind of bleach since there are different kinds of bleach. The info is probably in the disease control section as he used to use it for that.
Good evening Melene. you can give them the bleach treatment all the year round....bleach will not affect orchids but make sure you give them a good rinsing afterwards. Many growers have said that they have lost orchids and blamed the bleach treatment.....instead of blaming themselves on bad cultivation. Don't be scared about tha amount of bleach you use it definitely won't harm your plants. Thank you and take care, Ed.
Hi, Ed. Great video, thank you. I'm going to try this for a mealy bug issue and I'm wondering if you can tell me whether it's necessary to do a follow up treatment in a week or two or if in your experience one bleach bath is enough to wipe them out?
Hi Jenjiyo. There should be no reason to repeat the process but it will do no harm if you think it necessary. just make the solution strong enough and give the plant a good rinsing after about 10mins or so. The bleach will remove all bugs. Thankyou for your comment. Ed.
Hi Ed can you use the water and bleach as a spray? How much bleach to water would you use? I have some plants that have a small infestation but they keep coming back,. Thanks.
Hi Mark. If you have an infestation On some plants I would remove the plant from the pot and soak the plant in the solution for 5/6 minutes followed by a good rinse. If you only have an occasional problem I would put a few drops of bleach per litre into your spray and treat them that way. Ed.
Thanks for this Ed! I have a few tolumnias that just arrived today which are heavily infested with snails and some type of mites. They arrived mounted on slabs of wood. Is it safe to do the soak now or should I wait a few weeks to get them to acclimatize to my environment first? Appreciate any help. 😊
Good morning Racie. I would treat them immediately to stop the bugs from further damaging the plants and always remember to give them a good rinsing afterwards. This can be done by dunking them in tepid water or by rinsing them under the tap. Hope you have the best of luck with them. Thank you and take care, Ed.
Sorry I'm a couple of weeks late with this reply but I've only just found it on my computer. Yes this will definitely work on all bugs Andre.....my apologise once again. Ed.
Is the bleach used in the video the same kind of bleach we have in the USA? I don't think our USA bleach gets frothy like that...I could be wrong. Will the bleach help with diseases too? I grow irises and and dunk them in bleach water when I divide them. Learned that from Martha Stewart years ago. She used 1 part USA bleach to 10 parts water for the irises. Also, do you have to unpot the orchid to use this treatment? Could you run the water through the media?
I haven't gone into the thought of can bleach be used for diseases....I think this should be left to those who study that kind of thing. I only know that it will definitely get rid of bugs using a very strong solution followed by a very good rinsing. I only dunk the plant in bleach and throw away the medium just in case some bugs are lurking there. If you dunk the whole plant in together with the pot then I think you would have a problem with the rinsing process. Ed.
Dear Ed Sir, should I bleech my orchids even if its not infested with bugs once in a while too? Your ofchids leaves looks so green and healthy what/how to have that?
Hi Janey Ng. The bleaching will not harm the plants in any way providing you give them a good rinse afterwards. If there is no seeable reason to give them the bleach treatment then why go through the process. Thanks for asking and have a good day. Ed.
The leaves look healthy because I don't feed too much which means the leaves don't need to rid themselves of excess nutrients/salts through the leaf tips. Although if you think that you have some form of attack on a plant then I would give it a strong bleach treatment,
A bit difficult using slug pellets indoors. If I were you I would put some beer into a tray and put it close to your plants. Have a look when the place has been in complete darkness for at least one hour.....you will find them crawling around the trays......it will work if there are more slugs or snails present. Ed.
Oh my...this is really amazing what I discovered. Domestos??? Well I love Domestos and always have one in my home. Is there specific dosage or just...put some.
Sorry Lady Orchid I was just going through some old videos and found your unanswered comment You will probably put a half bottle od Domestos into a two gallon bucket...give it a good stir until it gets very frothy and your ready to give it the drenching, My opologies once again. Ed
hello! mr Ed.. I live in India, Chennai. your video is very informative.it is such a help for beginners in orchid hobby.would you be kind enough to tell me if the bleach you are using is used for cleaning washrooms or is it a clothes bleach? because here in India we get two different bleachs.i would be waiting for your reply. thanking you sheetal
Ed I came back to tell you I have been using this method and it has worked like a charm! I just sent this video to a friend today! Thank you so much for the info and all of your wonderful videos!
Thanks Ed, never heard of this before. I'm always concerned about concentrations when making up solutions, so I did a test - I squirted the exact same bleach into a measuring cylinder, copying the time length of your squirt! it came to 30-35ml, and your buckets are 10 litre buckets. I would use gloves though! Thanks again Ed (~8. #RickLOrchids.
Hi Karsten and thank you for the comment. You have no need to worry about the amount of bleach to use just use enough to create a good froth on the water when stirred. I am of the opinion you cannot do any harm to the plants of you give them a large overdose of the bleach...…. just give the plants a good rinsing afterwards and the bugs will have gone. Ed.
Hi Jokha, I've never done it this way. I always soak the whole plant and repot in good clean compost and a clean plastic pot. There's nothing to stop you doing it your way but the problem you will get is that you will have to continually flush the medium after the treatment. Ed
Hi Ed! Just found your channel and this video, I think I’ve got thrips on my Phals and a Den Phal, id love to bleach the little beggars but they are on the flowers, any advice please?
Whatever you use I think you will damage the flowers. There is a product on the market called Plant Invigorator which has very good reports for freeing plants of bugs including spider mites-- sorry I can't help you any further..... I've never been troubled with thrips for some reason!! Take care, Ed
Eds Orchids Thankyou so much for the quick reply, I’ve ordered some of that and hope it does the trick. If I spray everything apart from the flowers surely it will help 🤞 I’ve been squashing the ones I see in the flowers as they are black but I’ve read the young are harder to see. They seam to tunnel round the edge of the petals while they are still in bud and then they look a mess when they open. They seem to struggle to open sometimes. I’ve been putting it down to the heat wave but it’s happening since it cooled down. Soul destroying 😔 thanks again!
Makes perfect sense to me, but we don't have that stuff here in the US. I can't even come up with an equivalent. No wonder the bathrooms in Glasgow were so fresh! My daughter lived there for 4 years, and I wonder if she used this stuff?
Ha Ha. No thick bleach like they have in that Domestos container. Although maybe John Benedict is right, but I think only god knows what Trump puts in his hair to make it that color of orange. LOL
Eds Orchids So sorry, Ed. It was not my intention at all... and was just adding a little humor regarding the bleach and its strength... and I should have simply stuck to that and not added anything else. I hope I didn't offend anyone and if so I did not mean to and I'm very sorry. Thanks.
Hi Ed. I finally got around buying a bottle of bleach. It's not Domestos though, just some no-brand bottle of bleach. Not sure about the measurements - could you tell me how much exactly to put of it in the water? Had I bought Domestos, I would have poured the same than you, but as it's not the same brand I'm not sure.... Don't want to accidentally overdose it. Thank you in advance, Ed! I've kept coming to your video so many times. :)
Good evening Jojo Bee and thanks for your very nice comment. You can't overdose the plants just make sure that after you have given them a good dip in the bleach mixture they get thoroughly rinsed in fresh water Hope this helps. Ed
Thank you so much, Ed! Glad to hear there's no danger to overdose. I'll be treating my phalaenopsis orchids today, as I detected some spidermites recently. I really appreciate your help! Jo
If it's only 5% then everything should be fine. Just give the plant a good rinsing after a couple of minutes soak. If you are still not sure then Plant Invigorator will be your solution... although to keep free from bugs you will have to spray the plants weekly Hope you are successful, Ed
I treated one plant yesterday and it looks totally fine today, so I'm pretty sure I can treat the rest with the same product. Will give it a few more days, just to be on the safe side. I'll remember Plant Invigorator if needed in the future - thanks for the suggestion! And THANK YOU once again for all your help and support. Looking forward to see more of your videos. Have a good weekend. Jo
No need to use the soap Marjorie just use the bleach in strong doses and rinse very well afterwards. I use almost a full bottle of bleach in a 2 gallon bucket and have never had an adverse effect on the orchids. Take care and thank you for your comment, Ed.
I haven't tried it on spanish moss so I can't help you on this I've never been troubled with snails so whether this is because of the treatment or not ---- could be I suppose! Ed.
I'm trying this. Got a major mite problem in my orchid media. Not sure if they're eating roots or the media but it has spread like wildfire to all my orchids. Repotting did not rectify the issue. I hope ASDA smart price bleach kills mites because fairy liquid doesn't. Insecticide doesn't bother them either! I'm soaking the whole pot with the media and then flushing and soaking again in water.
One time when I was working as a team mother in the concession stand at a Little League there was bleach sitting there to use to clean up things and some of the Jug's that we put water in we're really yucky looking even after you wash them dirty-looking stained whatever. So I poured some bleach in dirty looking stained whatever. So I poured some bleach in them and added some water and started to rinse them clean with that solution and a lady started getting very upset saying I was going to poison the kids I said don't you think it's in the water already? It's bleach it kills germs plus it it gets rid of the dirt and the stains I don't want my kid drinking out of something that looks that yucky. I couldn't believe what she said oh I never thought about that!
OK thank you my clorox bleach also has Sodium Hydroxide. Can't be used for this I was also told the ingredient Sodium hypochlorite shouldn't be used on orchids. I guess yours is working though. Just wanted to add this so someone else with my same ingredients doesn't try to do this.
Hi I use a product called " Plant invigorator " which seems to be very effective.... but there are many products which will be good to varying degrees. Ed
@@EdsOrchids Thanks for such quick response! I think I will just go out and get some regular chlorine bleach. I'm afraid to experiment lol I've been battling thrips. They are nasty little buggers. They ate all of my Vanda blooms and they began working on my Cattleya. I'm so close to just starting a bonfire and torching my entire collection. Its infuriating. I've tried peroxide, water and alcohol, listerine, insecticidal soap, systemic insecticide and I'm still finding a few bugs here and there. Bleach here I come. Thanks again Ed!
....well done Ed, a easy, cheap, very effective, ..but almost forgotten treatment.......just shows why, your plants look so good, cause you use common sense, treat with sound methods, and dont pick at them all the time......great reminder of a forgotten practical way to treat bugs........I remember green houses yrs ago, with a wet pad inside the door, for wiping feet.......always had bleach mix in them .......keep it simple, ......great example of orchid care.....
Thanks for your feedback Rick. Hope it helps someone somewhere ,
Wow Rick fancy seeing you here
The best plant advice anyone ever gave me. No where i have got a solution that worked 100% yet so simple. No words to praise your experience and you are a blessing ❤❤❤
Thank you Daisy. I'm so pleased that I have been able to help you in some way....thanks once again for your very acceptable comment........take care,
Ed.
Ed you are such a saint for showing this! This is the third time I have referred to it. Just wanted to say thanks again. 😄
Thanks Sherry --- have you used it yet???
Ed.
After reading some of the comments, I did a bit of research looking at Domestos bleach vs a North American equivalent (Clorox® High Efficiency Regular Bleach). I went to what we call here in Canada the Materials Safety Data Sheets or MSDS (in the US they are simply the Safety Data Sheets). The active ingredients in both the UK version and the North American version are identical and in identical concentrations - sodium hypodhlorite: 1 to 5% and sodium hydroxide:
Good morning Judith and thankyou so much for the research and information. I think this will clear up for a lot of growers being indecisive about using it. Have a very good day and thsnkyou once again.
Ed.
Thank you, Ed, for telling us about this,. I am definitely going to give it a try.
It will definitely work for you Judith. Make the mix strong enough followed by a good rinsing.
Ed
Thanks for the research Judith, have you tried it? curious as to what the ratio of mixing should be
Thanks for that research I never thought about checking the ingredients on the other side of the pond
Best pesticide i have seen for orchids on the internet. Wow job made so easy wonderful. Thanks for sharing the procedure. I cannot thank u enough. Tried on my Dendrobiums too for scales.
It is now used in many countries Miria Ann and I hope it goes the job for you...put plenty of bleach in followed by a food rinse. Entirely my pleasure to offer you a subscription.............Thank you.
Ed.
Brilliant! Very helpful advice, thank you for sharing!
You're more than welcome Amy. Thanks for taking a look at my channel.
Ed.
Thank you for this advice! I had a phal which did not good, and I also found some white furry bugs on it. I was like, what can I loose? So I took the domestos "treated" the orchid. And wow, after 2 weeks, it looks much better, has hard leaves, no damage, no bugs. So thank you again!
Glad I could help Szilvia and thank you for for letting me know of your success. I have said many times that bleach will not harm plants and there are many who gladly think I'm a little crazed for using the stuff. I just hope that growers like you will make the using of bleach known to many more growers. Thank you once again....take care and remain safe.
Ed.
I just tried this method for two different orchids just today, and keeping my fingers crossed it works to stop a bacterial leaf spot problem as well as mealy bugs...thank you for your useful tips. Cheers!
Thank you for watching birdluvrs and I hope the method proves to be successful for you. Thank you also for the comment.
Ed.
Washed my tradescantia in bleach water, vviolet leaves for propagation - they are doing great, good as new. Ed, I am so endlessly grateful for this tecipe you have shared... Knew it in my heart there must be something that is easy and effective rather than chemical sprays.. Jeff told me about your channel. I always watch his videos, very helpful Thanks to the both of you. God sent!
Wonderful CROCHET PLUS. It does me a world of good knowing that some of my ideas have proved successful.
May you also have continued success with your plants...Thank you and take care,
Ed
Hi Ed, just found you thanks to the lovely Rick. This is an absolutely brilliant video, will definitely remember it. Now off to watch some more of your vids. Much love Ju xxx
Thank you for your subscription and very kind words regarding the video. Once again thank you very much Julie.
Ed
Dear Ed! I tried immersion treatment against the Domestosos pest. I don't know, but I may have misunderstood something. Since you dipped not only the root but the whole plant in the water I did the same. But my plant was flowery to me.
The next day, all the flowers of the treated orchids shrank and began to fall.
Unfortunately, that's how I went. True, when you treated your plants, there was no flower on it. -It would have been nice to weigh the -domestos dose, because I also just measured it, saccra.
Thanks for the idea, I hope my orchid opens for a second.
Hi and I'm sorry to hear of you losing your blooms but the blooms are fragile things unlike the plants and will not tolerate the bleach. The bleach will not harm plants providing they get a good rinsing afterwards. I hope it;s not too long before your plant provides you with some more beautiful blooms......take care,
Ed.
Simple and effective! Thanks for this.
You're welcome! Nicole......so pleased it was of some help to you. Take care,
Ed.
Thank you for this great tip. I am repotting a lot right now. I will put this idea to work.
Hope every thing will go well for you Karen. Plenty of air to the roots for most orchids and plenty of good clean water for phragmipediums. What kind of orchids meet your fancy?
Ed.
This is what I'm after - a budget friendly treatment that works! Thanks a lot, Ed. I have now subscribed to your channel!
Thank you once again JoJo Bee and many thanks for the subscription.
Ed.
I've been looking for days to find a good video like this. Thank you so much for this simple, cheap and effective solution! Great video :)
Yours is another comment I've just picked up after looking back over many of my videos. Sometimes the comments don't get through to me I think it's probably because the little bell hasn't been clicked on my channel sight. My sincere apologise Sarah G . I hope you have used the bleach and that it has proved to be a good remedy for the bugs. Take care.
Ed.
This is common practice here now since you posted this video.Every new introduction gets it as well.
At Least I have done a little bit of good.
Thanks for ALL the great information Ed!💖🐾👍🏻
It's all my pleasure Sherry. Thank you.
Ed.
Ed, doing this on my african violets. They are surviving it! Want to thank you a ton for sharing this priceless tip
That's wonderful Crochet Plus......Entirely my pleasure to show you and pleased that your African Violets are now doing wel.........thank you and take care,
Ed.l
Great tip, thank you Ed
My pleasure Narie....thank you and take care,
Ed.
Old school orchid keeping love it
The old ones are still the best!!
Ed.
Hi Ed. Just thought I’d tell you the slight change I’ve made to this routine. Apart from using quite a bit more bleach than you, which the orchids tolerate well. I’ve started adding a few drops of ph down to the rinse water. My rationale is the bleach is extremely alkaline, therefore I want to put put the acidity back into the orchid. I usually try for a ph of 6.5 or so.
That's sounds like a novel idea Lynn and something different is always worth a try. I rinse in tap water and I don't have any concern about the pH because they will be getting new media and an acitic watering within a day or so. Let me know the results of your experiment/ Take care and have a lovely Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids seasons greetings to you too.
Just found your gem of a channel. Instantly subscribed and shared. :)
Many thanks Flow C.....and many thanks for the subscription......I wish there were more like you
Thanks again.
Ed
Hi Ed, I'm so glad I happened onto your channel, quite by chance! I'm going to try this...although we don't get Domestos here in Canada, I guess its household bleach. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Fern Crafts. Many thanks for taking a look at my channel. Yes ordinary household bleach will do the job for you providing you give the plant a strong dose for a few minutes followed by a very good rinsing.
Ed.
Thx Ed will definitely try it! Thanks for the sub as well:)
Wow, amazing...who would have thought you could do that? We are probably fussing way too much! Love your videos, thanks Ed.
Hi Fiona and glad that you like my way of dealing with bugs. It really works if and when you come to try it --- and don't go easy on the bleach.
Ed
I have been fighting a spider mite infestation with my miltoniopsis and oncidium. I did a lot of spray washing and neem oil, but the thing that REALLY helped my orchids was Ed's bleach trick. It's absolutely the best solution for pests and critters. Thank you so much!
Thank you for those very kind words Joy. I can't understand when some growers say the bleach doesn't work and others say it kills the plants......I think they are just wrapped up into too much hokey-pokey!! Take care and thanks for using the bleach. Have a lovely Christmas,
Ed.
thanks for this informative vid. I saw Rachel's video and came here. and subscribed emediatly 👌 well done easy peasy and cheap cure for a lot of narly bugs
Thank you Rozanna and I hope I can continue to make informative videos ---- which will be enjoyable.
Ed.
Thank you for this great info! i have orchids and thinking that the scale is becoming resistant to the insecticide i have been using.
Very pleased you have found this useful Clay.
Ed.
Ed, I thought I was subscribed to you but obviously something went wrong along the way because I wasn't and have been missing all your great videos. Sorted now. Thank you for this great video.
Thanks for subscribing Rachel ----- hope you enjoy them as much as i like yours.
Ed
LOVE THIS TIP GONNA TRY WITH A DEN NOBILE HAS MEALY KEEP TREATING AND STILL COMES BACK...THNK YOU ED...
Hi Irma. Please let me know how you get on with it.
Ed
Thanks for this tip I haven't seen any insects on my orchids are my houseplants maybe it's because of the software and the Epsom salts I used all the time in my nutrient solution. And I give calcium supplement in the form of the brand-name calmagic which is calcium and magnesium. Rick always says you give the best advice and I think he gives great advice also I pray for him and his wife all the time. God bless you Ed for your wonderful videos
Kathleen. I really miss my orchid chats with Rick and I hope he can get back to some kind of good health. You are giving them correct nutrients but never over feed the plants and make sure you flush yjem with good clean water on a regular basis. Good to hear you don't experience any bugs at the moment.....mealy bugs especially can find some funny places to hide. The sulphur and the pottasium will go some way to prevent certain types of bugs like spider mite but always keep your eyes open for the mealies which can frequently be found in the leaves which are close together at the base of the plants.
Ed
@@EdsOrchids thank you for that advice I know I have been negligent and doing the flushing I used to always do that before every soak but things got kind of complicated around here so I haven't done it before every nutrient soak. I am going to try your Epsom salts flush since I haven't done that for about a month. I was trying to use the water from the dehumidifier to do that flush. Rick always talked highly of you I'm said he learned a lot from you. I like the videos where you and Rick talk about the nutrients and how they work in a plant because even though you're talkin about orchids I'm sure that's the same way they work in all plants. Since I live in Maryland the only places I can buy orchids are supermarkets Lowe's Home Depot. And I just looked out the other day and was able to get some Bag babies at Lowe's and instead of $14 since they have been there a while I only paid five. So I'm new to dendrobiums and Katt leya I know how to spell it but I use the microphone on my cell phone keyboard to dictate my comments so I'm not going to correct it takes too long! Also maybe you can tell me a good place to buy a cymbidium I would love to have a couple of them. But I do love my phalaenopsis because they bloom for so long and I have been a estatic because I got them to rebloom. And I guess even more important than that I've got them to grow new leaves and I really enjoy seeing the root tip start to grow
@@EdsOrchids and also thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to respond to my post I appreciate it very much. I have a little RUclips channel was just a few hundred subscribers close to 300. I started my channel because Carolyn who maybe you know her RUclips channel is a combination of her name and her husband's name Jack so it's Jacqueline's orchids but Jaclyn spelled with an O. She was responding to me along with Rick and she said just start a RUclips channel so I could show her my orchids and what was going on. So my first videos were on my orchids but then it branched out to also include my houseplants but since so much is going on lately I haven't had a chance to post. Once again thank you sir for your helpful information and also for taking the time to share your knowledge with all of us on RUclips. I'm 71 years old and who would have thought there'd be such a wonderful thing as RUclips so we could keep on learning all our life
I am glad it works. Good to have a straight out effective bug control. I use mayonnaise real mayo on my phal leaves for a shine and indoor pest. 💚. Great video!
Well that's a new one on me I must give that one a try. Does it prevent spidermite??
Ed
Eds Orchids Spider mites have not been seen in 3 years when I purchased the phal with the one root that is yellow it had a small bit and out went the bark outcame the water and mayo..lol Have not seen them since.
HELP. HELP, HELP! Ed, I don’t have bugs but I do have orange rot on my Miltoniopsis. 😥😥 It is like they have all lined up and are marching steadily to THE BIN.
I have tried everything and now I am going to take a few of them and do the bleach dip. I have a 10:1 solution - it froths when stirred - and going to dip them, rinse them (7-10 minutes for each step) and dry them in front of a fan briefly and repot.
I expect if it kills them, I’ll be none the worse off than before and at least when they get pitched in the bin, they will be clean.
ANY words of wisdom, encouragement or prayers are appreciated. If you read Roger’s Face Book page lately, you’ve seen my whining and fussing about this issue.
Thanks so much for all your videos. My husband and I watch every one you post.
I'm so sorry you're having this problem Pix but to be honest I have never kept Miltoniopsis so I know very little about them. The only thing I can think of is that you have a root problem and that Miltoniopsis shows a 'pinkimg ' when they are not at all well.with pink pseudobulbs and dying yellowish leaves. Sorry I don'r use facebook but I'll make and exception and see what he says about the problem.......I still think it will be a root problem which will rob the plant of vigour which in turn will not be able to provide with the essentials nutrients the plant will need.
I don't think the bleach will help/
Sorry I can't be more specific but I wish you all the best in trying to rectify the problem.
Ed
Hi Ed- I've been looking for an effective way to get rid of those darn pest and going to try the bleach method on a few. Can I dunk the whole plant- media and all? I'm just worried about it not being the right time for some of the cattleyas and dendrobiums. Don't need further set-back. ... Thanks Ed!!
Yes you can dunk the whole lot in the bleach. Make sure the bleach is a STRONG solution and you leave them in for two or three minutes. the solution will not harm the plants in any shape or form so don't worry about the strength. It is necessary to give the plants a good rinsing afterwards. Thank you for the question.
Ed,
Thank you Very Much Ed for the Video. I am desperately trying to save my 20 avocado plants from root rot. Can I use the same trick for Avocado?
Yes you can try it Kanagaraj but I would only try it on s couplr of plsnts to see if Avocados will respond badly to bleach........very safe with orchids though......thank you and I wish you luck with your plants,
Ed
Thanks for this great tip Ed ....I will try this as i seem to have a problem with spidermites
Should do the trick for you Tina --- make the portion strong enough and don't forget to rinse afterwards. I would repot in clean compost as well.
Ed
An egg cup of bleach to two gallons water
You can double this if you like. I was only suggesting an egg cup full for those who are a bit worried about using it.
Ed.
That’s how we I to my corals and other aquarium plants. It’s very effective.
Thank you Jackie.....you cannot beat the bleach!!!
Ed.
Hi Ed,
Great, I have been looking for a solution to mealy bug and scale.
Will spraying the plant with the same solution as affective, without taking thr plant out of th r pot?? Looking forward to your reply.
Hi. Do you mean the trays or the baskets??
The trays the plants are stood in are available at most garden centres.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Instead of taking the whole plant out of the pot or basket, just your solution on the plant for mealy bug and scale on the infected areas. Will this work??
Hi Ed. Instead of pulling the orchid out of the pot. Could I spray the orchids with bleach water or watering the orchids with the bleach water, then watering them with water?
I don't see why not Skya but it seems that doing it this way will add more time to your orchid care.....I try to make things easier!!
Ed
@@EdsOrchids Many thanks Ed 👍 Appreciate you for always being so thoughtful 💕
Interesting video! I never had a bug problem in full honesty. There was a one snail in a new bought plant but beyond that I think I was fairly lucky.
Hope it never happens to you Robert. Maybe you give them a good inspection before you buy?
Ed
Eds Orchids yes I do, I'm very picky when it comes to buying. Only on two occasions I went for a purchase by heart not brain.
Wow thanks for sharing your incredible knowledge! I hope many more wonderful ideas to come. You were kind enough to give me some insight into re-potting my ang. Magdalenae which I will be doing soon thank you. Do you grow any Masd or Dracula orchids?
Hi Judy. Sorry I don't grow Masd or Draculas. I tend to just stay with 3 varieties namely Paphs, Phrags and Angs but I do have a variety of others but only in small doses!!
Ed
Hi Ed. Thank you so much for this video. I never thought that bleach can be used as insecticide. Had thrips infection over the winter months and spend to much money and time trying get rid of little buggers now I will use this method. Thanks again. Jelena.
Good afternoon Jelena and thankyou for taking a peak at my channel. Don't be frightened of using too much bleach it will not harm the plants especially if you give them a good rinsing afterwards. Let me know how you get on with the treatment. Have a lovely day.
Ed.
Thank you! Your videos are really helpful! Can I bleach new phrags before repotting just for prevention of insects?
You certainly can do that Elena....make sure you give them a good rinsing afterwards although bleach will not kill or harm your orchids.....regardless of what others think. Thank you and have a lovely weekend,
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids thank you very much for your reply! Have a great weekend!
Hi from South Africa-- This looks great - can I do this with all my orchids? (when necessary) And will it be a problem if done in winter ? I have a shade house with polycarb roof with temps in May-June (beginning of winter here) at min 12 -max 27 degrees . This morning I found some mealy bugs on one of my Phals . I treated some scale on a cymbidium last week ,by cleaning off with isopropyl alcohol then spraying with malathion. Your method looks easier to do and more thorough. Thanks for the advice - will definitely be watching as many of your videos as possible -need to learn a lot , fairly new at this.
Good evening melene. You certainly can do this with all your orchids without fear of doing them any harm --you can also do it in winter if necessary. Your temperatures look very good they are above what I expect here in summer!!
The treatment you have been using is text book and should do the trick but you will find that the bleach treatment will work and you can do it again after a week if the infestation is very bad. Thank you for taking a look at my channel and have a very joyful weekend.
Ed.
Thanks for such a prompt reply - one other thing , the phal that I mentioned has 2 spikes (no flowers yet) will they be fine if dunked in the bleach? Should I wait a week before re-potting in pine bark ,in case I need to repeat the treatment?
Hi melene. If the phal has buds which are not open in any form I think they will be OK being dunked. The bark needs to be replaced if the outbreak is sufficient to have advanced to the substrate, From not seeing the plant this is the best advise I am able to give you. Hope everything turns out fine for you.
Ed.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
The pleasure is all mine.
Ed
Seems incredible!!! Very interesting.
Just an old fashioned remedy Orchidana Thanks for watching.
Ed
Thanks so much Ed, can I do this with Paphs too..????
Yes you can Regine. If you don't want to dunk the whole plant into the mix then you can make a much weaker solution and spray the plant. Thank you for your comment.....take care and thank you,
Ed.
Thanks for the idea Ed
Just an old fashioned remedy Terry.
Ed.
Thank you Ed 👍👍👍☝
Hope your plants have settled in Vince.
Ed.
Eds Orchids yes all checked and repotted. small snails in one pot the zygo . one pot 2 slugs the other plant we found scale so it's away from the rest. your video tonight will be useful. it's a learning curve for us Ed. Every new plant gets cleaned and repotted
Hi Ed, can this be done on a monthly basis? For health reason, I want to make sure that all fungus/mold (and even algae) are removed from the orchid I keep in my bedroom. I grow my phal bare-rooted (has been doing very well so far), so there is no need to worry about potting media issue with this bleaching method. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.
Sorry for the delay in replying Loong. You can do this as often as you want providing you give the plant a very good rinsing afterwards.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thank you so much for your reply and advice. I will definitely do it on a weekly basis. So far, they are all looking well after your recommended bleach(none scented) treatment, with flower buds are still intact ( I didn't soak the flowers). As I have a bottle of aquarium anti-chlorine that I was about to throw in the bin, I just added some after the bleach treatment hoping to remove as much bleach smell as possible. They do smell great after a thorough rinse. I will definitely give an update if anyone asks for it. :) Once again Ed, thanks for the advice and your awesome videos!!
I am in Fl. right now but when we get back to Signal Mountain, Tn.USA I will put it to good use. Someone is caring for my Orchids right now and I am afraid when I get home I may have some scale to deal with.
Have a safe flight and I hope you don't find any scale. The bleach will kill them but the dead scale will remain on the plant so give them a wipe with a damp cloth to remove them completely. Thanks for watching.
Ed.
This was a very interesting video. Thank you. May I ask what is the active ingredient in domestos ? I wonder if it is equivalent to our Clorox. (In the USA).
I think it will probably be the same --chlorine/clorox bleaches sound very similar. Just try it and rinse afterwards I would be very surprised if it had a bad effect on the plant.
Ed
First rays has info on using bleach in the USA. I believe he mentions what kind of bleach since there are different kinds of bleach. The info is probably in the disease control section as he used to use it for that.
USA or not in USA , Domestos and in AFRICA are is Domestos!!!
It is autumn here in South Africa and I have just see a lot of mielie bugs of several of my orchids ....can I do this in this cooler season?
Good evening Melene. you can give them the bleach treatment all the year round....bleach will not affect orchids but make sure you give them a good rinsing afterwards. Many growers have said that they have lost orchids and blamed the bleach treatment.....instead of blaming themselves on bad cultivation. Don't be scared about tha amount of bleach you use it definitely won't harm your plants. Thank you and take care,
Ed.
Thank you or replying.
Hi Ed, just wondering if we can use this method to sterilize brand new cattleya (shipped from brand new supplier) that has flower sheath?
No reason why not Loong, Make sure the mix is of a high strength and give it a good rinse afterwards......no problem and thanks for the comment.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thank you Ed for the reply. Will definitely give them a good soak and a thorough rinse.
Hi, Ed. Great video, thank you. I'm going to try this for a mealy bug issue and I'm wondering if you can tell me whether it's necessary to do a follow up treatment in a week or two or if in your experience one bleach bath is enough to wipe them out?
Hi Jenjiyo. There should be no reason to repeat the process but it will do no harm if you think it necessary. just make the solution strong enough and give the plant a good rinsing after about 10mins or so. The bleach will remove all bugs. Thankyou for your comment.
Ed.
Thank you so much for your quick response, Ed! Your advice is much appreciated :) Cheers.
Hi Ed can you use the water and bleach as a spray? How much bleach to water would you use? I have some plants that have a small infestation but they keep coming back,. Thanks.
Hi Mark. If you have an infestation On some plants I would remove the plant from the pot and soak the plant in the solution for 5/6 minutes followed by a good rinse. If you only have an occasional problem I would put a few drops of bleach per litre into your spray and treat them that way.
Ed.
Thanks for this Ed! I have a few tolumnias that just arrived today which are heavily infested with snails and some type of mites. They arrived mounted on slabs of wood. Is it safe to do the soak now or should I wait a few weeks to get them to acclimatize to my environment first? Appreciate any help. 😊
Good morning Racie. I would treat them immediately to stop the bugs from further damaging the plants and always remember to give them a good rinsing afterwards. This can be done by dunking them in tepid water or by rinsing them under the tap. Hope you have the best of luck with them. Thank you and take care,
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids ok then, I will give it a go. Thanks so much for the prompt reply, Ed.
Sensational, would this work for mites ? I’ve got a bad case of mites on a dendrobium.
Thanks Ed
Sorry I'm a couple of weeks late with this reply but I've only just found it on my computer.
Yes this will definitely work on all bugs Andre.....my apologise once again.
Ed.
Is the bleach used in the video the same kind of bleach we have in the USA? I don't think our USA bleach gets frothy like that...I could be wrong. Will the bleach help with diseases too? I grow irises and and dunk them in bleach water when I divide them. Learned that from Martha Stewart years ago. She used 1 part USA bleach to 10 parts water for the irises. Also, do you have to unpot the orchid to use this treatment? Could you run the water through the media?
I haven't gone into the thought of can bleach be used for diseases....I think this should be left to those who study that kind of thing. I only know that it will definitely get rid of bugs using a very strong solution followed by a very good rinsing. I only dunk the plant in bleach and throw away the medium just in case some bugs are lurking there. If you dunk the whole plant in together with the pot then I think you would have a problem with the rinsing process.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thanks!
Dear Ed Sir, should I bleech my orchids even if its not infested with bugs once in a while too? Your ofchids leaves looks so green and healthy what/how to have that?
Hi Janey Ng. The bleaching will not harm the plants in any way providing you give them a good rinse afterwards. If there is no seeable reason to give them the bleach treatment then why go through the process. Thanks for asking and have a good day.
Ed.
The leaves look healthy because I don't feed too much which means the leaves don't need to rid themselves of excess nutrients/salts through the leaf tips. Although if you think that you have some form of attack on a plant then I would give it a strong bleach treatment,
Eds Orchids thanks for answering promptly
I found a long slug around one of my indoor orchids. Do you have any suggestions how to get rid of slugs?
A bit difficult using slug pellets indoors. If I were you I would put some beer into a tray and put it close to your plants. Have a look when the place has been in complete darkness for at least one hour.....you will find them crawling around the trays......it will work if there are more slugs or snails present.
Ed.
Thanks Ed!
Any time I can remember little tips which are excellent in use I will always make available to viewers of my channel Thank you and take care,
Ed.
Oh my...this is really amazing what I discovered. Domestos??? Well I love Domestos and always have one in my home. Is there specific dosage or just...put some.
Sorry Lady Orchid I was just going through some old videos and found your unanswered comment You will probably put a half bottle od Domestos into a two gallon bucket...give it a good stir until it gets very frothy and your ready to give it the drenching, My opologies once again.
Ed
@@EdsOrchids dear Ed all fine 🤗 Thank you!
Can you exactly what kind of detergents do you use. Thanks
I use nothing but household bleach.....thank you.
Ed.
Did you put the pot in bleach water & rinse water, before repotting it.
Sometimes I do bleach and clean the pots and sometimes I put the plants in new pots. All pots are cleaned and used again.......Thank you.
Ed.
Thank you, I would hate to see the bugs come back.
hello!
mr Ed.. I live in India, Chennai. your video is very informative.it is such a help for beginners in orchid hobby.would you be kind enough to tell me if the bleach you are using is used for cleaning washrooms or is it a clothes bleach? because here in India we get two different bleachs.i would be waiting for your reply.
thanking you
sheetal
Hello again Sheetal Any kind of bleach should be OK but you the bleach for cleaning washrooms. Let me know what happens!!!
Ed.
Hello Ed!!! What are you thoughts on using this method for spider mites?
This method will remove and kill all the bugs crystal. thanks for asking and I hope you have success in removing them......take care and than you,
Ed.
Ed I came back to tell you I have been using this method and it has worked like a charm! I just sent this video to a friend today! Thank you so much for the info and all of your wonderful videos!
Thanks Ed, never heard of this before. I'm always concerned about concentrations when making up solutions, so I did a test - I squirted the exact same bleach into a measuring cylinder, copying the time length of your squirt! it came to 30-35ml, and your buckets are 10 litre buckets. I would use gloves though! Thanks again Ed (~8. #RickLOrchids.
Hi Karsten and thank you for the comment. You have no need to worry about the amount of bleach to use just use enough to create a good froth on the water when stirred. I am of the opinion you cannot do any harm to the plants of you give them a large overdose of the bleach...…. just give the plants a good rinsing afterwards and the bugs will have gone.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thanks Ed! 😁
Thanks for tip,very useful !Have a good day 😊!
Hope you find it very useful Potted Jewels and many thanks for bothering to take a look at the channel. Have a very good day.
Ed.
I just hope i won't have to use it Ed,but i know people who will be happy to hear about this metod.Thanks!
Let's hope that you have no need to use it -- but it does work for people who do!! Thanks.
Ed.
Do you have to use a new bucket of water/bleach for each plant?
No. you can use the mixture several times over.
Ed
May I ask you how you refresh the growing medium. Is it okay to pour the diluted bleach over the orchid so as to get rid of the bugs in the medium?
Hi Jokha, I've never done it this way. I always soak the whole plant and repot in good clean compost and a clean plastic pot. There's nothing to stop you doing it your way but the problem you will get is that you will have to continually flush the medium after the treatment.
Ed
Eds Orchids Thank you
Hi Ed! Just found your channel and this video, I think I’ve got thrips on my Phals and a Den Phal, id love to bleach the little beggars but they are on the flowers, any advice please?
Whatever you use I think you will damage the flowers. There is a product on the market called Plant Invigorator which has very good reports for freeing plants of bugs including spider mites-- sorry I can't help you any further..... I've never been troubled with thrips for some reason!!
Take care,
Ed
Eds Orchids Thankyou so much for the quick reply, I’ve ordered some of that and hope it does the trick. If I spray everything apart from the flowers surely it will help 🤞 I’ve been squashing the ones I see in the flowers as they are black but I’ve read the young are harder to see. They seam to tunnel round the edge of the petals while they are still in bud and then they look a mess when they open. They seem to struggle to open sometimes. I’ve been putting it down to the heat wave but it’s happening since it cooled down. Soul destroying 😔 thanks again!
Makes perfect sense to me, but we don't have that stuff here in the US. I can't even come up with an equivalent. No wonder the bathrooms in Glasgow were so fresh! My daughter lived there for 4 years, and I wonder if she used this stuff?
What no bleach in the US-- I can't believe it!!!
Ed.
Eds Orchids... No more bleach to be found in the US, Ed... Trump bought it all; it keeps his hair nice and orange... :)
Ha Ha. No thick bleach like they have in that Domestos container. Although maybe John Benedict is right, but I think only god knows what Trump puts in his hair to make it that color of orange. LOL
Now let's not make this channel political you two!!!!!!!!!! makes you wonder thou!!
Eds Orchids So sorry, Ed. It was not my intention at all... and was just adding a little humor regarding the bleach and its strength... and I should have simply stuck to that and not added anything else. I hope I didn't offend anyone and if so I did not mean to and I'm very sorry. Thanks.
I use clorox to sanitize my tools but I never thought to use it as a bug killer...I may have to give it a go! Thanks for the tip!
You won't be sorry, I've been using it for years.
Ed
Thank you SO much!!!
My pleasure Sherry/
Hi Ed. I finally got around buying a bottle of bleach. It's not Domestos though, just some no-brand bottle of bleach. Not sure about the measurements - could you tell me how much exactly to put of it in the water? Had I bought Domestos, I would have poured the same than you, but as it's not the same brand I'm not sure.... Don't want to accidentally overdose it. Thank you in advance, Ed! I've kept coming to your video so many times. :)
Good evening Jojo Bee and thanks for your very nice comment. You can't overdose the plants just make sure that after you have given them a good dip in the bleach mixture they get thoroughly rinsed in fresh water Hope this helps.
Ed
Thank you so much, Ed! Glad to hear there's no danger to overdose. I'll be treating my phalaenopsis orchids today, as I detected some spidermites recently. I really appreciate your help!
Jo
Ps. The bleach I bought includes; "
If it's only 5% then everything should be fine. Just give the plant a good rinsing after a couple of minutes soak. If you are still not sure then Plant Invigorator will be your solution... although to keep free from bugs you will have to spray the plants weekly
Hope you are successful,
Ed
I treated one plant yesterday and it looks totally fine today, so I'm pretty sure I can treat the rest with the same product. Will give it a few more days, just to be on the safe side.
I'll remember Plant Invigorator if needed in the future - thanks for the suggestion! And THANK YOU once again for all your help and support. Looking forward to see more of your videos.
Have a good weekend.
Jo
Would this be safe to use on softer plants like Pothos?
I can't see any problem with doing this , just make sure you give a good fresh water rinsing afterwards
Ed
Blimey, who would have thought good old domestos. I love bleach, if it moves in our house it gets bleached, lol. Thanks Ed.
Hello Margaret.---- it's amazing what you can use bleach for.
Ed.
What can we use in the United States for the bleach? Soap and a little bit of bleach? How much?
No need to use the soap Marjorie just use the bleach in strong doses and rinse very well afterwards. I use almost a full bottle of bleach in a 2 gallon bucket and have never had an adverse effect on the orchids. Take care and thank you for your comment,
Ed.
Does this damage Spanish moss?
Does this kill snails and their eggs as well?
I haven't tried it on spanish moss so I can't help you on this I've never been troubled with snails so whether this is because of the treatment or not ---- could be I suppose!
Ed.
I'm trying this. Got a major mite problem in my orchid media. Not sure if they're eating roots or the media but it has spread like wildfire to all my orchids. Repotting did not rectify the issue. I hope ASDA smart price bleach kills mites because fairy liquid doesn't. Insecticide doesn't bother them either! I'm soaking the whole pot with the media and then flushing and soaking again in water.
You're doing it right just let me know how you get on -- be sure to make the bleach strong enough.
Ed
Very interesting!
And it's 100% guaranteed to get rid of them Terry. Thank you for having a look at my channel and have a very good weekend.
Ed.
One time when I was working as a team mother in the concession stand at a Little League there was bleach sitting there to use to clean up things and some of the Jug's that we put water in we're really yucky looking even after you wash them dirty-looking stained whatever. So I poured some bleach in dirty looking stained whatever. So I poured some bleach in them and added some water and started to rinse them clean with that solution and a lady started getting very upset saying I was going to poison the kids I said don't you think it's in the water already? It's bleach it kills germs plus it it gets rid of the dirt and the stains I don't want my kid drinking out of something that looks that yucky. I couldn't believe what she said oh I never thought about that!
Bleach doesn't harm plants or anything else for that matter but everything must be rinsed well after use. Take care.
Ed
Ed could you tell me what the ingredients are in your bleach?
Hi Linda and thankyou for asking. The ingredients are:-Sodium hypochlorite 4.5grms per 100grms., soap and perfume -non ionic surfactants.
Ed.
OK thank you my clorox bleach also has Sodium Hydroxide. Can't be used for this I was also told the ingredient Sodium hypochlorite shouldn't be used on orchids. I guess yours is working though. Just wanted to add this so someone else with my same ingredients doesn't try to do this.
Hi, How to get rid of spider mites?
Hi I use a product called " Plant invigorator " which seems to be very effective.... but there are many products which will be good to varying degrees.
Ed
Ed would this be safe for my succulents?
Hi Jem Jem. I can't see any reason why it shouldn't work on succulents....providing that you give them a good rinsing afterwards.
Ed.
Thank you Ed
Would a non chlorine bleach work?
Your guess will be just as mine on this one. You can only give it a try. thanks for the comment only sorry that i can't help you further.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thanks for such quick response! I think I will just go out and get some regular chlorine bleach. I'm afraid to experiment lol I've been battling thrips. They are nasty little buggers. They ate all of my Vanda blooms and they began working on my Cattleya. I'm so close to just starting a bonfire and torching my entire collection. Its infuriating. I've tried peroxide, water and alcohol, listerine, insecticidal soap, systemic insecticide and I'm still finding a few bugs here and there. Bleach here I come. Thanks again Ed!
What about the medium... you have to dung them in the bleach too.
No when things get so bad you have to use the bleach then it's best to repot in fresh substrate.
Ed.
@@EdsOrchids Thanks.
very interesting. what strenght of bleach is this? 3%??
Doesn't say on the label but I just use enough to get a good lather on top of the bucket. Sorry I can't give you any more detail on the subject.
Ed.
Ed, will using the bleach also kill the mealybugs eggs?
It certainly will beth Ann if you make the bleach liquid strong enough........will not harm the orchids with a good flushing afterwards.
Ed.
Thanks for your help.
Wow, first time I see this. Thank you for your experience
Your welcome Irina.
Ed.