It’s not always easy to navigate inside a terrarium or bottle garden, but having the right tools makes things much more straightforward, and fun rather than frustrating.

The plants inside my BiOrbAir have so far received very little attention since I planted them.  Any work I have undertaken has been documented in my long term review of my BiOrbAir terrarium.

Removal of terrarium pests

Recently I have been having problems with a family of woodlice, who were unintentionally installed inside my BiOrbAir terrarium, when I placed a piece of real wood inside my BiOrbAir, as a decorative feature, when I initially planted up the terrarium.  The woodlice have been very difficult to remove, as they are far quicker and more agile than I am using my home made and improvised tools.  So I decided to see if using specially designed, long handled terrarium tools would help me to remove the woodlice, and if the tools would help me with my indoor gardening.

Yesterday I spotted a slug inside my BiOrbAir, I was so glad to see it, as I have noticed slug damage on the plants inside my BiOrbAir for a little while, but I hadn’t seen a slug for sometime.  Usually I spot slugs pretty quickly, as the super clear acrylic globe of this terrarium is never misted up with condensation, thanks to the constantly running air filter, this together with the LED lights means you can see your plants clearly.

Slugs are fairly easy pests to remove as they aren’t quick movers.  I’ve not had any real difficulty in removing slugs from my BiOrbAir, unless the slug has been in an awkward place on a plant, which makes removal take just a little longer with my home-made tools.

Yesterday, I was pleased to remove the slug in super quick time, using my BiOrbAir gardening tweezers.  I was able to pop the slug straight outside into the garden in one quick manoeuvre.

One of the leaves of my Coelogyne cristata orchid has died, this is quite natural and normal, it’s nothing to worry about, the plant is healthy and growing well inside the BiOrbAir terrarium.  This is the first leaf that has died since I planted the orchid inside my BiOrbAir six months ago.  I removed the dead leaf very quickly and easily using the BiOrbAir gardening tweezers.

I have so far successfully removed three woodlice using the long handled BiOrbAir gardening tweezers!  It’s still not an easy task, particularly with the smaller woodlice who really are tiny.  I have the BiOrbAir gardening tools in place beside my BiOrbAir, ready for when the woodlice are active.  I will remove the woodlice as I see them, and place the woodlice safely outside in my garden.

The woodlice have caused quite significant damage to my Selaginella martensii ‘Jori’, they have eaten parts of the plant, and have damaged a large number of the plant’s stems.  I was absolutely thrilled to be able to remove the chewed and damaged stems that were still attached to the Selaginella, using the BiOrbAir gardening tweezers.  The serrated surface of the gripping part of these tweezers ensured that the plant stem was held securely meaning I could work very precisely, detaching and removing the damaged parts with ease.  Here’s a photograph of the Selaginella, so you can see a couple of the damaged stems.

The slug and woodlice had also damaged my Adiantum raddianum ‘Fritz -Luthi’, leaving two stems bare of leaves.  I was able to cut the damaged stems using my BiOrbAir gardening scissors, and then remove the damaged plant material using my BiOrbAir gardening tweezers.

My BiOrbAir terrarium looks so much better now, after tending to the plants for a just a short while, using the specially designed terrarium tools.  These long handled terrarium tools made tending to my terrarium plants an easy to accomplish, fun experience, that took up very little time.

Trials

You may be interested in some of the trials I have conducted.

Terrarium, Vivarium, and Orchidarium Trials

To see how my Orchidarium was created, please click here.

To read the first part of my White Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read the first part of my Madagascar BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read the first part of my Miniature Orchid BiOrbAir Terrarium Trial, please click here.

To read about the general care I give to my orchids and terrarium plants, and the general maintenance I give to my BiOrbAir terrariums, please click here.

To read how I track the temperature, humidity, and light conditions inside my terrariums, please click here.

Compost Trial Reports

To see my various Compost Trials, please click here.

To read advice on planting up containers, please click here.

Sweet Pea Trial Reports

To read the results of my 2017 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

To read the results of my 2016 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

To read the results of my 2015 Sweet Pea Trial, please click here.

Scented Daffodil Trial Reports

To read the results of my 2017 Scented Daffodil Trial, please click here.

Other articles and links that may interest you………

For more information on the BiOrbAir gardening toolset or BiOrbAir terrariums, here’s a link to the BiOrbAir website.

To read about the new features that the new 2017 BiOrbAir terrarium offers, please click here.

To read my planting list of miniature orchids to grow in terrariums, please click here.

To read about using decorative features or ornaments in your terrarium or bottle garden, please click here.

To read the first part of my long-term review of the BiOrbAir, from planting through the next six months, please click here.

For a list of plants that are ideal for growing inside terrarium or bottle gardens, please click here.

To read about traditional bottle gardens and the BiOrbAir, please click here.

For a further article about the BiOrbAir and traditional terrariums, please click here.