Nepenthes Being Eaten!

Ctcreel@top.cis.syr.edu
Sun, 31 Jul 94 17:54:48 EDT

There are two things you can do. They are put in order of extremes,
the first being the least extreme.

1) Dunk the plants in a bucket of spring water (warm) for about two
hours. This will not kill the plant, but it will kill whatever
is eating it. It will not, however, prevent the pest from coming
back.

2) Soak the plant with Safer-Soap. This is a very friendly insecticide
that is available at most nurseries.

3) Buy a batch of Praying Mantis's. I use these to protect my orchids.

They will live in a greenhouse for several weeks, quite happily and eat
every insect in sight, no matter how large or small. A friend of mine
uses Wolf Spiders, which will hang around even if there isn't any food.
But I hate spiders, so I just opt to buy the mantis's every couple of
months.

4) Spray liberally with Pyrethrin. This is an organically based product
that does quite well at getting rid of a wide range of insects.

5) Use the previous product with spreader sticker. This will enhance the
strength of any insecticide and keep it on the plant longer. If you plabn
on using this, then try not to get any of the spray in the traps.

6) If none of these work or appeal to you, go for the nuclear arsenal
approach: Malathion. This is a general insecticide that will kill whatever
is eating your plants. It is also very dangerous. Do not use this product
with spreader sticker. Do not use on plants that are going to be indoors
as it smells horrendous. Do not use at it's full concentration as it
might distort future growth on your plants for a few months. Do not get
it in to the traps and avoid getting it in the soil. If possible, put on
rubber gloves and and put it on with a cotton ball.

Hope these ideas help

Chris