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Help, pest problem on my drosera spatulata

Soooo, a few days ago, this was discovered on a pot that's placed right next to the Drosera Spatulata.

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Then I started seeing webs appearing so I i'm assuming the spatulata is also infected with the same pest.

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Sorry the webs are kind of hard to see cause I got rid of them before I took the picture. (dumb i know)

The thing is I poked around and looked under some dead leaf but can't find anything.

This clump of Spatulata has alot of space I have no access to which makes great hiding spots.

What should i do? Can I spray the whole plant down with insecticide? Should I also spray down the other plant?

If i was to spray is it safe to get insecticide on the leafs with dew?

Thanks!
 
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Ime drosera reacted okay to imidicloprid. Did produce some deformed leaves.
 
Bt is your best bet. Pretty much specific to get rid of most leaf roller caterpillars. The 1st/2nd instar of the Orange Tortrix and Light Brown Apple Moth will build silk nest and tunnels in you plants and on top to of the medium. The caterpillars at this stage of development are less than 1/2" in length, move surprisingly fast and are very good at hiding. If the sense movement they will hide or freeze and it takes a practiced eye to spot them. The silk tents protects them from most sprays. If you are patient you can sneak up on them and see them while they are active and exposed and you might be able to catch.

Act quickly as these are very ravenous eaters and will make short work of your Drosera.

Bacillus thuringiensis must be ingested by the caterpillar to work. Safer Garden Dust is Bt and is available (usually) at Home Depot although I prefer a "wet" product. Bt is available from Garden Safe and Bonide so you may find these brands at other nurseries.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Safer-Brand-8-oz-Garden-Dust-5162/202672582

Note this is a different strain of Bt then that which is used in mosquito control products like Mosquito Dunks. The strain used for mosquitoes is Bt - Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti). Bti is less effective for butterfly and moth larvae.

You can also use Spinosad but this is less specific than Bt and will affect other insects including honey bees.
 
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Thanks Not a number, you're always amazing.

I have some Bayer Dual Action Rose & Flower Insect Killer, do you think this will work?

If not, i'll go buy what you suggested.
 
In theory that stuff should work - but I haven't had much luck against the orange tortrix larvae. The dual action is a contact pesticide and a systemic - the contact has to actually touch the insect and the silk webbing helps protect them. The systemic they either shrug off or it takes too long to minimize damage. You can also get predatory nematodes at OSH that should take care of them - kind of expensive for a small collection of plants.

Submerging the pots might not work as the silk webbing holds a lot of air spaces, but might flush some of the larvae out into the open.

These pests will munch on Sarracenia pitchers and the developing seed pods (fruits) too.

If you get the dust, I would avoid sprinkling it on the tentacles if at all possible.
 
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Thank you!!! Love you so much NAN. Total life saver
 
thanks1 i'll look for it.

Speaking of BT and Caterpillars I remembered I learned about them when I studied the history genetically engineered food, the experiment on BT corn, and the effects it had on Monarch butterflies. No wonder BT sounded so familiar to me.
 
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Hey Not a number, if I buy the Safer® Brand Caterpillar Killer II With B.T. Concentrate 16oz., can i just spray that on all the plants? Or should I avoid the tentacles?

also what is the recommended ratio of water to this concentrate? 1 ounce to 1 gallon?
 
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  • #10
Should be safe to just spray it on. Follow the directions for mixing, I believe it is one oz per gallon.
 
  • #11
Thanks not a number. I actually found a caterpillar yesterday and this morning i don't see any web. I'm going to keep monitoring while i wait for the BT to arrive.
 
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