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Need help! Pests! D:

Sashoke

Sashoke

http://imgur.com/a/P0t6g

There are these tiny black dots all over a few of my leaves on a Nepenthes of mine. Can anyone help me with either identifying these pests, and how I should go about eradicating them?
 
Well they sort of look like spider mites. Though normally spider mites that I find aren't quite so dark in coloration, but I imagine they can probably come in a variety of hues. Usually they will be producing webbing of some kind on the undersides of the leaves or near the growth point and stem. If they are spider mites you can try:

Applying a solution of neem oil and water on the plant with a spray bottle.

Mechanically eradicating as many as you can, very carefully with a knife or metal pin.

Applying some sort of systemic pesticide.

Introducing predatory mites and/or lady bugs into your collection (this can become ironic quickly within a collection of carnivorous plants).

I suggest using the first and second options in tangent with one another. I have had some success with the combination. A pesticide will usually work instantly and very effectively. I think that spider mites do not appreciate very humid environments either, so perhaps raising the humidity might help with the process.


/2 cents
 
Do they move? Can they be moved easily? Take a needle or corner of a piece of paper give a few a slight nudge. Could be poop of something. Thrips would be a suspect but you should be seeing the scars on the leaves. But then maybe that's what those orange patches are. Poop would wipe off with a little water and a cotton swab.

Looking at this image at full size the spots don't even look 3 dimensional so they may just be nectar gland pores. Or poop. See if the spots clean off.

http://i.imgur.com/0q56g2r.jpg

Do yourself a favor and buy a small 20x magnifier which will give you enough details to positively identify tiny pests like spider mites.
 
Not a number yes the spots are easily removed, I believe it is probably thrips poop.

What I did was:
cleaned all of the visible brown spots off with an earswab with a little alcohol mixture. Then I unpotted the plant, protected the roots and sprayed the whole plant down with an alcohol water mixture. After I had thoroughly hosed it and it was squeaky clean, I washed all the alcohol off with just a plain water spraying. Plant has been repotted in fresh media and without a LSM topper so I can see the plant better.

NotANumber there is a LOT of brown/bronze marks on the bottom of one of the newer leaves, I will post pictures later today.
@Dexenthes there is no webs so I do not think itd be mites.

Do you guys think I should get some neem oil? If the spots start to reappear I think its safe to say it is droppings of some sort of pest I cannot see.
 
http://imgur.com/a/SDyEX

Woke up this morning, inspected the plant and this is what I found. 1 dead dark red mite of some sort, and 1 dead(what appears to be) a thrips larvae.

Any advice guys? I am now officially panicking.
 
You won't find webs unless the infestation is very bad.

Neem oil should work with varying success on both spider mites and thrips. I would apply with the minimum recommended days between applications (4-7 days as I recall) and for the maximum number of applications recommended. Permethrin is one of the specfics for spider mites (almost last resort), kind of nasty stuff. Spinosad is the specific I would recommend for thrips.
 
Whimgrinder has suggested Talstar to kill both the thrips and mites, do you agree that Talstar is good? (Neem oil smells bad apparently, and above 75F can be toxic to Neps)
 
I'm not familiar with the product. It appears to be a Pyrethroid (synthetic Pyrethrim class insecticides) which Permethrin is one of. Whim has decades of horticulture experience so I would go with his recommendation. Personally I do not find the odor of Neem unpleasant. it is related to the pine and cedar families.
 
  • #10
kulamauiman said:
https://www.google.com/search?q=oribatid+mites&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari
oribatid based on size and shape.
Click to expand...

There we go. I knew it was a mite of some kind.

Neem oil doesn't really smell that bad...

The pesticides will work really well, but you should be careful because of how toxic they can be. Would you rather smell the earthy musk of neem oil or know that you are working with pure poison? I've used both, but pesticides are a last resort option for me. I have only used pesticides when my entire collection was in danger or infected and I had tried everything else.

I've never heard of or noticed neem oil as having negative effects on Nepenthes. Who knows though, perhaps it does.
 
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