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Pest problem..help!

I have not seen this in a loooong time. One of my tanks has broken out in those little tiny white guys that look like minute white rods. The N. "ile de France" seems like the focal point(95% on that one), but I have a sumatrana doing very well in there also.
What is the recommended pesticide these days?

Cheers,

Joe
 
In my greenhouse at home I have used Orthene (acephate) with good results. At the University greenhouse, we do not use chemical pesticides and have relied on biologic controls with limited success. I have been unable to successfully grow Heliamphora, Sarracenia, D. scorpioides, and several other CPs in the University greenhouse, because they are continually and severely attacked by thrips.

There are a number of good Web resources on the control of thrips, such as
http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/ipmnet/thrips.htm
but some are a bit silly. For example
http://steverd.com/violets/thrips.htm
suggests
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Natural controls:
Try Sundew or Butterworts plants
 
Sundews and butterworts do work, but you need a LOT of them in relation to the pest problem. If you have a 50 gallon tank as your chamber, you should fill every abailable nook with a dew or a ping to really make a difference. I solved my fungus gnat problem that way. Pings looked like I had up-ended a pepper shaker on them!
 
Hi,
I regularly get the WFT's in my greenhouse and keep them well under control or eliminated per plant using Superfine
Hort. oil. It's mild enough to use on most everything without the toxic effects. A good covering every 3-4 days for at least
three times should show results. Remember they also hide in the cracks around the plant. Be sure not to spray with direct sunlight on the foilage otherwise it will probably burn the plant.
Truly,
Tom
 
Well, I guess when I stop somwwhere, I will see if they have that too. Thanks, Tom!

Cheers,

Joe
 
Joe,
Sounds more like whitefly than thrips. The little white dots are actually capsules. If you look closely they are shaped like tiny tic-tacs. Remove them with a mixture of water and alcohol 50/50, with a drop of liquid soap to about a shot glass of the water/alcohol mixture. Scrub the little varments off with a cotton swab. This will get rid of the capsules, but the adults, which appear as small white flies, are lurching in the potting mix, where they go to mate and produce an additional generation of little white capsules! This happens on about a ten day cycle, so they can quickly decimate your N. 'Ile de France'. This is where a Nepenthes friendly insecticide is useful. Like Tom suggested, Orthene is very good, and may require repeated spraying about two weeks apart. Also, Malathion 50 as a wettable powder is also an effective topical spray. Unfortunately, they both smell horrible. Once the whitefly is seemingly eradicated, you can use Neem Oil as a preventative, but alone, it's not enough to stop the pests.
Whitefly has a strange preference for a certain plant, and will encrust it if left alone, never touching the plant next to it.
Good luck!

Trent
 
Trent,

I think you are right on what they may be. I tried some online searching, and that comes closest, though I could not find a pic that looks just like this.
Smell, schmell, I want them eradicated!

Thanks,

Joe
 
Orthene is my number one weapon in the arsenal of insecticides. Works on contact and poisons the pests for many months after the initial first week applications. Haven't had a problem since, the only thing that seems to plague me on my Brugmansia plant are those rotten spider mites...my lord those are terrible, but as soon as I find them, out comes the Acephate!
 
  • #10
Trent,
I stopped at two places yesterday(Home Depot and a Earl May Garden Center)-no Orthene, Malathion or anything close.
Oh and you were right-they are all on the N. 'Ile de France'....not a single thing evident on other plants on in the tank. I will bag it today, whether I can find something or not.

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #11
Has anyone ever tried the swabbing off of the capsules along with immersing the pot in water for two days? I don't think two days submerged will hurt the root system, and, theoretically it would drown the varmints.
 
  • #12
Schloaty,

That was the first method that actually came to mind.
Say Trent, if the varmints are in the soil, could you do that and re-pot after swabbing?

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #13
We've never done that because in a greenhouse the little flies will leave the potting mix and hideout somewhere. Maybe you've seen 'em: they look like a tiny, gnat sized fly, white in color and they flit through the foliage. If you were to get a dark background and a good cross light, then shake the infested plant, you would see them flit around. When not down in the moist potting media mating, they hang out on the foliage, especially the undersides of the leaves.
 
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