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Pests

I recently noticed some tiny brown aphid-like things on my VFT. I don't know if they are damaging it but they seem to be clustering around new traps which are about to open and one of these has gone black. Do I need to get rid of these things (I'm surprised because I keep the plant indoors) and how do I do this?
Thanks
 
A cotton wool bud (or Q-Tip as I think Americans call it) dipped in water, or even better isopropyl alcohol. You'll have to pick them off by hand.
 
...or you can submerge the plant in distilled water for 24hours if the problem is with aphids.
 
I thought that worked with sp idermites, not aphids...

heck... get some beneficial insects... though it may be a little early in the year...

you know what finally killed my aphid infestation this year? a tiny little freeze, lasted only a couple hours.. but it killed pretty much all the little suckers... I have been doing cleanup with neem oil ever since... I hate aphids.. hatem hatem hatem...
 
I don't know why I said aphids, really - these insects are much smaller. Absolutely miniscule, I'd say 2mm in length maximum, which is why I only just noticed them. Thanks anyway.
 
Schnapper,

There are some aphids that range down that small so don't discount it. Could be spider mites (look for a very faint webbing) could also be springtails (usually benign but large infestations can cause problems.) I would try the 24-48 hour dunk and if that doesn't clear them up think about getting some Orthene, a systemic insecticide that the plant absorbs and the bugs will get if they eat the plant. You'll need to use it outside doing it early in the morning and then letting the plant 'dry' until evening, it will then be safe to have back in the house (so long as there is no one and nothing that will later try to eat the plant other than the bugs you want to kill.)

Pyro
 
I had some tiny brown scale type insects. They didn't do any harm except to a new shoot so I just got rid of them with water.
 
LOL i had some type of pest on mine but the heat of leaving my plant in 40 degree celcius heat for two weeks killed em!!!!!!!!!hehehehe i know it was a bit hot and my plant was starting to show the sighns so i moved it to a better position where it gets less heat....what i don't understand is why people complain about aphids when there are plants like sundews around-gee plant a couple of capensis in with your flytrap and they will deal with any little bugs!!!!!!!!:)i hope....
 
let me explain why people don't like aphids.

First, a sundew is just the starting snack. Aphids can trot right though their little hairs, especially since they usually attack the underside of a leaf, not the top. 2 Aphids can become 500 aphids in a matter of days.

I don't know when my aphid infestation started this winter, but by the time I caught it, it was already to late. You see, I have four pepper plants, and all that is left of their lush growth, is stems and stems... the aphids are pretty much gone... once they killed off all the leaves I guess they left for better hunting grounds... those that remained, got sprayed with neem oil, wintergreen alchohol/water/soap combo, and subjected to what san antonians laughably call 'cold snaps'. so now, the infestation is 'under control' if not totally dead, have not seen a live aphid in weeks... but their legacy remains... mutilated plants...

plants I could not use orthene on because I eat their produce.

Oh, and Aphids also produce a substance called aphid honey, I think it is their waste, but it gets over the leaves under them, the soil, the pot, you name it , on everything, and it's gross.. sticky... and black fungus uses it as a medium to start growing in.

Is that enough of a reason to hate aphids? :)
 
  • #10
Do aphids ever get caught on pings?
 
  • #11
Ah, Aphids!
mad.gif

Mondo, a D. capensis will catch some of the aphids, but at the same time be a tasty snack for them too.  #### aphids caused a bunch of deformed leaves.  But, just a little bit of Orthene wiped them all out, along with other pests on my other cp's
smile.gif


larry
 
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