Question
Hi Sarracenia Guys,


I've got a minor infestation of what I believe are scale insects on my fork leaf sundew.  They're about 3 or 4 mm long, light brown, oval shaped little bugs.  They're almost like stationary, flat slugs.  They don't move at all and actually can be picked off rather easily.

They are smart enough to avoid the dangerous parts of the leaves and infest the stems and flower stalks only.  They even choose the sides of the stems that faces away from the sun!  I've tried picking them off with a tweezer (sometimes putting them ON the dangerous parts of the leaves to feed the plant) but they're annoying and keep coming back.

I've watched a video on youtube regarding the various pesticides one can use on carnivorous plants.  I've tried a neem-based one with some success but I've noticed it causes the sundew's leaves to kind of dry out (the dew goes away).  Is there some other kind you suggest I use for this problem or the dried out leaves from the neem is okay?

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Akira,

A systemic insecticide such as the Bayer product is the most effective against scale.  You don't have to spray the dewy parts of the leaves since this stuff goes into the plant tissues.  Focus the spray on the crown and leaf petioles like we show in the video.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com