Question

nepenthes droplets   QUESTION: Hi!  
I live in Omaha, Nebraska and I purchased a Nepenthes Poi Dog from you along with several other plants this summer.  All were growing happily on my sunny back patio until an unexpected hail storm blew in over night.  The Poi Dog was the worst hit, destroying all but two leaves.  No pitchers were left.  I have been keeping a close eye on it and it seems to be making a comeback.

The weather has taken a turn for the cold, and I have brought them all in the house.  I've had to do some re-arranging as I'd been expecting at least another few weeks of good outdoor growing.  The Poi Dog has been in the Southeast corner for close to a week now getting strong afternoon light and a little bit of morning light.  Just yesterday I was inspecting it and it looked like the new growth was coming along just fine.  The tip of the one new leaf is starting to really look like a pitcher, and another leaf is starting to come in.  

Today, I sat at the table where I have all my carnivores to have my coffee and I noticed tiny droplets of sticky-goo on the stalk and leaves of the plant.  I read that this might be a good thing, but with all this poor plant has been through I would like to send a photo to be sure this is not a pest.  I did have aphids on some of the vines in my yard this year, but never saw any on my carnivores.  
They're growing in the same pots/soil they were shipped in, and I give them distilled water.  I haven't had to provide bugs because this summer we had PLENTY here in Nebraska with all the humidity and heat!

ANSWER: Hi Lu,

Thanks for sending the photo that always helps.

You sent a good macro photo, but I didn't see any bugs.  Inspect your plant carefully with a hand lens and see if you see any whitish scale at leaf joints, or little long, thin insects.  The first would be scale, and the second, thrips.  These are the two most common pests we see on Nepenthes.  If you see either of these you will need to treat the plant.  Here's a link to our podcast on insecticides for carnivorous plants:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbRCdJ8ZNF0

Good Growing!

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

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks!! I found a tiny brown jumping spider and a couple little gnat/fly things in the dirt, but nothing on the plant directly.  I tried to get photos, but they were just too small, fast, and soil-colored to turn out well.  I have a feeling these little guys are probably not much to worry about?  The plant is still showing no signs of distress or weirdness other than the little drops of sap that have been there for days.

Answer
You're right.  They don't present a problem to the plant.  On close inspection of your photo, I think what you're seeing could be from the damage that occurred earlier.  When a plant is damaged, sometimes it will exude sap to help repair the damage.  The sap, or nectar in this case, could be from tiny damages to that portion of the leaf.

For now, monitor your plant.  The first new leaf might be deformed because of the damage.  Of course, if you're ever uncertain, you could spray your plants with an insecticide as a precaution.  It won't harm your plant at all.  Just use the recommended insecticides that we talked about in our video podcast.  

Good growing!
Jacob Farin