Post by summit on Jul 28, 2019 21:19:44 GMT -5
Another update. Turns out patient zero wasn't the Fledging but a large pot of Rubra x Gulfensis. I first noticed some mealy inside the flowers of the plant and decided to flip the pot over and inspect the roots and sure enough it was coated in root mealys. At that point I overturned every pot and found a pot of Chipola infested with ants (Couldn't see one from the surface) so I'm suspecting these were my starters. I've come to conclusion of just trashing these two since they're nothing special within the collection.
As for an update with the mildly infected plants such as the Fledging, AS, and HCW. Very minimal (1 or 2 small bugs) every week. I've been spraying the plants down with neem oil every week just for kicks as well. I'm torn now between keeping up with this Ortho product that uses deltamethrin but from my understanding is a pyrethroid which only kills on contact so I'm not sure how Ortho claims this product is a systemic. Which leads me to believe that's why I'm still seeing small mealys, although very minimal numbers. I have found a Bayer product that still uses imidacloprid via a drench product but I do have concern for my pollinators. Although, none of my Sarracenias are old enough to flower and if I did get one to I'd snip it since I have no use for seed. As for now I'll keep up with my normal routine for a few more weeks and if I see no progress I'll break out the imidacloprid. Any opinions or tips are more than welcomed!