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It looks like my Sarrs has become a victim of these pests. I see some fluffy white stuff on the pitchers, esp on the base of older, drying pitchers. I didn't think them to be mealbugs at first, since the white stuff didn't have a defined shape, as I would come to expect of a living pest. But it seems that this is the best explanation for my pitcher plant's rapid drying up, and I will now proceed to exterminate these pests.

But how do I do this?
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Also, is it a good idea to separate the Sarrs from my other CPs? I have VFTs, sundews (intermedia and capensis) and a S.purpurea in close proximity. The purpurea is doing very well. Will mealybugs affect any of these other plants?

Thanks.
 
Are you sure the fluffy white stuff may not be fungus? If it is fungus, give it a very heavy misting, and then expose it to a decrease of humidiity and increase the air movement, and exposure to sunlight, then it should get rid of the fungus.
 
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please refrain from using the word mealybug, thats a common name for many many different insects and it's confusing to a lot of people. Since your talking about fluff, I'm assumeing you are refering to Cotten Scail. Basically, Cottan Scails are resistent to most pesticides and nearly imposible to kill. In addition, they will quickly infect any and all plants within a building (if a building holds the plants) or just continually spred on and on outside without a preditor. Most people burn any plant that has cottan scail to prevent spred, but you probubly won't have to because cottan scails big weakness is the cold. Just get your plants near freezing this fall and squich off the little buggers every day untill then. Or, you can buy some scail eating speicies of laybug.
 
Darcie.

Most Mealybugs are in the family Pseudococcus and most look very similar.  There is no such thing as Cotten Scail there is however scale in the family Toumeyella scale look more like ¼-inch long turtle shells not fluff.  They live in the USA so would not be effected by cold.  Darcie please be a little more careful with what information you give people.

-Jeremiah-
 
Thanks for all the replies!
Is the situation really so serious? I'd better isolate the strickened plant before it spreads to the rest of my plants!
 
Yeah it is serious
I would get rid of them with Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (mealybug destroyer) or Chrysoperla ssp. (Lacewing)
Pesticides cannot easily penetrate the heavy wax layers on the body. Mealybug Therefore, applying pesticides is an ineffective control technique against most mealybug.

Hope that helps
 
wow complicating, using the word mealbuggy, I thought he was talking about mealworms, The complete harmless one, that grows into beetles, which I feed the larve to my pets =D. I was confused with fungus and mealworms.
 
Bad news, ebeyonder. Temperate pitchers are very prone to mealies in our weather...and my entire temperate CPs collection got wiped out by it!
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Neps are more resistant but they usually get scales when the temperate CPs get the mealies. I remember reading somewhere that these two are related. Or is it becos' they thrive under similar conditions...can't be sure.

Anyway, watch out when the weather turns cool and humid like now. Temperate CPs suffer.
 
Hi ebeyonder,
I have successfully terminated 2 type of bug infections (Mealy Bug and Scale) with application of Trinon (Malathion) by Tri-product. Many nurseries carry the product.
Happy terminating.
 
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