Pest problem!

[Quinn]

Hey, my two nepenthes seem to have a pest problem. I tried to figure out what is attacking them but I can't seem to find it online, if anyone knows what it is and how I get rid of it please let me know. My first instinct is to cut off the worst leaves and completely rinse them and repot them asap, but I don't if this would be too much of a shock for them, and I also don't know what treatments are safe for nepenthes since I've never had a pest problem on a CP before. Please help!

[paphioboy]

Hi Quinn. IMHO it might be a combination of problems, not just one. The pests highighted in the red circles look like scale insects to me. They always gather around the midrib of the leaf on the bottom surface. Secondly, the silvery undersides of the leaves with desiccated texture (most evident in last pic) show symptoms of spider mite attack. I would spray the entire plant with neem oil/white oil. Instructions can be found by googling.

[thichtala]

Good luck to you! I hope your Plants will strong again ^_^

[Quinn]

Okay thanks! The ones I highlighted crawl around so I wasn't sure if they were scale. Should I repot after I spray them?

[paphioboy]

Hmm... Maybe juvenile scales.. The adults stay put permanently once they have found suitable spot. When was the last time you repotted? If the media is still good, I would withhold repotting to prevent excessive shock to the already weak plant. Just spray and keep a watchful eye on it.

[Quinn]

Originally Posted by paphioboy

Hmm... Maybe juvenile scales.. The adults stay put permanently once they have found suitable spot. When was the last time you repotted? If the media is still good, I would withhold repotting to prevent excessive shock to the already weak plant. Just spray and keep a watchful eye on it.

Okay, thank you for your help!