Carnivorous Plant Pesticide & Fungicide

What do you do when one of your carnivorous plants has a pest or fungus problem and neem or other natural pesticides or fungicides aren’t working?

Obviously something needs to be done or you run the risk of losing the plant or infecting others in your collection.

The first and most important thing to do is isolate the infected plant(s) from the healthy ones. Then, treat the pests or fungus. We recommend using one of the sprays below and have found them safe to use on several types of carnivorous plants noted at the end of this article.

Active Ingredients

The active ingredients in both of these sprays are Tau-fluvalinate, Imidacloprid, and Tebuconazole.

Tau-fluvalinate is a contact killer for pests. It works fast to stop the immediate damage.

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide meaning the plant will absorb the insecticide through its tissue and roots. If a pest takes a bite out of the treated plant, it will also ingest the pesticide.

Tebuconazole is a systemic fungicide. It works by inhibiting fungal growth and spore distribution, slowing the spread of the disease.

Which spray should I use?

The only difference between the two sprays above is the concentration of active ingredients. The “Ready-To-Use” version is just that; it can be applied to carnivorous plants immediately. The “Ready-To-Spray” version on the other hand is designed for hose attachment for large areas and is more concentrated. Using a hose to douse all your plants probably isn’t the best idea, but the concentrate can be economical if you have several to treat. All you need to do is dilute it to equal the concentration of the “Ready-To-Use” spray by figuring out the ratios.

Active ingredient percentages listed on each bottle:

For these percentages, a ratio of 14mls of concentrate mixed with 650mls of distilled water is comparable to the Ready-To-Use formula.

What types of carnivorous plants are safe to treat?

We’ve tested this spray on several types of pitcher plants, specifically Heliamphora, Cephalotus, Nepenthes, and Sarracenia.  It is safe to use on most flytraps and some sundews as well. The rule for all of these plants though is to keep the spray away from the trap portions of the plants (i.e. the dewy portions of sundew and inside pitchers). These areas of the plants are often more sensitive and absorbent and so will be more prone to burning. Try to focus the spray on the crowns, leaves, and growth points of plants as well as the soil around them. Pests and fungal infections tend to target these areas the most anyway.