FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I purchased 1 drosera spatulata and 1 S. Purpúrea venosa. Aside from being a little disappointed by the diminutive size of each plant for what I paid, I was horrified to find that the plastic sandwich bag they were shipped in, the wet paper towel wrapped around the roots and the soil/LFS mix are covered in small worms. I also saw what appeared to be 1 translucent “mite”?

Needless to say they are going into quarantine, as I don’t want it to spread to the CPs I already have. Should I attempt to return these plants and seek a refund? Or am I being an alarmist? Is there a way to get rid of pests and mites and still grow a healthy plant?

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

They are baby earth worms.

They are harmless.

Wait. Don't Earthworms enrich the soil with nutrients? Wouldn't that hurt the plants because they like low nutrient soil?

Fieldofscreams wrote:They are baby earth worms.

They are harmless.

So I shouldn’t be concerned about how many there are? There are as many worms as there is LFS in the bag. The soil around the roots smells a bit funny and doesn’t resemble peat, perlite, etc.

And as for the tiny mite? Found it on the paper towel. I don’t know if there is more. Are those harmful?

I don’t want to make a big deal out of it if it’s something that repotting and using my own soil mix will resolve. But as I’ve never had this issue with other plants I’ve purchased elsewhere, I wanted to know how others would deal with this situation.

If it were me I would just clean up the plants and pot them. I wouldn't worry about it at all.