FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello, fellow cp growers,
My Nepenthes has been severely damaged by ants and other insects. Most of the leaves have been partially or completely eaten. The new growth points have also been eaten off and there are no pitchers currently forming.
The plant was outside and has been moved inside my house in an east-facing window. I am asking for your recommendations on what can I do to help it recover if possible. The plant has also old pitchers that are 3/4 dry.

I was thinking maybe pruning most of the damaged leaves and cut off all the pitchers, and placing it in a ziplock bag. Should I apply some kind of fertilizer to help it.

I have attached some images for you to see the damage...

Any help is appreciated.

are you sure? ants crawl all over my plants collecting nectar and my traps a filled with them. I feel the ants protect my plants if anything.

this guy keeps neps in his over populated ant farm
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEobGKAlGEU[/youtube]

Thanks Optique for your response.
I am sure the ants have been eating/cutting the leaves. I have seen them. It may depend on the ant species, I live in Guatemala where there are many type of ants.

Anyhow that problem has been sorted out, like I mentioned the plant was moved inside my house.

I am seeking advice in regards to what I can do to help the pant recover and what should I do about the leaves that have been eaten.

optique wrote:are you sure? ants crawl all over my plants collecting nectar and my traps a filled with them. I feel the ants protect my plants if anything.

this guy keeps neps in his over populated ant farm
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEobGKAlGEU[/youtube]

The person in the vid's plants are on the verge of death from what he said about a year ago,i doubt they still live

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He is keeping highlands neps in a dry terrarium inside a building, I am guessing near sea level in the Philippines. But my point was the ants did not eat the plants. But i have no idea what type of ants live in Guatemala or there eating habits.

Are there any undamaged leaves?

I like to watch nature shows; so I know there are ants, which like to cut pieces of leaves off plants and carry it back to its nest.

I am by no means an expert -- I consider myself a newbie and still learning every day! -- but I think keeping your plant inside the house at the east-facing window will be fine, depending on the type of nepenthes it is. I actually had my plants (baby and adult plants) growing inside a shaded west-facing window for a few weeks/months before them outside for the summer. Since the ants cut off/ate the top growing points, it might grow new growing points elsewhere on the plant.

Looking forward to read what others think and advise. Good luck!

@Huntsmanshorn there are no undamaged leaves, all of them have been eaten partly or snipped off.

I am hoping that the new growth points will recover since they were also cut by the ants. I have cut off all dead leaves, all remaining pitchers, and cut green leaves in half. I have done this to help the plant concentrate its energy in the growth points. I have also placed it in a ziplock bag to keep the humidity high.

It looks hopeful-ish.

Steven wrote:@Huntsmanshorn there are no undamaged leaves, all of them have been eaten partly or snipped off.

I am hoping that the new growth points will recover since they were also cut by the ants. I have cut off all dead leaves, all remaining pitchers, and cut green leaves in half. I have done this to help the plant concentrate its energy in the growth points. I have also placed it in a ziplock bag to keep the humidity high.

You are going to want to be very careful not to overheat your plant. Clear plastic + Sunny window = dead plant. Just fyi.

The dried pitchers suggest to me that the plant was either growing in very low humidity conditions or was drying out too much or maybe both (in addition to the ants). Don't let the media ever dry out. Spray the plant multiple times a day with appropriate water and check the media daily for moisture. I would give it bright light, but no direct sun, until it is clearly recovering.

I take cuttings of mine without active growth points, trim the leaves in half, put it in water and bag it to grow new plants. They are sturdy plants. I think you are on the right path to recovery,