FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello all!

The past 2 weeks have a a whirlwind of activity and life events and I'm just now taking a break and getting to spend some time with my plants... only to discover what I think may be thrip damage. I pulled out and took photos of the plants that look the most effected to me. I haven't been able to spot any pests at all, but I don't have great eyesight, so I would love to get some opinions.

Last year I had somewhat similar looking issues, but I was finding aphids and treated them with neem oil. I'm not currently seeing any aphids, but I'm now wondering if I have had thrips for longer than I initially thought. The aphid damage did seem greater than the aphids I was seeing last year, but anyway.

I'd prefer to avoid pesticides, but am prepared to apply acephate if this is thrips.

Also happy to grab more pictures if that would help!

Certainly looks like it could be...
I had a problem with thrips last year and my pitchers grew in the same contorted ways. Try to see if you can spot those little buggers on the leaves.

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I agree with @That one plant boi, it does look like it could be pest damage. When were those plants last repotted? It could also be that the crown was damaged during a repot or they're just getting settled into their new pots. Sarracenia often put up deformed growth after being recently repotted.

Thank you both!

Matt, they were recently repotted, so it's possible this is them settling. I was later to repot them than I would have liked.

I do have 2 plants that weren't repotted that I'm seeing a single deformed trap on each, so I think I will treat everything with acephate, just to be safe. I have dealt with thrips years ago (before I had an CPs) and do not want to repeat that disaster.

coorain wrote:Matt, they were recently repotted, so it's possible this is them settling. I was later to repot them than I would have liked.

Yeah, this is definitely late for repotting Sarracenia and usually when they're repotted this time of the year, they don't appreciate it much and put out misshapen or very small pitchers.

Given that the others that weren't repotted are also showing some deformed traps, it wouldn't hurt to spray. I usually wait until I can confirm the presence of pests before spraying, but a preventative spray every now and then won't hurt anything as long as it isn't done with regularity (I believe pests can develop a resistance if sprayed frequently).

Hard to tell from the photos, but looks like thrips to me. Do I see scratch marks at the top of the leaf in the first photo? That is usually the first sign. They are good at hiding, so you probably won't see them.