Carnivorous Plants for Insect Control?

[Michael Quinones]

We have had a problem with white flies and I do believe we got them under control with soap water spray but a Carnivorous Plants eat bugs.  If the white flies are attracted to what ever the plant uses to attract insects at least some are going to go to plant protein instead of them sucking the protein out of the plants. So are carnivorous plants a possibility as insect control?

[Keith Rowan]

carnivorous plants do best in very poor quality soil that they can't ectract nutrients from.. thats why they developed the ability to "eat" bugs..

i'm not sure how they'd do in AP with good nutrients.. maybe just keep them in pots around the ap system?

predator bugs/nematodes might be an "easier" solution

[Alex Veidel]

Well, I don't know if they do well in poor quality soil because it's "poor quality", or if they just happen to live in poor quality soil because they like the damp conditions of the swamps and bogs. Doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't do well in high nutrient conditions. Think about the camel. It's special because of it's ability to go a long time without water (and it's awesome and mesmerizing way of chewing), but you can give it water to drink regularly and it would do fine. It would be interesting to try and see if you could get a venus flytrap or pitcher plant in an aquaponic setup. Anybody ever try this? I wanna hear stories.

Keith Rowan said:

carnivorous plants do best in very poor quality soil that they can't ectract nutrients from.. thats why they developed the ability to "eat" bugs..

i'm not sure how they'd do in AP with good nutrients.. maybe just keep them in pots around the ap system?

predator bugs/nematodes might be an "easier" solution

[George]

You see such plants in the Okefenokee where there is very low PH.  In ap terms, that's poor quality.  Possibly there are some which like higher PH - if not maybe you could grow them in pots.  I can see it working for flying insects but those plant eaters that stay fixed to your vegetables, probably not.

Should be interesting to try.  Never saw this idea floated before.

[Michael Quinones]

I'm going getting a Miranda and also a Alatas carnivorous plant to see If I see any effect on bug population.   If I don't see improvement in a month or so I will ordered Green Laced Wing predictors for white fly control.  And Oh yes gentleman I do understand they may be part of the protein food supply for the carnivorous plants.  If in fact I order Green Lace Wings I'll move the Carnivorous plants out under the trees. 

[Joel Berg]

That is a great idea. Carnivorous plants are relatively easy to take care of if you mock up the conditions just right. I would recommend Drosera Capensis for a good starter CP. This plant is very hardy, requires bright or filtered sunlight. Carnivorous plants need soil that is extremely nutrient deprived. A long time ago we had glaciers which created rock rubble beds called a moran. These rubble piles had little to no nutrients to give so the only plants that would grow would be mosses (were talking about very humid and moist conditions here). Over time moss would build up and die creating very acidic and nutrient deprived soil. Some lucky angiosperms happened to adapt and catch live prey in order to live in these conditions. This is just one hypothetical example of how  CP's came into exsistance. CP's can be found all over the world, from Alaska, to New Zeland, to southern United states. I have been a personal collector of some species and have seen what they're potentials are. The Drosera, or sundew, is a great speciman because it's dew droplets allow for a large volume of insects to collect on the leaves at a time. You would wan't a tropical species of course so when the time comes to buy them online or at a nursery just make sure it doesn't need a dormancy period. You may have heard that carnivorous plants like distilled water. From what I have experienced this is true. It may be a hassle but if you insist on keeping CP's they need ion free water. They thrive in nutrient deprived soils. You can find really good mixes of these online, but i usually use peat moss with perlite and then mulch the top of the pot with spagnum moss (it holds in moisture). Place the pot standing in a couple inches of distilled water in a saucer. They are easy to water because all you need to do is constantly make sure there is water in the saucer. Sit back and watch little gnats, and flies get trapped and die on the leaves. It is a natural fly paper. 

If you have a nice and humid greenhouse I suggest trying a Pingicula (tropical species). This plant, like the sundew has sticky dew droplets that are very very tiny on the surface of the leaves. one leaf almost looks like a tounge. These plants are very effective at catching small insects like gnats. But, be warned, leave then without water or in too much direct sun, heat, and dryness and you'll have a wilted sticky mess. 

As for pitcher plants, they are tricky. The conditions for these are more specific. They like humidity to build up the pitchers, they also need medium sun, and some air to the roots. They like to be in hanging baskets for the Nepenthes, or in a tall bog like container for Sarrecinia. They do tend to collect flies and other more ground dwelling insects easily but the sarrecinia loves full bright sun plus tons of water, or it will give you leaves only.... I have hardly scratched the surface of Nepenthes but they are so fascinating. 

Again, I suggest the Drosera capensis. They are beautiful, very easy to take care of, and can withstand harsh conditions. Do not keep outside if your climate goes below 40 degrees though. 

If you have any questions check the internet, or ask me and I can try to help you. Here are some of my favorite CP pics.