A survey of pesticide use in horticulturally-grown carnivorous plants, with a review of arthropod pests

Abstract

Arthropod pests are sometimes reported from horticulturally-grown carnivorous plants. While it is broadly known which pest groups are involved, little work has been done to characterize them specifically, which can be important when implementing control strategies. Pesticide recommendations are available through books and other media, but pesticides have not been systematically tested for phytotoxic effects in carnivorous plants so growers may worry about using them. In response to these issues, we conducted a survey of carnivorous plant growers to understand what pests they encounter, which pesticides they use, and if any of those pesticides have caused issues to the plants, the results of which are reported herein. We also provide a summary of different arthropod pests recorded from carnivorous plants in order to provide context for these pests and their control, and to encourage growers to document pests they encounter to fill in knowledge gaps.