What's eating my nepenthes merrilliana?

Nepenthes merrilliana is a large lowland Philippine Nepenthes grown in warm, humid conditions. Its size makes it less prone to collapse from pest pressure, but mealybugs, spider mites, and scale are common threats in indoor cultivation. The giant pitchers attract no extra protection against these sap-sucking pests.

White cottony masses in leaf axils and at pitcher lid attachment points; sap loss slows the characteristically vigorous growth Dab each colony with a 70% isopropyl alcohol swab; repeat every 5–7 days for a month; for heavy infestations use systemic imidacloprid soil drench

Brown oval bumps along the long stems and wide leaf midribs; honeydew leads to sooty mould on this large-leafed species Scrape off manually with a soft brush; follow with alcohol swab treatment; isolate immediately as scale spreads rapidly to other plants

Pale stippling and fine webbing on leaf undersides; more prevalent if indoor humidity drops below 60% in warm rooms Raise humidity; rinse large leaves thoroughly with tepid water; apply neem oil at 0.5% if reinfestation occurs, testing on one leaf first