What's eating my white trumpet pitcher?

Sarracenia leucophylla, grown outdoors in bog conditions, faces aphids as its most consistent pest, especially on the tall, ornate late-season pitchers. Exyra semicrocea moth caterpillars and slugs can also cause structural damage to pitchers, while scale insects occasionally colonise rhizomes.

Clusters on developing pitchers and hood; distorted pitcher openings and sticky honeydew coating the white veining. Remove by hand or with a directed water jet; very dilute insecticidal soap can be used carefully, avoiding pitcher interiors.

Larvae eat pitcher tissue from inside; pitchers topple and show brown frass at the entry point. Remove and bin affected pitchers; apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray as a preventive treatment each spring.

Chewed holes in pitcher tubes and hoods overnight; worst on young spring growth. Hand-pick at dusk; apply iron-phosphate pellets around the container edge. Raise pots off the ground on staging if slugs are persistent.

Brown, encrusted bumps on stems and at the rhizome; progressive yellowing and stunted pitchers. Scrape off manually; treat with neem oil on a cotton swab. Inspect plants before overwintering indoors.