houseplants for insect control?

9th January 2022

These Sarracenia hybrids are sold as houseplants with the gimmick that they will control insects in the house. Like all carnivorous plants, Sarracenia require acid and wet, even waterlogged compost (they dissolve insects in their 'pitcher' to get the nitrogen which they can't find in the soil in their native bog habitats) and it can be a little tricky to keep them alive for pest control purposes. A terrarium might help maintain humidity, but would mean that you need to catch your own houseflies, and feed them to the plant occasionally, which sounds rather a sad pastime.