This Mexican Butter Can Help Solve Your Mosquito Problem
Mosquitoes and other small flies are annoying to get rid of. A small number is bad, but infection can take much more effort. We’ve already looked at several remedies , such as apple cider vinegar traps, but there is also a plant that can help solve the mosquito problem as well.
What is a Mexican oil plant?
Mexican Shrovetide is a carnivorous plant from the succulent family. The thick, flower-like leaves produce a sticky substance that attracts small flies such as mushrooms, mosquitoes and fruit flies, and they become trapped in a sticky trap, where their interaction triggers the plant’s digestive enzymes.
The Mexican oleaginous, also known as pinguicula, has 46 named species and comes in a variety of shapes and colors. And since some species can be as little as one to two inches in diameter, they are ideal as tiny houseplants. TikToker TannerThePlanter gives a quick guide to plant eating insects.
Best time of year to buy Mexican carnival
You want to buy a Mexican Shrovetide in late spring and summer. In autumn and winter, this fly-eating plant goes into a kind of dormant stage when less is caught. If you buy the plant between October and March, you will receive the plant during its “winter succulent phase,” as California Carnivores describes.
How to care for a Mexican Shrovetide houseplant
Before buying a plant, know that the Mexican oleagin is not easy to care for , but a little attention goes a long way if you love plants and hate insects.
These succulents are native to Mexico and love direct sunlight. They are also rare because they are part of the succulent family, but do not need special soil. Like soilless plants , the Mexican oil plant attaches itself to rocks and hillsides, capturing nutrients from the air and everything around it, so this small carnivorous plant can survive without much help. However, they love humid environments, unlike their luscious desert cousins.
You will want to mimic the plant’s natural humid climate and have a permanent pool of water to keep it moist. This plant should definitely be kept along with other moisture-loving plants in the bathroom (especially if you have drainage flies). Once the plant enters the resting phase, water it like a normal succulent and only after the soil is dry.
Since Mexican carnival plants get their nutrients from the environment, you don’t need plant foods. Fertilizing can even harm your carnivorous plant, so leave the fertilizer for your other kids. Instead, Houseplant Central suggests placing dried bloodworms on sticky leaves during the growing season for additional nutrients.