K Barrett wrote:
How about carnivorous plants? I've used them in the past to control fungus
gnats, and they certainly are interesting. I think sundews are most
effective. (drosera)

I have never had much luck using carnivorous plants as pest control.
Most of what my plants catch are not pest insects. I have heard of
people using large pots of Byblis in the doorway of their greenhouse to
control against moths/butterflies with success but small pests eg
thrips, aphids, spider mite and scale are difficult to control with
carnivorous plants and will more often than not attack the carnivorous
plants as well as your orchids. Many of my Drosera get attacked by
aphids long before they even think of moving on to my orchids. My
Sarracenia get attacked by the same scale and caterpillars that my
orchids do. As you mentioned, the only pest I find them useful for are
fungus gnats. Pinguicula and to a lesser extent Drosera do catch fungus
gnats do a decent job of catching them although it's a bit of a catch
22 as wet peat generally encourages fungus gnats. Then again, fungus
gnats aren't problematic for me so whether or not my Pinguicula are
controlling them is a moot point.
Andrew