Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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WayneByerly
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Location: In the north end of the Sequachee Valley, 65 miles north of Chattanooga Tennessee USA. Zone 7a

Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by WayneByerly »

I was moving cacti around so that they would get equal amounts of sun for a couple of days, when I noticed that my Mammillaria Spinosissima had an infestation of ... well, THAT's why I write here ... to identify, so I can most knowledgeably exterminate them.

I did not take pictures with my camera. All that can be seen with the naked eye is a large area on the cactus that looks llke the areola went on a "grow everywhere" rampage. Or that some spider kind of something was building webs under the spines. And the creatures are just too small to use the camera.

So I used a USB Microscope that I bought through Amazon a few days ago. Here's what I got:

the odd appendage with the flat end is a tooth pick
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the microscope does funny things with colors so i tried putting it on a piece of white paper to see if that would make a difference.
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in trying to use a toothpick to turn it over so I could photograph the bottom side, i apparently squished it
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I have NO idea what this creature is. But it can't be good. If someone can help me identify, I could attack it from a better starting point. I sure would appreciate it.

What the Hades is it???
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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teo
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Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by teo »

Mealybug?
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by Steve Johnson »

teo wrote:Mealybug?
Yep, mealies.

Wayne -- best remedy is Imidacloprid soil soaks which act as a transport mechanism for uptake through the roots, then the plant's juices become toxic to mealies. A systemic approach is the only way to go, because sprays don't kill the eggs. Sprays won't touch root mealies either, so the soil soak method will have you covered there too. Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 works really well. Although the instructions apply to spraying, you can open the bottle and dilute the liquid concentrate in water. Dilution amount depends on the percentage of Imidacloprid. Let me know what it says on the label, and I can tell you how much to dilute.

Soil soaks are effective only in the growing season, but luckily you have enough of it left to make this work. Even if you see mealies on just one cactus, you might as well treat the rest of your collection as well. Better safe than sorry, since mealies can roam from pot to pot -- the last thing you'll want is to keep chasing after them.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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WayneByerly
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Location: In the north end of the Sequachee Valley, 65 miles north of Chattanooga Tennessee USA. Zone 7a

Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by WayneByerly »

Steve Johnson wrote: best remedy is Imidacloprid soil soaks ...
I cannot believe, with as much time as I spend piddling around with my plants, that I let this cactus go as far as it has ... This cactus has a tendency to lean toward one side when it sits too long with ONE side to the window ... so I didn't pay much attention (other than turn it) to the fact that it was leaning. NOW, it looks as though it's leaning because one side of it has been chewed so badly by the bugs. The "spider webbing" between the spines is (was) SO thick ... I guess maybe I didn't notice because the spines on this cactus are SO thick that you can hardly see anything under them.

Immediately after noticing the infestation, I took a bottle of Bayer 3-in-1 (Imidacloprid = .0.47%) that was mixed at about twice the recommended strength (2 tablespoons per quart), and SOAKED the spines and took the cactus outside to Isolation in order to keep it from everything else. After about an hour, I took a spray bottle of "Safer Brand Insecticidal Soap" sprayed it down good and then used the water hose (at a medium to light pressure ) and rinsed it as good as I could. And then reapplied the Bayer after it dried.

Steve Johnson wrote: A systemic approach is the only way to go, because sprays don't kill the eggs. Sprays won't touch root mealies either, so the soil soak method will have you covered there too.
So I mix a solution and then immerse until wet? For EACH container? I've got more than 50 containers where I live!!! (see photo's below)

The infested cactus is one of the oldest that I have. The greatest amount of collection (verb) I have done (out of five years) has been done in the last year. I've seen mealy bugs on other things around here in 1's and 2's ... I simply assumed that they came from the seller like that.

Well, thanks for responding ... and I look forward to hearing from you regarding the dilution for the soil soaks.

Here's a couple of photos of my collection ... well MOST of it anyway ... SOME of it is outside. I just wanted you to see the extent of the labor that I'm going to have to exert ... and brag on my collection (noun) a little bit :D .

Two 2 tube (NOT a redundancy) 48" 40W grow lights, plus one 65W 5500° Photography CFL, used here for lighting ... 16 hours per day. Cacti, Euphorbia's, Kelanchoe's, Echevaria's, Pachypodium's.
Living Room
Living Room
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Living Room - Upper
Living Room - Upper
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Living Room - Lower
Living Room - Lower
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Five (and sometimes six) 45W 4500° Photography CFL's, and one 65W 5500° Photography CFL, used here for lighting ... 16 hours per day. Cacti, Euphorbia's, Aeonium's, Fockea's, Jatropha's, Dioscorea's, Echevaria's, Haworthia's, Crassula's, Lithops, 1 Bonsai'ed Ficus tree, Agave's ... and I don't even know for sure what i've got outside ...
Dining Room - Table
Dining Room - Table
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Dining Room - Upper
Dining Room - Upper
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Dining Room - Lower
Dining Room - Lower
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NOTE: the Photographic CFL's commented on above are BRILLIANT, daylight white lights ... unless you have some, you wouldn't believe how bright they are. They are difficult to look at directly. If you have indoor plant life, I HIGHLY recommend these lights (Available on Amazon).
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Dining Room
Dining Room
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Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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Steve Johnson
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Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by Steve Johnson »

WayneByerly wrote:So I mix a solution and then immerse until wet? For EACH container? I've got more than 50 containers where I live!!! (see photo's below).
Yes, completely saturate the soil -- anything less defeats the purpose. Now that you remind me of what your setup looks like, I don't think you'll need to go beyond soaking the affected cactus and the plants around it on that shelf. You have the dilution right -- 2 tbsp. per quart of water. Systemics take awhile to kick in, so figure on about a month before all the mealies are dead. Good news is that soil soaks need to be done only once in the growing season. While I'm not sure we should recommend it every year, you may want to make a preventative soil soak your spring project for all your plants next year. I'm thinking that sometime in May should be good for you.

Hope this helps!
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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Brunãozinho
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Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by Brunãozinho »

Steve, why would it not be recommended to use Imidacloprid every year? Do you mean the mealies will develop resistance to it?
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iann
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Re: Identify ... Exterminate ... execute program

Post by iann »

Brunãozinho wrote:Steve, why would it not be recommended to use Imidacloprid every year? Do you mean the mealies will develop resistance to it?
They might. However plenty of people do exactly this every year. Ideally, use a different systemic every year, but there aren't very many available. If you're absolutely positive you have no pests then you don't need to treat them.
--ian
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