I just found one pathetic mealy bug on my ferocactus (so I guess I caught it early?)
Callerd granny who said as first aid i gotta scratch it off and spray the plant with coffee ?? Anyway, I did that (cuz grandma's always right, isn't she?`) and moved all the other plants away from the fero. they're in seperated pots, so how likely is it they all (7!) got infected too? I'm off to get some real stuff soon but will I have to treat all the other plants too? This is gonna leave quite some damage on it (them) isn't it?
No real visible damage unless you have a lot of them.
Anyway, the best thing to do would be to water them with a systemic. It would not be a bad idea to inspect the roots on the one that had the bug. Root mealies can go undetected for some time.
If it does have root mealies, then you might want to check the others.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
The mealies you see and recognise are adult females. Males are completely different, fly, and you wouldn't recognise them. Nymphs are tiny white specks and then they develop in stages looking more and more like the adults.
The adult females fairly quickly surround themselves with wool and lay eggs. Once you get to this stage they will be everywhere within a few weeks. The adults stay put unless you force them to move, but the nymphs crawl off to find new homes.
I took two pictures of one of my cacti (my very fave one indeed!). I have no idea what mealybugs look like on roots (but I figure I'd probably recognize them..?).. can anyone of you see anything suspicious on these pics? Hope they're ok quality...
jimmie25 wrote:Callerd granny who said as first aid i gotta scratch it off and spray the plant with coffee ?? Anyway, I did that (cuz grandma's always right, isn't she?`)
That is what I would fear, so until someone proves that it does not, I will not spray coffee on my plants.
Root mealy bugs are smaller than the other type, but I cannot see any signs of them in the photos. I suggest that you replace the compost with something with less peat.
Yeah just repotted the plant. And from what I hear (grandma <3) black coffee doesn't cause mould as long as you use 3/4 water and 1/4 black coffee. can anyone confirm that?
Feel free to experiment on anything you don't mind losing, but I'll not be bothering with the coffee so long as there are more reliable ways to kill the mealies without harming my plants
Anyway, I did that (cuz grandma's always right, isn't she?`) and moved all the other plants away from the fero. they're in seperated pots, so how likely is it they all (7!) got infected too? I'm off to get some real stuff soon but will I have to treat all the other plants too? This is gonna leave quite some damage on it (them) isn't it? 
great. that's annoying 
