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Bought this Echinopsis aurea ( labeled as, not sure if thats correct..?) coming home with it and on closer inspection found these marks on it.
Having very little experience with scale , I am not sure what this is? It is impossible to remove from the cactus, without damaging the epidermis. As seen there are some holes and marks on it, from me removing some of the flecks.

Looking at pics online, it does looks like scale but I certainly can’t just brush it off with a hard brush brush, as mentioned several places. Or I guess I could but there would not be much skin left on the plant then..

Almost all of these flecks are on the ‘outside’ of the plant, which makes me think it could be mechanical damage?

Looks like scale to me they should come off with a little force and a yellowish white soft creature will be living under its shell. I use a 4X lenses to confirm this and currently I have scale outbreaks . If its scale it will spread like measles and I've thrown cactus away with bad outbreaks and treated others with Imidacloprid a systemic. Also A blast of water should remove them but they come right back. If none of these apply then its not scale. Sometimes spots appear on cactus that look like scale and they don't scrape off easily and its something else.

Keith's right. If its scale and it can not be controlled right away, the plants needs to go. I had 12 Teddy Bear Cholla cutting that I had rooted. One day I noticed scale on 2. I treated them with Imidacloprid immediately. I scraped away all the bugs I could and did a spray of Imidacloprid to get thing going. Within one week all 12 plants were sick. They all went into the trash before it spread further.
Mike M

Mrs Green.
You don't have much luck with buying plants at times. You know if you just bought the plant, take it back to the nursery.They should take it back.

Looks not like malignant or bug.
I'd watch only.
The name is correct.
BUT carantine and use of insecticide is obligatory for all new plants.

https://www.yourindoorherbs.com/how-to- ... eo-photos/

Has close up pictures and advice on how to get rid of scale .

But it might not be scale . If it is scale the infestation is not bad yet. If it is scale and you don't use systemic pesticide which is watered into the soil then re-pot the plant and get rid of all the soil. And quarantine. Like I said I just watered my entire ( almost all I ran out I mixed 5 gallons ratio 1/2 teaspoon MERIT powder to 5 gallons using distilled water ) collection of cactus with systemic pesticide which doesn't smell like the old kind used to which was a terrible smell. Only a few cactus had scale but I have learned not to screw around with insect pests. Also 5 gallons is the smallest batch I can mix and that waters just about every cactus . And they needed watering so I did it. Outside all cactus are outside. I hope it works the pesticide is like 20 years old.

Probably cant even buy it in CA USA anymore how I got it years ago another story . 1999 I think about. Might be outlawed in Europe because of BEES and everyone using it like idiots, spraying it , killing bees, etc. My plants under netting no bees.

keith wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 2:09 pm Looks like scale to me they should come off with a little force and a yellowish white soft creature will be living under its shell. I use a 4X lenses to confirm this and currently I have scale outbreaks . If its scale it will spread like measles and I've thrown cactus away with bad outbreaks and treated others with Imidacloprid a systemic. Also A blast of water should remove them but they come right back. If none of these apply then its not scale. Sometimes spots appear on cactus that look like scale and they don't scrape off easily and its something else.

Thank you Keith To remove the marks, a bit more than a little force have to be applied. I have removed a few, with a toothpick but it’s impossible to remove without damaging the epidermis, removing results in small holes in the plant. A blast of water..hm possible from a high pressure washer but I am not sure the cactus would look quite the same afterwards.. I do wonder if this is not ‘something else’.

Thanks a lot for the link! We have pretty strict laws when it comes to pesticides for private use here, now even neem oil is not allowed to sell.. Something about it can be harmful to pregnant women, apparently.

anttisepp wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 3:24 pm Looks not like malignant or bug.
I'd watch only.
The name is correct.
BUT carantine and use of insecticide is obligatory for all new plants.

Thank you Anttisepp! Yes, I keep a close eye on it and it will be in quarantine, I have learned the hard way , that you don’t put newly aquired cacti among the rest!

mikethecactusguy wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 3:10 pm Mrs Green.
You don't have much luck with buying plants at times. You know if you just bought the plant, take it back to the nursery.They should take it back.

Hi Mikethecactusguy and thank you for answering further up True, I was a bit ‘unlucky’ in the beginning, before I realised that I had to be a bit more careful when getting new cacti and the importance of quarantine before letting the newcomers into the crowd Not that I teoretically didn’t knew about this but as mentioned before, I wasn’t used to taking such precautions with other plants. If I were convinced it was something ‘bad’ I would have gone back with it but I will just be extra watchful and see how it goes and if the marks spread.