Thank you so much for this video. Exactly what I needed today, since I saw something suspicious on one of my plants. Your pictures and up-close images are amazing! You likely have saved many lovely but infested cacti and succulents with this video!
I'm glad you mentioned the flower. I've abandoned my plants for about 4 years, what survived in my Florida garden needs serious help. I was researching a systemic but now remember not to expose flowering plants to the poison. The bees. Don't want to kill off the bees. And also 1 year I saw lady bugs, so don't want them eating the poisoned bugs. Thanks for the info. Zone 9B.
Good to see this. I have a bunch of cactus babies that I planted from seed 10 months ago. 2 of them I potted in a tiny pot and they are doing really well, each is about 1 centimeter tall. The rest are still in their seedling pot waiting until they get bigger. I have no idea what they are but one is going to be a barrel type and the other like a pole. Anyway, I'm glad to know what to look out for because these guys mean a lot to me already. Love your vids!
Oh wow yeah these guys can be really hard to spot sometimes. I had a bad problem with my indoor plants last year but not on my cacti. Im so glad you shared this because the way they are wedged under the arioles of the cactus makes them so hard to see. Now I can check my plants specifically in this spot this afternoon and know what I am looking for. I hope your plant makes a good recovery and those nasty bugs take a hike for good! :)
Well thankfull my Old Man Cactus looks good *knocks onwood* But youre sooo right its so tricky to see past his amazing white hair! Have a great Day! :D
Sometimes you just need orthene or another nasty systemic pesticide, I hate the stuff and how it messed things up but it works and can save a plant if you can’t keep the pests in check
The simplest method I/ve found to deal with bugs is put the affected plant in a container with a Vapona (or similar) no pest strip. Put a lid or piece of plastic wrap on the container. In a day or two the vapour from the strip will kill all the bugs. Problem gone!
Using a straight-pen or something really small and tapered to detach and a q-tip to take it off works really well...then wipe the bugs off the q-tip onto a paper towel, switching them out with clean q-tips once they become covered with eggs and/or debris. Works well for mealy bugs too
Thanks for sharing. Awesome video hope your cactus has a quick recovery. I love those cactus to. Cactus have the most beautiful flowers. I just had a echinopsis subdenudatum 'Dominos bloom two large white flowers with the scent of lemon. Has 6 more buds coming up too, unfortunately the flowers only last for a day. Nice to see someone appreciates nature's beautiful plants.
Just found some nasty looking bugs on my cactus today! I think I definitely found scale, but I was super confused at that the long white bugs were - they weren't like any bug I've ever seen before! In the macro pictures, are males the little white specks near the females right? Thank you for this video, it helped me so much and put my mind to rest. Now to go clean up my cactus!
Try wiping the specks with a white paper towel or Qtip - if it comes away tinged with color, it's definitely a living pest. Assume the worst and be ready for battle! Good luck!
What helps the Roots after a Rough treatment is Vermiculite. In my Exp. when i had to do something like this on Plants that have weak Roots in General like Mammillaria they react good to the ventilation and moist benefits of vermiculite. It also helps against Funghi which are Cactea Nr.1 Enemy. And when the Plant shows Sign of strengh i pot it in a 70%Mineral30%organic mix (depending on the species) But in the End the will to live that the plants have decides if they survive.
Vermiculite holds water like a sponge. Great way to keep the roots wet and then rot. I used to work in the countries biggest nursery and we used to put vermiculite on top of everything to stop the soil on top drying out so the seeds would be damp enough to germinate.
Part 2: As the granddaughter of a trapper, i was concerned the cactus would draw critters with that little flash of white hidden behind a dead mouse. Maybe the furry mouse was to hide the white dots? I'd love to see videos on specific plants like you did for lithops. My split rock is looking dent-y. I am concerned, but scared to unpot it to inspect further. I know not to water. Its in terracotta, brought inside at night because its wet and cool here.
Love your work dude. Keep up the passion. Am treating an advanced Ariocarpus retusus for scale, though it seems that the ariocarpus grows a cuticle over the scale, yet it still survives barely, they also exclusively attack the new growth. I’ve tried removing them mechanically, but causes damage to the cuticle… am thinking of maybe using a systemic, but after first trying your method.
@@johntowner1893 Bonide is what I use - amzn.to/3ZznZsX - you can also try dabbing alcohol directly w/ a soft brush - dollar store make-up brush kits come in very handy!
Great info. I would have assumed this fuzzy stuff might be normal or natural because i don't have much cactus-caring experience. I saw what looked like dead mice on what looked like a domino cactus, I have only seen tiny ones in specialty plant shops. This was at a big box store. My partner and i were so amazed that i snapped a photo. It was so weirdo looking. Is that normal?
Adding sand to soil does a great job preventing compaction like you experienced here! I use regular play sand and it works great, I’ve repotted cacti after 5 years and had all the soil just shake out of the roots with no fuss.
Thanks for the video. I literally had to do this yesterday with all of my succulent babies. Mostly Echeveria Perle von Nürnberg. It took me like 6 hours, including heating up the soil in the oven on 160-200° for about 1/2-1 hour, and alot of them lost a lot of their leaves. I hope they will survive. Unfortunately, I watered them. I think it also came from a succulent I didn't repot immediately on arrival, as it had the same Problem a week ago. Never gonna not repot again! And now I will go and check on my cacti and adenium obesum babies :D
Yikes!! I've never fooled w/ heating the dirt to sterilize - knowing me I'd burn it somehow :p And it's the worst when you get a new plant only to find it has caused so much trouble w/ the others! Good luck w/ the babies! The Adenium sound adorbs!
I love that cactus. What kind is it? I really don’t catch the name. I’ve got a cactus that I bought at a box store and I think it might have scale. But someone else said it was just blemish on it. It’s just not coming off at all unless I take tweezers and really pull it off , so I’m afraid I’m doing more damage than good.
I have 2 huge prickly pear cacti in my yard that are infested. How would you treat something you can't pick up, can't scrub because it has too many big and little thorns and can't do much with the soil or roots cause it's in the ground?
Nice video! Have you tried putting rooting powder on plants that don't have a good root system? I repotted my Kalanchoe Luciae yesterday whose roots didn't look too good and put some rooting powder on them. I'm crossing my fingers because I've only used it on cuttings.
I,ll be sore to check my cacti now I no what to do thank you ,and I like to no the name of the tall one in the window the one 3 side whit leaf on top please .allo from Quebec
I have an eves needle with cochineal scale insect. I treated each area with rubbing alcohol tonight. He's not a hardy fellow so I worry brushing scrubbing & washing will hurt him. Any other options?
You can try a small paint brush (old eye shadow brush kinda thing). Otherwise, systemic granules will work from the inside out, but still best to try to get it as pest-free as possible.
Hi I'm Andrea from North Carolina Hahahhaha your videoa have really helped me with my new found addiction to succulents and I just wanted to say thanks. Also I kiss my baby succs to hahhahaha
You can try something that works as a soil drench - it's probably going to be toxic though so if it flowers soon after, hide it from bees and butterflies :)
Hey Andrea, is there anyway I can send you a picture of my cactus? maybe if you have an Instagram or something like that? I kind of feel like there is something definitely up with it and as it is a cutting that I recently planted I would rather treat it now before it sets roots ( it actually totally fell out of the pot the other day and I’m lucky it didn’t land on my foot as it is very massive) lol 😂 but something just doesn’t seem right with it and there is some bumps and things that make me think I might be scale let me know if you have a different way I could message you and thank you so much in advance!
Thanks for this! How is she doing now? Did she bloom? I eish I found this video earlier as one of my favourite actually died for this... but next time I’ll be ready as soon as I see those bastards
I have a super tall, and furry cactus with scales. I have been treating with neem oil, but am going to have a difficult time to manually get all the scales off/spray with a water hose. I have already repotted it..any other suggestions?
@@SucsForYou thank you so much for such a quick and informative response. Do you have a brand you would recommend over another? I hate to ask, but figured I would ask the pro before I bought one.
@@nicolevncnt I've never used a systemic but I've heard good repots on Bayer systemic and Bonide granules. Just note that any flowers that bloom while being treated (and for a few months after) will be harmful to pollinators
Hi, thanks for the video, what is the reason for the scale bugs affect our cactus?is it less sun or too much sun? I have my new cactus and already had a vitamin-bath control, after it dried and planted in the pot, i placed in the sheltered indirect sun on regards for making the new root grows.. But after 2 days, i looked at my cactus theres a lot of scale bugs, and i already treat it as soon as possible
Somehow the cactus came in contact w/ the scale bugs and they're just difficult to get rid of. They can fly, be brought in by other animals like birds, or just crawl from one plant to another. Quarantine until it's clear :)
Hey Zoe I posted this above how to solve bug problems on cacti. The simplest method I/ve found to deal with bugs is put the affected plant in a container with a Vapona (or similar) no pest strip. Put a lid or piece of plastic wrap on the container. In a day or two the vapour from the strip will kill all the bugs. Problem gone! In your case if you can't lift the plant just put a plastic bag over it and tape up the bottom with the strip inside.
Thank you so much for this video. Exactly what I needed today, since I saw something suspicious on one of my plants. Your pictures and up-close images are amazing! You likely have saved many lovely but infested cacti and succulents with this video!
Thank you! Glad it was helpful!
If I was a cacti 🌵 I’d be devastated if you didn’t own me 👍🏼 your a great teacher 🏆
Haha thank you!!
Cactus=thirsty
I'm glad you mentioned the flower. I've abandoned my plants for about 4 years, what survived in my Florida garden needs serious help. I was researching a systemic but now remember not to expose flowering plants to the poison. The bees. Don't want to kill off the bees. And also 1 year I saw lady bugs, so don't want them eating the poisoned bugs. Thanks for the info. Zone 9B.
Good to see this. I have a bunch of cactus babies that I planted from seed 10 months ago. 2 of them I potted in a tiny pot and they are doing really well, each is about 1 centimeter tall. The rest are still in their seedling pot waiting until they get bigger. I have no idea what they are but one is going to be a barrel type and the other like a pole. Anyway, I'm glad to know what to look out for because these guys mean a lot to me already. Love your vids!
I will be downright furious if ANYTHING tries to mess with my seedlings lol! Now I have to go check on them since you brought it up :P
Oh wow yeah these guys can be really hard to spot sometimes. I had a bad problem with my indoor plants last year but not on my cacti. Im so glad you shared this because the way they are wedged under the arioles of the cactus makes them so hard to see. Now I can check my plants specifically in this spot this afternoon and know what I am looking for. I hope your plant makes a good recovery and those nasty bugs take a hike for good! :)
Tell me about it! The hairier cacti are even harder to inspect :/ Good luck and I hope you don't find any plant-jerks :)
Well thankfull my Old Man Cactus looks good *knocks onwood* But youre sooo right its so tricky to see past his amazing white hair! Have a great Day! :D
Fingers crossed for bring back his roots again. Great battle! I'm sure he'll appreciate it 🌸!
Love the closeups thank you!
A proper wet dry cycle usually solves most issues.
I treated a birds nest fern for scale 4 times now. I’m going to try your method of repotting and power washing with a hose next.
Sheesh! I just looked this up and saw that their spores look like scale... maybe that is by design so we leave them alone :/ Lil busters!!
Sometimes you just need orthene or another nasty systemic pesticide, I hate the stuff and how it messed things up but it works and can save a plant if you can’t keep the pests in check
The simplest method I/ve found to deal with bugs is put the affected plant in a container with a Vapona (or similar) no pest strip. Put a lid or piece of plastic wrap on the container. In a day or two the vapour from the strip will kill all the bugs. Problem gone!
Interesting! I'll look into that - thanks!
Just found your videos as i think i have bugs on my sucs and cactus. Great tips and amazing photos! Thanks a bunch!
Thank you James! Good luck!
Using a straight-pen or something really small and tapered to detach and a q-tip to take it off works really well...then wipe the bugs off the q-tip onto a paper towel, switching them out with clean q-tips once they become covered with eggs and/or debris. Works well for mealy bugs too
What a gorgeous cacti
omg this cactus is sooo pretty and I learned a thing too, so that's awesome!
Mine is a 3’ saguaro so I can’t dig up the roots , but I’ll try the alcohol & brush.
it's always the favourite one😭, just discovered tiny critter on my favourite loph graft 😭😭😭
Thanks 4 sharing😊checking my plants
Hi! I am your new subscriber♥️ Co'z your videos are very helpful for my cactus... Thanks for sharing😘 I've learned a lot! Thanks again!!!
Thanks for subbing! 🙏
Thanks for sharing. Awesome video hope your cactus has a quick recovery. I love those cactus to. Cactus have the most beautiful flowers. I just had a echinopsis subdenudatum 'Dominos bloom two large white flowers with the scent of lemon. Has 6 more buds coming up too, unfortunately the flowers only last for a day. Nice to see someone appreciates nature's beautiful plants.
I love cactus blooms that are fragrant the most!! Thanks Judy!
Neem oil is a amazing treatment
Awesome , informative video . Going to check my babies . THANKS
Thank you Joyce! I hope they're all clear!
WoW, that's amazing, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!!
Great video.. Informative, short, & to the point👍❤️👏👏
Glad it was helpful!
Yooo, thank you for the vid Ma'am!!
& Goooo Sigma 😁
This video is great, very informative and helpful! Thank you 🙏
Just found some nasty looking bugs on my cactus today! I think I definitely found scale, but I was super confused at that the long white bugs were - they weren't like any bug I've ever seen before! In the macro pictures, are males the little white specks near the females right? Thank you for this video, it helped me so much and put my mind to rest. Now to go clean up my cactus!
Try wiping the specks with a white paper towel or Qtip - if it comes away tinged with color, it's definitely a living pest. Assume the worst and be ready for battle! Good luck!
So helpful solving video!
Thankfully this has not happened to me yet but best to be prepaid just in case.
Here in Australia I have some great American varieties
What helps the Roots after a Rough treatment is Vermiculite.
In my Exp. when i had to do something like this on Plants that have weak Roots in General like Mammillaria they react good to the ventilation and moist benefits of vermiculite.
It also helps against Funghi which are Cactea Nr.1 Enemy.
And when the Plant shows Sign of strengh i pot it in a 70%Mineral30%organic mix (depending on the species)
But in the End the will to live that the plants have decides if they survive.
Vermiculite holds water like a sponge. Great way to keep the roots wet and then rot. I used to work in the countries biggest nursery and we used to put vermiculite on top of everything to stop the soil on top drying out so the seeds would be damp enough to germinate.
I found this by random chance, but I love your channel name 🌵😂👌
LOL thank you!! 😅
Thx for share it’s helpful
Thanks for sharing because one of my opuntia cactus is infested with scale insects.
Such a pretty cactus... That's scary, will be going out to invade my cactus privacy this afternoon. 😫
LOL!!! Yes! Get all up in their biz :p
Part 2: As the granddaughter of a trapper, i was concerned the cactus would draw critters with that little flash of white hidden behind a dead mouse. Maybe the furry mouse was to hide the white dots? I'd love to see videos on specific plants like you did for lithops. My split rock is looking dent-y. I am concerned, but scared to unpot it to inspect further. I know not to water. Its in terracotta, brought inside at night because its wet and cool here.
Thanks for your help!
What camera/ macro lens do use?? I was thinking about getting one, what a great idea to use it to look over your plants 😊
The Sigma macro lens on a 12 yr-old Canon Rebel - I need to upgrade...
Love your work dude. Keep up the passion. Am treating an advanced Ariocarpus retusus for scale, though it seems that the ariocarpus grows a cuticle over the scale, yet it still survives barely, they also exclusively attack the new growth.
I’ve tried removing them mechanically, but causes damage to the cuticle… am thinking of maybe using a systemic, but after first trying your method.
I would go w/ a systemic for sure - Arios are precious and such slow growers.
@@SucsForYou any suggestions?
@@johntowner1893 Bonide is what I use - amzn.to/3ZznZsX - you can also try dabbing alcohol directly w/ a soft brush - dollar store make-up brush kits come in very handy!
Great info. I would have assumed this fuzzy stuff might be normal or natural because i don't have much cactus-caring experience. I saw what looked like dead mice on what looked like a domino cactus, I have only seen tiny ones in specialty plant shops. This was at a big box store. My partner and i were so amazed that i snapped a photo. It was so weirdo looking. Is that normal?
Look up the flowers for Echinopsis subdenudata 'Domino Cactus' -- those little fuzz balls are flower buds!!
Cacti Meggy approves
Adding sand to soil does a great job preventing compaction like you experienced here! I use regular play sand and it works great, I’ve repotted cacti after 5 years and had all the soil just shake out of the roots with no fuss.
Very interesting. Thanks for the great info.
Thanks Tom!
thank you for the great advice
You are so welcome!
Thanks for the video. I literally had to do this yesterday with all of my succulent babies. Mostly Echeveria Perle von Nürnberg. It took me like 6 hours, including heating up the soil in the oven on 160-200° for about 1/2-1 hour, and alot of them lost a lot of their leaves. I hope they will survive. Unfortunately, I watered them. I think it also came from a succulent I didn't repot immediately on arrival, as it had the same Problem a week ago. Never gonna not repot again! And now I will go and check on my cacti and adenium obesum babies :D
Yikes!! I've never fooled w/ heating the dirt to sterilize - knowing me I'd burn it somehow :p And it's the worst when you get a new plant only to find it has caused so much trouble w/ the others! Good luck w/ the babies! The Adenium sound adorbs!
That's another thing I totally forgot about. Heating the dirt and killing the nematodes. Florida is bad with soil bugs.
Thanks for the reminder.
Do you apply rubbing alcohol to the roots as well or just a water cleaning?
Just water for the roots
I love that cactus. What kind is it? I really don’t catch the name. I’ve got a cactus that I bought at a box store and I think it might have scale. But someone else said it was just blemish on it. It’s just not coming off at all unless I take tweezers and really pull it off , so I’m afraid I’m doing more damage than good.
Parodia uebelmannia - and it sounds like you're pulling off old damage and not scale. Scale comes off quite easily w/ tweezers ;)
If you add a couple of ccs per gallon of Confidor, a systemic fertilizer, in the spring and fall, it will prevent scale.
Very nice🙏
Thank you! Cheers!
Really interesting and useful video :)
Thank you!
Such a cutie. Hope that did the trick ☺️💜
Thanks boo! I do too!!
I have 2 huge prickly pear cacti in my yard that are infested. How would you treat something you can't pick up, can't scrub because it has too many big and little thorns and can't do much with the soil or roots cause it's in the ground?
A foliar spray and/or systemic that works from the inside out :)
Nice video! Have you tried putting rooting powder on plants that don't have a good root system? I repotted my Kalanchoe Luciae yesterday whose roots didn't look too good and put some rooting powder on them. I'm crossing my fingers because I've only used it on cuttings.
I've tried the gel but didn't see much difference - let me know how it works for you!
Very helpful!!!
Great video, thanks for this
I,ll be sore to check my cacti now I no what to do thank you ,and I like to no the name of the tall one in the window the one 3 side whit leaf on top please .allo from Quebec
That's a Euphorbia ingens monstruosa. It died in the big freeze here but I got a new one from the same grower.
@@SucsForYou thank you very much
great camera work, what type is it, yes i came here because of scale, but my oh my do i find it therapeutic picking them off
Thanks! This was a macro lens on an old Canon Rebel.
@@SucsForYou Thank you for that, great video by the way
I hope you compare a healthy cactus and infected one because i am having a hard time seeing the difference. Sorry im still a noob
I have an eves needle with cochineal scale insect. I treated each area with rubbing alcohol tonight. He's not a hardy fellow so I worry brushing scrubbing & washing will hurt him. Any other options?
You can try a small paint brush (old eye shadow brush kinda thing). Otherwise, systemic granules will work from the inside out, but still best to try to get it as pest-free as possible.
@@SucsForYou sounds good. Thanks!
Wow good job looks good
Thanks Amy!
Hi I'm Andrea from North Carolina Hahahhaha your videoa have really helped me with my new found addiction to succulents and I just wanted to say thanks. Also I kiss my baby succs to hahhahaha
Hi Andrea! Welcome! This is your life now... :P
Hello, how can I treat roots for inground cactus?
You can try something that works as a soil drench - it's probably going to be toxic though so if it flowers soon after, hide it from bees and butterflies :)
Hi. I only have 90% rubbing alcohol at this time. Can I dilute that and use it, and if so, how much water should I add? Thanks!
Sure! Start w/ 50/50. Rinse well!
Hey Andrea, is there anyway I can send you a picture of my cactus? maybe if you have an Instagram or something like that? I kind of feel like there is something definitely up with it and as it is a cutting that I recently planted I would rather treat it now before it sets roots ( it actually totally fell out of the pot the other day and I’m lucky it didn’t land on my foot as it is very massive) lol 😂 but something just doesn’t seem right with it and there is some bumps and things that make me think I might be scale let me know if you have a different way I could message you and thank you so much in advance!
Hi Anna! I do offer 1-on-1 help: sucsforyou.com/ask-andrea/
so... how am I going to do that to my Melocactus???
We you able to save it in the end?
yep :)
I don’t know if my cactus has this but it has a bunch of white stuff at the bottom of it and it’s falling over. I’m freaking out
Thanks for this! How is she doing now? Did she bloom? I eish I found this video earlier as one of my favourite actually died for this... but next time I’ll be ready as soon as I see those bastards
Sadly it died the following year - something caused it to rot. But yes, it did bloom and the color was a glorious fuchsia!
Dose hurt my cactus if spins get knockoff
Ah man I have just discovered my blue candle has scale bugs 😩 Good luck to me finding rubbing alcohol in these crazy times
You can try water first, then soapy water. I worry about the farina getting smudged but saving the plant comes first ;)
thank you, good and nice job
Thank you!
I have a tiny bunny ear cactus(3ish inches tall) and its covered in scales. It's a pretty fragile cactus and I dont know if it can be saved
Ive just thrown mine. Not worth the risk and hassle... 😭
Can u do another video about this im so unsure about this
What do I do if my cactus gets scale insect in winter? Do I follow the same steps? The damage on my cactus from these is awful. :(
Yes, and hopefully they'll be easier to defeat!
I notice your cactus looks a bit shriveled at the bottom. My cactus is also shriveled. Is this normal?
Im still unsure about this it happens to succulent how do u know what to look for
I have a super tall, and furry cactus with scales. I have been treating with neem oil, but am going to have a difficult time to manually get all the scales off/spray with a water hose. I have already repotted it..any other suggestions?
Bummer! You may want to try a systemic - works from the inside out ;)
@@SucsForYou thank you so much for such a quick and informative response. Do you have a brand you would recommend over another? I hate to ask, but figured I would ask the pro before I bought one.
@@nicolevncnt I've never used a systemic but I've heard good repots on Bayer systemic and Bonide granules. Just note that any flowers that bloom while being treated (and for a few months after) will be harmful to pollinators
Me tienes enamorado
Hi, thanks for the video, what is the reason for the scale bugs affect our cactus?is it less sun or too much sun? I have my new cactus and already had a vitamin-bath control, after it dried and planted in the pot, i placed in the sheltered indirect sun on regards for making the new root grows.. But after 2 days, i looked at my cactus theres a lot of scale bugs, and i already treat it as soon as possible
Somehow the cactus came in contact w/ the scale bugs and they're just difficult to get rid of. They can fly, be brought in by other animals like birds, or just crawl from one plant to another. Quarantine until it's clear :)
Does anybody know how I do this with a foot tall barrel cactus, I genuinely can't lift Zeus 😂
Start with topical/manual removal
Hey Zoe I posted this above how to solve bug problems on cacti. The simplest method I/ve found to deal with bugs is put the affected plant in a container with a Vapona (or similar) no pest strip. Put a lid or piece of plastic wrap on the container. In a day or two the vapour from the strip will kill all the bugs. Problem gone! In your case if you can't lift the plant just put a plastic bag over it and tape up the bottom with the strip inside.
I have a lithop that is not doing will