A HIGHLY Recommended Tool For Pest Diagnosis

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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WayneByerly
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A HIGHLY Recommended Tool For Pest Diagnosis

Post by WayneByerly »

If you are here, you have, and can afford a computer with Internet access. And if you are a serious collector of succulents, then you know your habit is not quite cheap. So with that in mind, I would like to recommend as a tool for diagnostic use, a USB Microscope. These items can be had for as little as $26 from Amazon. The upper limit ranges significantly higher.

But for as little a $26 you can have a device which will not only magnify from as low as about 20x up to a range of 200 - 400x, display that image on your computer screen (which is, BTW, significantly bigger than a magnifying glass), AND, unlike the magnifying glass, it will capture both still photos AND video.

Seldom have I found a purchase as useful or interesting ... AND satisfying. Get yourself one ... I cannot, not for the first moment, think that you will regret it.

Reply to this when you read it. I'm wondering who might see it, who might have been glad to see this posting and who just don't care. take ONE moment ... please.

Sample Shot: Mealy bug infestation on a Gymnocalycium cardenasianum
Screenshot 2014-08-13 08.41.59.jpg
Screenshot 2014-08-13 08.41.59.jpg (52.79 KiB) Viewed 615 times
Last edited by WayneByerly on Wed Aug 27, 2014 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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
iann
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Re: A HIGHLY Recommended Tool For Pest Diagnosis

Post by iann »

Magnification is critical for mites, but I find it tricky to carry my computer into the greenhouse ;) I'm still stuck in the 20th (19th?) century with a hand lens.
--ian
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K.W.
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Re: A HIGHLY Recommended Tool For Pest Diagnosis

Post by K.W. »

iann wrote:Magnification is critical for mites, but I find it tricky to carry my computer into the greenhouse ;) I'm still stuck in the 20th (19th?) century with a hand lens.
:) :wink:

K.W.


PS I did heater, dehumidifier and phone in the greenhouse - but the computer stays outside. :D
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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teo
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Re: A HIGHLY Recommended Tool For Pest Diagnosis

Post by teo »

I have one of these, in my case from PlexGear but it's the same as this at Amazon: Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope for Windows, Mac, Linux (2MP, 10x-50x Optical Zoom, 200x Digital Magnification)

it's having some problems to be recognized by the computer when turned on, I have never really figured out why. The practical resolution when looking for small mites is not better than a normal 20x loupe (I think it has a chip w. 1MPx). The only real advantage is that you can capture the images on the computer.
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