Please help and advise

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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nick bayne
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:14 pm

Please help and advise

Post by nick bayne »

Firstly, No camera is going to do these justice!
On all of my ceramic pots (outside and rims especially) and in the dishes which they sit in there are 'gatherings' of seriously microscopic pests meandering around! I need to look very carefully to see them moving although individuals seem to move faster than a group. They are much less than 1mm each. each 'gathering' makes up less than 5mm in circumference and would equal in their hundreds. They seem very prolific and have spread from pot to pot successfully.
I have tried 'Provado ultimate bug killer' and an Aphid saturate as well as Vine weevil killer (although they are not either Vine weevil larvae or Scirad Fly Larvae). The problem has occurred since July.
My soil mix is 1 part stock cactus soil and 3 parts fine grit. I live in Cornwall UK and as we have had a good summer they have been outside since mid August but the problem was there before that. They usually occupy a crammed 4 windowsills.
If anyone can advise please do as I am at a loss!
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adetheproducer
Posts: 1576
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:15 pm
Location: Porth, the Rhondda, Wales

Re: Please help and advise

Post by adetheproducer »

Are they small and black?
And as the walls come down and as I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
Gary
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:55 pm
Location: England, United Kingdom

Re: Please help and advise

Post by Gary »

Hi Nick, It sounds like you might have a case of red spider mites (RSM). They like dry conditions and are difficult to get rid of. Do you have a magnifying glass you could use to examine them? I don't think Provado works for them, I think you need a miticide.
cheers
Gaz
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Diane64
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2014 6:31 am
Location: North Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Re: Please help and advise

Post by Diane64 »

Hello Nick,
Are they actually ON your plants/foliage? I'd try scrubbing the outside, rims & dishes they sit in with a good stiff brush using straight, (5% acidity) distilled
white vinegar. Try to cover the soil with aluminum foil or something. Cover your plants too, with a bag or pillow case, whatever. It's fairly safe stuff, I use a diluted solution
on my vegetables to kill insects and diseases, but straight will be much too strong for them. Vinegar gets rid of calcium that builds up around the rim, outside of pots & the dishes they sit in, too.
Thoroughly rinse everything as well as you can, and drench your soil to rinse out any vinegar that might have dripped in. A little bit won't hurt, and since that's probably where they're coming from, it might make them move out or die!!!

How are your plants doing? Are they showing any signs of damage or stress? Have you taken a look at the roots and soil to see if there's any signs of damage?

Just a suggestion from a fellow old time gardener. Ask around, see what other people think of my idea.
Good luck, Nick
---Diane
iann
Posts: 17184
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: England

Re: Please help and advise

Post by iann »

The description of masses of tiny creatures on the pot rather than on the plant doesn't sound like any plant pest. Certainly not spider mites. Need more info to know what they are.
--ian
HairyHarry
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:28 am
Location: Amsterdam

Re: Please help and advise

Post by HairyHarry »

Indeed, as iann said, some description would be helpful. Number of legs for example. color? any webbing or threads? or are they even to small for that?

Because if we can determine to which group of insects they belong you make a better start getting rid of them, because in general (in general!);
any treatment for mites works on all mites, any treatment for springtail would work on all springtails. Any treatment for bugs will work on all bugs. et cetera
KittieKAT
Posts: 1246
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 6:49 pm

Re: Please help and advise

Post by KittieKAT »

I sometimes take Sticky traps or double sided tape and stick it on the outside /inside rims of the pot and you won't believe how many flies and other bugs I've caught even mealies! This is protocol for all new plant's or suspected plant's entering my collection even after keeping them away from them for a few weeks before introducing them into the plant house.
Goodluck
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