Very small white bugs on new cacti, mites??

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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ltrabit
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 11:08 pm

Very small white bugs on new cacti, mites??

Post by ltrabit »

Hi everyone,
I'm a beginner at growing cacti- I've had several for about three years, but the previous months resulted in a few dying, so I bought three new ones. Two are wonderful and have no problems, but one has very small white bugs on it, on the planter edges, and soil. I searched the internet up and down and cannot find a clear answer as to what these bugs are; some sources say that they are predatory mites, which are good, others say they are harmful to the plant. I have sprayed Captain Jack's Deadbug spider mite spray on it twice and the bugs remain untouched, going about their daily business. I have no idea what these bugs are and therefore have no idea how to get rid of them, so I'm wondering if anybody has had this problem before. Currently the cactus with the bugs is quarantined from the healthy ones, but I'd like to fix the problem, so that it can be with the rest. I don't see them unless I literally sit there and watch for a few minutes. I noticed that they like the areolas of the cactus and crawl around those and the outside of the planter. I have no idea what to do! Please help! Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!
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toadstar
Posts: 381
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:49 pm
Location: Nebraska, USA
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Re: Very small white bugs on new cacti, mites??

Post by toadstar »

Could it be mealybugs?
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... doors.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
iann
Posts: 17184
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: England

Re: Very small white bugs on new cacti, mites??

Post by iann »

Mites aren't white, certainly not the harmful ones. Pests are found on the plant, not the soil or pot edges. They also don't crawl around much. Unless you're very patient you could imagine they don't move at all.
--ian
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