Small white crawlies?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
Post Reply
CoastalCactus
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:30 pm

Small white crawlies?

Post by CoastalCactus »

I found these things in the drip tray of a planter containing my Oreocereus celsianus, Copiapoa cinerea, and Copiapoa humilis.

They're tiny, largest was ~4mm long and <1mm wide. Any ideas what they are?

I ended up pulling the plants, didn't notice anything moving in their roots but I rinsed most of the soil out, set them in tupperware and soaked them in miticide/insecticide and am leaving them to dry out before replanting later this week.

Dumped all the soil, lava rock, and top dressing from the pot in to a garbage bag and sprayed the tray and pot down with the miticide/insecticide

Rinsed those off, and now I put the pot in the oven for a bit just to be extra-sure. Might be a bit much, and I know I damaged a bunch of spines on one of my favourites (The Oreocereus 😥), but I'd rather kill them myself than let the bugs do it and risk them spreading.
Attachments
cactus pest - sm.jpg
cactus pest - sm.jpg (189.54 KiB) Viewed 722 times
User avatar
teo
Posts: 1720
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Lund, South Sweden

Re: Small white crawlies?

Post by teo »

Springtails - totally harmless for plants - feed on decaying organic material, mold and bacteria
Post Reply