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#378610 Nov 22nd, 2013 at 06:05 AM
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 68
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 68
Hey everyone!

So my college decided to be nice and give out little cacti.... except they have a bad mealybug infestation. So glad I didn't put it with my other plants! Anyways, I noticed the issue- a quick google search confirmed what the bug was and told me that using rubbing alcohol will kill them and that after 30+ days (to be sure eggs don't hatch) the problem should be gone.

So my problem:
It's a cactus! Getting at the damned bugs is a pain- literally! I've been using qtips soaked in rubbing alcohol to chase after them and it was super effective. Haven't seen an adult in two days. But there are still tiny little babies that are so hard to get to because of the spikes, especially at the top of the cactus where new spikes make a lovely cluster. I do my best to soak that spot in particular to make sure.
Now that I believe the adults are dead- it's so hard to tell the difference between the mess they left behind and the tiny babies. I try to clean it twice a day but I'm still so worried- I go home on the 20th of December and even one surviving bug would be devastating if it got in connection to the jungle I have at home, where it will be hard to isolate the plant.

Do you think cleaning the cactus with alcohol twice a day until then will be good enough? Is there anything else I should be doing?

It's completely impossible to clean the rim where the cactus meets the soil. I just really don't want a problem. But I also don't want to get rid of my new little friend, especially after the amount of time I've spent chasing down these bugs.


Ive loved houseplants ever since I was a kid, my grandmother taught me. Majored in Floriculture in High School.
ShinyDragonfly #378627 Nov 23rd, 2013 at 09:12 AM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 21,848
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Posts: 21,848
Ha
Mine were so bad I tossed tehem.
Didn't work for me.. Putting them in a cold room helps.


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PS... My horse isn't here, this is my Nitemare..

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