when i see such a concentration of cacti i wonder how they manage to combat pests such as root mealie bugs. once they are in a collection there is no way to rid them.
well since i posted i have been studying and try diff ways to rid my collection of root mealies. first of all i didn't know i had them for 30 years. apparently they do not do damage to cacti. they are so small unlike regular mealies you need a glass to see them. the occasional patch of white i would see while re potting i attributed to mold, from over watering. i finally got hip to them last summer, much to my dismay, when i re potted a 30 year old cactus that has never bloomed. when i realized what they are, i looked at the rest of the collection tray by tray. some had it some didn't. some only had ONE mealie bug . so it's not the end of your collection. the plants grow and look beautiful despite them. with my new awareness, i scrupulously look at all the roots when re potting. to do this i observe the roots, looking for brillant white patches, then wash them out with a hose, let dry and look with a dissecting microscope. if i see just one bug i dunk the whole plant in 50% methanol for about 20 seconds then into 120F water (use a thermometer) for about a minute. lethal temp for a root mealie is 114F. then let it sit around for about 3 days to a couple weeks depending on your schedule and let the roots dry. re examine the roots looking for the telltale signs of white patches. the old white patches will still remain, so they can trick you, but any current activity will be apparent as brilliant white fluff. i have seen one bug survive this treatment, so they are pretty tough critters, and i adjusted the time in alchohol/waterbath from a few seconds to the times i posted above. after i get done, i comb the roots out with a small paint brush (many roots will shed, it's expected) re pot in sterile medium and put the plant on a top shelf so the crawlers from still infested plants won't rain down into the now pest free plant. do not water for about a week to let the roots heal where you broke them in the combing process. and do not recontaminate the sterile repotted plants with your fingers or tools you have handled other possibly contaminated plants with. use the 'sterile technique' like you were dealing with bacteria. i have more but this post is way too long already.
well, if you liked it, here's the rest of the story. important aspects to know about root mealies- 1) their lifespan is 48 days. 2) they usually give live birth to crawlers, the dispersal stage. 3.) if eggs are laid they hatch in 24 hours. knowing these facts lets me feel safe about reusing old potting soil that i leave laying fallow in a plastic bag for several months. you don't have to worry about eggs lingering and waiting for an opportunity to hatch, or any bugs being alive after 90 days. i leave the bag out in the sun so it will also heat up in the sun. i have clocked temps of 120F in soil laying out in sun on hot sunny days! i have also clocked temps of 128F on the top shelf of my greenhouse, and the lethal temp for root mealies is 114F. that 128F temp does stress the cacti as i have seen them go flaccid after that extreme, however a good watering perked them up a few days later. so it may be possible to rid your collection just by raising the temp where they grow. if you don't have a greenhouse, you could put them in a car in the sun with the windows rolled up for a day. i plan to experiment with this idea. another point, the high temp should drive the bugs deeper into the pot and out the drain holes, where they will rain down on plants below them. (this is how soil biologists collect soil organisms) so i keep all my pots in 1020 trays that prevent that. it confines any bug contamination to just the pots in that tray, i hope. the other thing i think about trying is drowning them. i have left trays outside and had rain flood them to the rim and they have remained that way for 24 hours before i had time to drain them. so that may be another idea to experiment with. and you could just put the whole pot in 120F water and stick a thermometer into the rootball and wait for it to rise to 120F. i haven't tried that either. i did try a chemical bath of malathion at the concentration recommended for spraying leaves, and soaked the cactus in it. man that was a mistake. it killed the bugs and fried the plants! most of them grew back out, but i was horrified at what i had done. never use a pesticide in a way not directed by the manufacturer. i figure the roots took up the poison and it did them in. i never want to use any chemical pesticide again.
Bob S You gave me such important informations that i ve never heard before. Do you think 1020 trays prevent plants from mealy bugs? I couldnt get the idea of using it😕 and what is 120 water?
Beautiful cacti! Many thanks for video!
Beeindruckende Sammlung!
Gracias
Ermoso me encanta
beautiful
Такое все гигантское. Прелесть
it's amazing
MUY BONITO :)
lindos e maravilhoso
Esse lugar dos cactos ainda existe
I want to collaborate
🙏🙏
wow
when i see such a concentration of cacti i wonder how they manage to combat pests such as root mealie bugs. once they are in a collection there is no way to rid them.
Bob S i wonder it too :)
well since i posted i have been studying and try diff ways to rid my collection of root mealies. first of all i didn't know i had them for 30 years. apparently they do not do damage to cacti. they are so small unlike regular mealies you need a glass to see them. the occasional patch of white i would see while re potting i attributed to mold, from over watering. i finally got hip to them last summer, much to my dismay, when i re potted a 30 year old cactus that has never bloomed. when i realized what they are, i looked at the rest of the collection tray by tray. some had it some didn't. some only had ONE mealie bug . so it's not the end of your collection. the plants grow and look beautiful despite them. with my new awareness, i scrupulously look at all the roots when re potting. to do this i observe the roots, looking for brillant white patches, then wash them out with a hose, let dry and look with a dissecting microscope. if i see just one bug i dunk the whole plant in 50% methanol for about 20 seconds then into 120F water (use a thermometer) for about a minute. lethal temp for a root mealie is 114F. then let it sit around for about 3 days to a couple weeks depending on your schedule and let the roots dry. re examine the roots looking for the telltale signs of white patches. the old white patches will still remain, so they can trick you, but any current activity will be apparent as brilliant white fluff. i have seen one bug survive this treatment, so they are pretty tough critters, and i adjusted the time in alchohol/waterbath from a few seconds to the times i posted above. after i get done, i comb the roots out with a small paint brush (many roots will shed, it's expected) re pot in sterile medium and put the plant on a top shelf so the crawlers from still infested plants won't rain down into the now pest free plant. do not water for about a week to let the roots heal where you broke them in the combing process. and do not recontaminate the sterile repotted plants with your fingers or tools you have handled other possibly contaminated plants with. use the 'sterile technique' like you were dealing with bacteria. i have more but this post is way too long already.
Bob S Thanks a lot for your comment!
well, if you liked it, here's the rest of the story. important aspects to know about root mealies- 1) their lifespan is 48 days. 2) they usually give live birth to crawlers, the dispersal stage. 3.) if eggs are laid they hatch in 24 hours. knowing these facts lets me feel safe about reusing old potting soil that i leave laying fallow in a plastic bag for several months. you don't have to worry about eggs lingering and waiting for an opportunity to hatch, or any bugs being alive after 90 days. i leave the bag out in the sun so it will also heat up in the sun. i have clocked temps of 120F in soil laying out in sun on hot sunny days! i have also clocked temps of 128F on the top shelf of my greenhouse, and the lethal temp for root mealies is 114F. that 128F temp does stress the cacti as i have seen them go flaccid after that extreme, however a good watering perked them up a few days later. so it may be possible to rid your collection just by raising the temp where they grow. if you don't have a greenhouse, you could put them in a car in the sun with the windows rolled up for a day. i plan to experiment with this idea. another point, the high temp should drive the bugs deeper into the pot and out the drain holes, where they will rain down on plants below them. (this is how soil biologists collect soil organisms) so i keep all my pots in 1020 trays that prevent that. it confines any bug contamination to just the pots in that tray, i hope. the other thing i think about trying is drowning them. i have left trays outside and had rain flood them to the rim and they have remained that way for 24 hours before i had time to drain them. so that may be another idea to experiment with. and you could just put the whole pot in 120F water and stick a thermometer into the rootball and wait for it to rise to 120F. i haven't tried that either. i did try a chemical bath of malathion at the concentration recommended for spraying leaves, and soaked the cactus in it. man that was a mistake. it killed the bugs and fried the plants! most of them grew back out, but i was horrified at what i had done. never use a pesticide in a way not directed by the manufacturer. i figure the roots took up the poison and it did them in. i never want to use any chemical pesticide again.
Bob S You gave me such important informations that i ve never heard before. Do you think 1020 trays prevent plants from mealy bugs? I couldnt get the idea of using it😕 and what is 120 water?