Cactus Problems and Pests Arrive
Q: Hi Hap,
Thanks for your help with the cactus! The tubular shaped cactus has bad discoloration and little white larvae/mites? in the saucer. The beaver tail/flat shaped cactus thankfully does not have the white bugs in the saucer but it has some rough patches of brown discoloration.Any suggestions on how to correct this problem?
Thank you,
Ashley
A: Ashley,
They need a good spray/drench with a Neem Oil solution. It looks like they actually have two types of bugs, scale and mealy bugs as well as a start of a fungal infection, most likely brought on by the bugs sucking on their sap. Neem Oil will kill the bugs as well as help the plants fight off the fungal infection. We use a 1% Neem dilution with great success. We have it available at the nursery.
Hap
