mealybugs on Echinopsis
Quick answer
If your Echinopsis has mealybugs, the most likely cause is: Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects that look like tiny bits of sticky white cotton and gather where ribs meet the stem and inside the crevices between areoles and spines of globular or columnar cacti like Echinopsis. They are good at hiding in tiny crevices, can spread into the root zone through the soil, and move between plants on contact, so an isolated case on one Echinopsis quickly infects nearby cacti.
Start here:
- 1. Inspect the areoles and stem joints with magnification for cottony white tufts and unpot the plant to check the roots if a heavy infestation is suspected, since mealybugs often look like random dime-sized patches of white dust on the sides of soil and hide in the substrate
- 2. Quarantine the plant away from other succulents while treating and dab visible clusters with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab, since alcohol kills pests on contact
Why Echinopsis gets mealybugs
Echinopsis
Mealybugs are sap-sucking insects that look like tiny bits of sticky white cotton and gather where ribs meet the stem and inside the crevices between areoles and spines of globular or columnar cacti like Echinopsis. They are good at hiding in tiny crevices, can spread into the root zone through the soil, and move between plants on contact, so an isolated case on one Echinopsis quickly infects nearby cacti.
How to reverse mealybugs on Echinopsis
- 1
Inspect the areoles and stem joints with magnification for cottony white tufts and unpot the plant to check the roots if a heavy infestation is suspected, since mealybugs often look like random dime-sized patches of white dust on the sides of soil and hide in the substrate
- 2
Quarantine the plant away from other succulents while treating and dab visible clusters with 70 percent isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab, since alcohol kills pests on contact
- 3
Drench the entire cactus with a mild dish soap and water solution or a neem oil spray to wash away pests and disrupt their waxy coating, keeping the plant in the shade for two to three days during treatment to avoid sunburn
Keep mealybugs off this Echinopsis
Allow the soil to dry out between waterings, avoid over-fertilizing which attracts pests, and check new plants carefully before introducing them to a collection.