In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulents?

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In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulents?

Aphids
16
2%
Fungus/Rot/Damping off
136
14%
Mealy bugs
241
26%
Mice
13
1%
Red spider mite
187
20%
Root mealy bugs
171
18%
Scale insects
41
4%
Sciarid fly
52
6%
Snails
50
5%
Western flower thrip
35
4%
 
Total votes: 942
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Martynjt8
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Martynjt8 »

At the moment!
1.Western Flower Frip. I just did not notice it for quite a while over winter!
2.Mealy Bug.
3.Aphids on Echeveria flower stems.
4.Sparrows. Yes those cute little squabling birds. They love to eat Mesems. outdoors and took chunks out of my Lophophora.
I am expecting to see one flying backwards any day now :grin:
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gerald
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by gerald »

I've intending buying some of this and importing it. My dad lives in the US and he sends me all sorts of stuff that I buy on US ebay, I can get this shipped to him and included in my next package - but is it illegal to do this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Malathion-oil-i ... 19cb16b550
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Jim_Mercer
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Jim_Mercer »

gerald wrote:I've intending buying some of this and importing it. My dad lives in the US and he sends me all sorts of stuff that I buy on US ebay, I can get this shipped to him and included in my next package - but is it illegal to do this?
Malathion was banned a few years ago as a plant protection product so its use for this purpose is illegal but you can still use it as a shampoo to control head lice.
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Tony R »

gerald wrote:I've intending buying some of this and importing it. My dad lives in the US and he sends me all sorts of stuff that I buy on US ebay, I can get this shipped to him and included in my next package - but is it illegal to do this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Malathion-oil-i ... 19cb16b550
See note from our Forum Administrator in a similar posting with lots more discussion last year:
http://www.bcss.org.uk/foruma/viewtopic ... 16#p193849

Strictly speaking, an amateur horticulturalist is breaking the law if he/she uses malathion in the UK after 6th December 2008.
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/guidance/i ... -malathion
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gerald
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by gerald »

As it happens we found head lice on one our kids last week as a result of an outbreak at school (true) :!:

I haven't decided whether or not to import this stuff or not, but seeing as I've been using Provado all year (according to the instructions) and I'm still finding plants with mealies, I'm not really very impressed with it.
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by N.D. »

I can see black and dark brown creatures about 0.25 mm in size running very fast in the pots with mesembs. They are probably harmless soil mites, but the question is: What are they doing on the plants (as opposed to the soil)? There is no apparent damage on the plants. Why crawl on the plants?
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Milan »

Well the pests in collections we can manage but more serious are pests in wild.
The picture was taken above Amaicha del Valle in Tucuman, where the rural donkeys recently invented that their hoofs are harder than the strongest spines of Leucostelle (Tr. pasacana). They learned how to kick off the spines and eat the water-rich soft tissues. I estimate that 80% of pasacanas was already destroyed that time in this part of Valles Calchquies. By the previous visit in January 2009 no such damage was observed. I am afraid that within a few years the whole population of pasacanas and other cacti in Valles Cachaquis shall be desroyed.
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Thunderhorse »

1. any spidermite it seems more than just red, after the stink and incomplete slaying of 6 episodes of horticultural soap/neem
I tried everything from diatomaceous earth to paprika to cinnamon to pepper to nematodes but the most effective things were running a flame over the cacti and a fine cloud of wd-40 which took out the tobacco i was growing along side them , at least until I discovered mighty wash and safer's trounce, the latter being less effective but I love the day I found mighty wash
2. sciariad flies, for the damage their larvae do and the fact they probably bring the mites in, if not the bees bringing mites in
for this I used an all round nematode pack
3. had to check snails but really it's slugs! ruined my early flowering chances on a "pachanoi" (bridgesii) from the local garden centre and I can't use slug pellets knowing full well it won't kill the slugs but will kill our prescious froggies and toads who eat the poisoned slugs later

damp seems only an issue here with regular saguaros/cardon and stetsonia so I gave up trying with them
Last edited by Thunderhorse on Mon Mar 10, 2014 12:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
edthegreen
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by edthegreen »

Vine weevils are my most hated pests with Sempervivums. I'm surprised they are not on the list. So far they don't seem attracted to Lithops. Drenching with Provado seems effective on most plants...and vine weevils do have wide-ranging tastes. The problem with succulents in winter is one doesn't want to be drenching pots. Those sneaky little grubs go about their evil destruction of root systems most earnestly at that time :mad:
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Re: In your opinion, which are the 3 worst pests in succulen

Post by Roger Mann »

Yes I do use Provado but also use Ant Powder which gets rid of any mealy I find, and its a lot cheaper. It gets rid of a lot more than ants just read the label ! ..................Roger :cool:
B.C.S.S Member 32963 Clacton on Sea Branch and Sedum Society .CSSA long time member also Alpine Garden Society. I collect Sedums and Opuntias large and small. I live in Essex and also go to Chelmsford branch meetings. :grin: :grin: Roger Mann.
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