What up with my cactus?

Joined
Dec 16, 2019
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
Fresno
As others have said it's cochineal. If you only have one cactus, and it's relatively small, I would cut off one pad, set if aside. If the cactus was in a pot I would put the pot (if inexpensive) and all the other pads in a bag, seal the bag, and put it in the trash. If the cactus was in the ground, I would collect all the other pads, roots cactus debris, etc, and discard in a sealed bag. Cover any planting hole with non contaminated soil or compost and don't put a new cactus anywhere near there for a year.
Take the pad you set aside and with a sharp stream of water blast off any sign of cochineal you can find. Then put the relatively clean pad in a bucket or wash basin with warm water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Then methodically scrub every inch of the pad with a dishwashing sponge, paying particular attention to any crevices, such as where the spines are, or any folds or fissures anywhere on the pad. When you are done, very thoroughly rinse the pad with fresh water and air dry. Then root the pad in clean soil in a clean pot and grow if away from where you had the cochineal. If you see any cochineal on this pad remove them immediately. This will be the easiest way to keep your cactus clean. Otherwise you will always be fighting cochineal. If you start your plants clean they will stay that way.

Good luck.

M
 

SoCalGreek

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
31
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
As others have said it's cochineal. If you only have one cactus, and it's relatively small, I would cut off one pad, set if aside. If the cactus was in a pot I would put the pot (if inexpensive) and all the other pads in a bag, seal the bag, and put it in the trash. If the cactus was in the ground, I would collect all the other pads, roots cactus debris, etc, and discard in a sealed bag. Cover any planting hole with non contaminated soil or compost and don't put a new cactus anywhere near there for a year.
Take the pad you set aside and with a sharp stream of water blast off any sign of cochineal you can find. Then put the relatively clean pad in a bucket or wash basin with warm water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Then methodically scrub every inch of the pad with a dishwashing sponge, paying particular attention to any crevices, such as where the spines are, or any folds or fissures anywhere on the pad. When you are done, very thoroughly rinse the pad with fresh water and air dry. Then root the pad in clean soil in a clean pot and grow if away from where you had the cochineal. If you see any cochineal on this pad remove them immediately. This will be the easiest way to keep your cactus clean. Otherwise you will always be fighting cochineal. If you start your plants clean they will stay that way.

Good luck.

M
Thank you for all the suggestions! I ordered fresh pads today so that I can start completely over. I also got new pots and a new bag of soil. Do you think I should bake the soil prior to using it? I will put the new pots in a different area in my garden and will keep a super close eye on them! Thank you!
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2019
Messages
35
Location (City and/or State)
Fresno
Thank you for all the suggestions! I ordered fresh pads today so that I can start completely over. I also got new pots and a new bag of soil. Do you think I should bake the soil prior to using it? I will put the new pots in a different area in my garden and will keep a super close eye on them! Thank you!
If you are using new pots and new soil, you won't get cochineal from those things. I would be more concerned about the new pads. I would wash and dry them like I described. Baby cochineal ("crawlers") are very small so they could be on your pads and easily escape notice. Cochineal crawlers can also be blown by the wind, so it's possible you could get them from a neighbor with a heavily infested cactus. But you will be much better off starting with clean cactus pads and keeping an eye on them.
 
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