My plants have mealy bugs, do I throw everything away?

6 years ago

Hello, Ive collected a bunch of cacti and succulents over the passed five months (indoor) I put them all in a room with plant lights and they were doing okay for a while but then I noticed gnats and someone told me a couple of my cacti had scale and mealy bugs so I threw those ones away. (I figured they were from the new greenhouse I recently bought those ones from.) I know I probably should have done something sooner about it.but at this point I think it's bad, and they should all be tossed. Theres gnats everywhere and I'm pretty sure they're all infested... I know I know I feel like a horrible plant mother. But before I made an account and got into these plants I read through some of these threads and everyone was saying 50% cactus and succulent soil and 50% perlite. So that's what they have been in. They only got watered every two weeks. And they ALL grew. But now I see that more people are saying "gritty mix" so I'm not really sure what that is. I'm hoping to start over. I know I'm going to have to throw away all of the plants. Bleach/clean the pots they were in. And clean the entire room and everything. I also want to switch to a "gritty mix" but my question IS am I going to have to just completely throw all of them away? I have like 25 succulents, 20 cacti, 6trays of propagating leaves. I also have regular houseplants in there too like spider plants,pothos....can I propagate the leaves off the succulents, and keep the babies from the spider plant? I know this is for just succulents and cacti but i was wondering if i could take cuttings from the pothos as well. I have 3 bunny ear cacti with alot of pads I was hoping I could save the pads to propagate, but was just wondering if I could do it or if it's just too risky to save anything.. Also what exactly should I buy for a gritty mix, when I do start over. Thanks to anyone who read this I appreciate any advice. Sorry for making it so long.

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Comments (3)

lmontestella
6 years ago
Hi Cyann,

You do not necessarily need gritty mix. Not everyone here uses that; many of us here use just 50/50 C&S mix & perlite or pumice. I don't use gritty mix myself & grow lots of C&S along w/ holiday cacti & some tropicals.

The soil isn't the main issue here, it's the bugs & the multiple insect infestations.

Going forward, pls. know that it's best to isolate newly purchased plants into another room for several weeks to see if they have insects & minimize the risk of spreading any to the rest of your collection.

The gnats are said to be from overwatering OR too peaty a mix or both.

The mealies could be from anywhere, could have come w/ the plants (all it needs is a little bit) & can spread fast.

I have no experience w/ nor know about scale, sorry.

Personally, I'd remove any infected plants (w/ visible insects) to another room AWAY from the plants that appear uninfected.

Pls. don't beat yourself up so, I know you feel awful, but unfortunately, this is part of the learning curve. You may wish to stop buying & propagating for a while 'til you get the mix under control & get rid of any insects at all.

Let's see what others have to suggest.
cyann19 thanked lmontestella
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Cyann

Imontestella said it - your mix was probably OK and many ppl use it without any problem. But there are times when it could have some problems: C&S mix could have too much peat in it. Only way to tell is to check the ingredients list on the bag. Not all manufacturers make it exactly same way. If that is the case, maybe it was staying wet longer than expected.

Fungus gnats like moist and organic environment: wet soil, water standing in saucers, lots of organic matter in the mix and also fallen debris from plants. Maybe it was hot & humid in the room. And it takes only 1 plant brought in with some FG, and they will spread around.
Same with most of the pests. Mealy bugs could be get rid of by spraying succulents with rubbing alcohol/water mixture (I have used it undiluted without any problems). It is better to spray plants since these buggers like to hide where you can't get to with q tip.
Scale dies if you wet it with a q tip moistened in rubbing alcohol. They often stick to stems and the leaves. Or you could spray just as for mealy. While spraying, do not keep plants in strong sunlight, but it is OK as soon as RA dries up (pretty fast).
There may not be need to throw plants out if you catch it early. I would only dispose of it if it was really overwhelming.

Keep brand new plants (or any infected now) isolated as suggested above. Pick up any fallen-dried pieces of plants. Get rid of any standing water. Make sure all containers have drainage holes. Double check ingredients of C&S mix. Sift or rinse perlite to get rid of smallest particles and dust. You could add some grit to your mix you can get any - maybe25% C&S soil, rest equal amount of grit & sifted perlite. But you don't have to if you have only C&S soil and perlite - if the old mix is staying wet for too long, increase amount of perlite. You can use 60 - 75% of perlite. Using small fan helps a lot = better air circulation.

Do you have garden, terrace or balcony? If so, you could keep all plants out there...

How do you propagate the succulent leaves? Can you post photo?

You can keep babies from the spider plant - leave them attached, or root for new plants if you wish so. I do not grow photos but I believe it is extremely easy to root it even in water (and I am not a fan of rooting plants in water, haha). Maybe wait with propagating bunny ears for a while - as Imontestella suggested :)
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ewwmayo
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Lots of good suggestions above. =)

Pests are just a part of life growing plants. I got some recent (and quite valuable/expensive) additions: one might have had baby mealybugs and the other definitely had red spider mites.

The problem is that if you throw out a plant and miss just one or two pests, they could reproduce and cause problems all over again with the remainder of your plants (minus the ones you throw out). So the problem really didn't get 'solved'.

Had quite the discussion with a coworker (who is a very enthusiastic grower) today about this during lunch.

In my opinion, the best strategy is to learn how to control or eradicate the pests you face with your collection. Here is very detailed thread with input from a lot of experienced growers about dealing with pests on succulents: [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/insecticide-pesticide-insights-dsvw-vd~3742440[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/insecticide-pesticide-insights-dsvw-vd~3742440). It's very comprehensive and covers scale, mealies, fungus gnats, and a whole lot of others.

My plants have mealy bugs, do I throw everything away?

Comments (3)

lmontestella

rina_Ontario,Canada 5a

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