You are saying the leaves were perfectly fine before you sprayed?

Oils don't bode well with my plants . I use Saferas Soap baought at :Lowe's without ever a problem. Some succulents are very senstive to oils in which most if not all of mine are.

I am sorry to see this happening. I hope you resolve this.

Mike

Would the safers / horticultural soap spray help remove the oil? Maybe then spray with a hose or leave out in the rain?

I have no clue what happened to my last reply! I typed a lot more and it isn't showing up.

Anyway, I have taken your advice and chilled out over obsessing over pests and so far so good!

Whatever you're trying to post for pix (I think) don't work. Won't you pls try using the Houzz icon to post your photos?

About vanishing posts, if you copy your text periodically as you write it, then when something goes wrong, you'll have it in the memory of your cut & paste if something goes wrong & you need to repost.

Do you isolate your new plants when you bring them home? Meaning to keep them in another room from the rest of the plants, for maybe a month or so.

Pls excuse my bluntness, but if you're SO VERY terrified of pests, perhaps plastic or silk plants would be best for you.

Tylor

Best is just to relax :) All of us feel the same - we do not want to bring home any unvelcomed guests. Just try to make sure you look plants over in the store, and if in doubt about health of any, just do not buy them. Sometimes, there are pests and not easy to spot. Hopefully, not very often. If growing any plants, it is likely inevitable to have some pests occasionally. But if you keep plants healthy - proper watering, well draining mix and container, proper light exposure - they are able to resist them better. Pest will attack weak plants much more often than healthy, strong plants. And some will attack only specific plants, and ignore others. Some are easier to get rid of, some more difficult. Most ppl have to figth mealy bugs or scale, but there could be other pests. While prevention is best medicine, spraying with strong chemicals as a preventative measure could be jumping the gun. It is similar to using strong antibiotic for any ailement - body will get 'used' to it and the medicine may not work as well if really needed. Using rubbing alcohol works quite well on many pests. Make sure plants are not in strong sunlight while being treated with anything (rubbing alcohol dries very fast).

Any plant with bugs should be treated asap, to avoid spreading of pests. It is much easier to get rid of very few than large infestation.

There are ppl that use spray or drench as a preventative measure. But it should be used in proper way.

OTOH, plant pests will stick to plants, they will not invade anything else. If you have any outdoor space - garden, terrace, balcony - it is really good for plants to spend time outdoorsb (always introduce plants slowly to direct sunlight). If not, try to give them best place indors: lots of natural light, good air circulation.

Hi Taylor.

Yeah, I had that happen to me before I discovered gardenweb. Here's the thing---oil gets much hotter much faster than water-based sprays. Oil also stays longer on the plant leaves before eventually breaking down. So the KEY is to keep all your plants OUT OF THE SUNLIGHT for a week after you spray them. The sun will heat up those oil droplets and cause burn on the leaves. I think the Bonide spray has surfactant in it so the oil spreads out into even smaller bits (this is why this particular spray is so effective). Even the tiny nooks could burn in the sun, especially if the liquid ends up pooling in the center of the rosettes.

There are succulents that are really sensitive, though. For those, Rina is absolutely right about using alcohol spray applied every other day until you reach your comfort level (i.e. you feel that any hangers-on should have died by then). Again, keep the plant out of the sun until you are done treating it.

I have the same paranoia about bringing in pests with new plants. The more plants I acquire and the longer they survive, the worse my paranoia gets lol Eventually, you'll realize you've moved furniture and cleared space for isolating new plants. Then you know your plants have taken over.