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[Radium]

My Trichs (peruvianus and pachanoi) are attacked by some cream/white pest the size of a needle tip, they walk, probably bugs, but very hard to see.

When left untreated, they cause the top section of Trichs to become dry gray dead skin.

I sprayed my Trichs using tobacco tea and also P.harmala tea, several times, but it only reduced their numbers.

What other natural/safe pesticide can I use to completely get rid of them??

[Ian Morris]

just started treating mine with neem oil, it works but you need consistent application

2 Likes nikshaz and SKUNK like this.

[bezevo]

I had a few bugs  this spring . then a spider and a praying mantis started hanging out on them eating the bugs

[LSoares]

Don't go spraying things on your plants without first making sure what you're treating. By your description the bugs seems too small to be mealiebugs, but red spider mites are orangey-reddish. You have to make sure what you're fighting. Neem oil may be effective (it works against a number of pests), but be aware of phytotoxic reactions - I've read more than once about plants having they epidermis wrecked by spraying with neem oil and exposing them to the sun.

[nobody]

If it is not mealy bugs (i.e spider mites), Methyl Alcohol works well. If it is mealy bugs then just remove them by hand and clean the area with a tooth brush and water. Make sure to move the plants away from direct sun for a day or two as well.

nobody

[Radium]

Here is two pictures of them.
They are really small, and they walk and move ocassionally (not dust).

[LSoares]

Here is two pictures of them.
They are really small, and they walk and move ocassionally (not dust).

From what I see they can be thrips. Go to your local garden center and check with them what they have to deal with it, but be warned they are not the easiest pest to get rid of. Let us know how things go.

Edited because I misread a comment above (sorry, nobody).

2 Likes happyconcacti and Radium like this.

[Radium]

Here is two pictures of them.
They are really small, and they walk and move ocassionally (not dust).

From what I see they can be thrips. Go to your local garden center and check with them what they have to deal with it, but be warned they are not the easiest pest to get rid of. Let us know how things go.

Edited because I misread a comment above (sorry, nobody).

That's it!
I observed them under a magnifier glass today, and they are the same 6-legged 2-antenna creatures displayed on "Thrips" wikipedia page.
The young is creamy, and the adults are a little darker.

The problem is that the shop keepers here don't know the English name, and we don't have any native name for them, and they even didn't recognize the description I gave about their appearance (someone needs more education before opening a shop for something)

So...
I'm on my own,
And no "insecticidal soap" is available for sale this part of the world...
What can I do now?

Nicotine decreased their numbers severely, but didn't wipe them out entirely.

Is it safe for Cacti to spray tobacco tea regularly?

[LSoares]

Well, that's a bummer. Thrips are... well, thrips everywhere.
In portuguese they're called "tripes", which is more or less the same because the latin "th" does not sound the same as the english "th" (supposing we agree as to what latin writing actually sounds like once read). If I may ask, where are you located? Here in Portugal we have ready-made insecticide hand sprayers (brand name "Fazilo") with abamectin as the active ingredient. It is useful against both thrips and RSM, but be warned they are not cheap and are probably very expensive if you have a large collection.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: insecticidal use should not be taken lightly. Be very confident on your ability to use them properly or forget about it and ask for help from someone qualified.

[Radium]

OH NOOOOOOOOO 
Something terrible happened.
I just learned a BIG LESSON via a very SEVERE exam....:
Never apply anything (pesticide, fertilizer, etc) to all of your plants at once...
Always add it to one of them, wait a week, then if nothing bad happened, apply to rest of them.

I applied deltamethrin and tetramethrin to my trichs.
The fucking thrips are totally gone,
But my beauties are gone tooooooo
Out of my 30 beautiful happy lovely trichs, only 4 survived my assholish action 
I will never forgive myself, nor will the cactus spiritis

1 Like LIBERTYNY likes this.

[plantlight]

I feel for you man!     A few years ago, I learned how to try new fertilizers the same way.  The first few weeks I thought my psychotrias were loving it but one day, noticed a few with burned tips.  The older plants survived but most of the younger ones didn't.  Ever since then, I go slow with any change to the normal regimen and never try on all at the same time.

Lesson learned the hard way.

1 Like Radium likes this.

[Radium]

Wow,
Radium's magical urine saved the day again....
All the surviving cut plants are popping pups faaaaaast!
Pictures soon....

3 Likes plantlight, FewTrueSeed and LIBERTYNY like this.

[FewTrueSeed]

Good work. I'm going to start peeing on any and all my infestations. I'll confirm your findings yet.

[Radium]

Good work. I'm going to start peeing on any and all my infestations. I'll confirm your findings yet.

Nope, I didn't use urine to fight pests.
I used deltamethrin & tetramethrin to kill the pests, which eradicated them pretty well, but..... it also killed 70% of my plants too!

All my plants started to rot,
I cut all of them below the rot,
Most died anyway,
A few survived,

The urine helped to trigger pups growing on the survivors faster,
that's all

1 Like FewTrueSeed likes this.

[cactusjames]

How exactly does the urine stimulate pup growth?

Cuz if it really works, my pachanoi's are going to get a golden shower.