for the future in concern for clover mites they're harmless

Joe - In the mind of these mites, they definitely struck jackpot with all my succulent juicy plants to feed on. And warm dry gritty mix, a paradise habitat in which they thrive!

I just hope cooking the old mix killed all of these crawlies..

B

Nomen and Joe, thanks for the info. I find these on my plants with regularity. I have always found the critters interesting as they continually motor around the periphery of the pot. I have never found any damage to my plants so I have just kept a careful watch. Knowing that they are for the most part harmless (while my plants usually have weeds in the pots for food) I can now just enjoy the race!

I add a few damp chunks of bark for them to wine & dine and be entertained

I watered my other plants today, and I found more crawling around. I squished them at immediate sight. So annoyed..

I grew up in Queens many years leaving my succulents outdoors as many months as possible. Those speedy red mites have NEVER done anything harmful in my experience. I believe they are predatory. Those are nothing like spider mites, which are a whole other matter.

Xero, thanks for your input. I just don't want to leave it to chance and have them turn to my plants for food once they are out of smaller pest/molds to eat..

I've many heard horror stories about spider mites! Care to share yours?

The only time I've really experienced spider mites on succulents were with some of the smaller S American cactus like Rebutia. Plumeria that I keep growing indoors overwinter are susceptible. I've also had them ravage Brugmansia outdoors.

Sucking critters like mealies and mites prefer desiccated plants since sugars and nutrients are more concentrated as water levels are reduced in the plant. It's important to keep plants correctly hydrated.

Geez, even given the protection of the conditions indoors, these mites are still able to find their way into your plants? That's frightening, I have to figure a way to prevent them from invading during the winter.

Bernard- I just finished trying Andy's method for pest control. The bayer tree and shrub $19.99 at home depot. 2 tablespoons in an empty gallon of Milk. When I used it I was amazed at what came out of several clusters of my arboreal aeoniums! I saw about a half dozen of these bugs and they were several inches long.

I don't think these particular insects are harmful to succulents, probably just setting up a home base. I do believe though that one insect always attracts another and another...so I think you're being pro-active was a good thing.

I haven't heard of boiling soil before. What I do is microwave batches of soil for 2 minutes in a large bowl (large enough to hold 1lb of cooked pasta generously), prep or amend the soil and then ready for use to plant.

The biggest threats to succulents as far as insects go would be Scale and Mealy bugs which, I told you previously that I had an infestation. I saw scale recently toward the bottom of one of my favorite cacti, the U. Pectinifera.

I was instructed to mix some warm water, a few drops of dish-washing liquid a couple drops of 70% isopropyl alcohol and a few sprays of neem oil. I used a soft-bristle tooth brush with the solution to gently scrub off the scale. (also, I used cactus-safe gardening gloves). I let my poor little cactus dry out for a few hours and placed him back in his container. Then, I watered with the Bayer insecticide. It has only been 2 days so, time will tell if I managed to save it. The U. pectinifera is not an uncommon cactus although, it is not commonly seen at the nurseries I frequent. It is also not expensive yet not cheap either. Regardless, I would try to save even the smallest sedum from these bugs.

When It comes to my plants, money is no object. I just want to make sure I can keep them as pest-free as possible, especially scale and mealy bugs before I go after the more expensive, rare types. What is amazing to me is a lot of the advice I've gotten about it from others in this area. "Just dab it off with alcohol," or "spray it with a hose." I don't have the luxury of time to dab alcohol on several hundred plants. So, that option was out. My succulents are not planted in ground, so the hose option was out too.

Another piece of advice I was given: "if it's really bad just discard the plant." Well, if it truly is that bad, of course you have to discard the plant. #1 it could affect other plants and #2 there would be no saving the plant so keeping a plant around that's turning into mush would do no good. I guess what bothers me is the attitude of "just get another one and try again." That's not an easy thing to hear when you've grown a plant and nurtured it for a long time. I can't be the only crackpot who has bonded with their plants(?)

I've had my blue cactus for 3 years and watched it grow and now it's coating is ruined. I have neighbors who've had certain cactus for 20+ years. You can't just simply tell them to "replace it."

Being a cactus and succulent lover, I guess my braid goes into over-drive and I notice every detail of the plant and it's surroundings. I have seen large infestations of scale and mealybugs in several of the plants outside of malls and other places including public parks and private residences. It seems that nothing is done to halt or prevent it. Cactus and succulents are not weeds, they're plants that are highly coveted so, why would anyone be so neglectful in their care.

Maybe if others in my area read this they would comment on the public infestation, But please, try to post it in a new thread! (Bernard hates de-railed threads and I don't want to face his wrath!) (sorry Bernard, don't hate me: ) ).

Neil, great write up, and I'm on the same page here. It greatly upsets me on people's disposable attitudes to these living things - plants inclusive.

I'm working on acquiring the Bayer product some time soon. Just got a in depth tutorial from Andy on the specifics.

I'll be interested to see how it paves out for your affected cactus.

Bernard - not a fan or de-railed threads, makes information difficult to seive when you need it.