Oil + Sun = Burn.........sorry you found out the hard way!

Yep. Aeoniums did but not the others.

...and ..."sprayed the pests to oblivion"... = oedema.

Sometimes, it is safer to use proper insecticide. I am sure occasional spray with concoction you used may not be problem, but using soap-dishwashing liquid is really not so good for plants. They are designed to dilute grease/waxes - including protective wax coating on plants leaves. If you have to use home-made stuff, use vegetable based soaps only (like Castile). And spraying plants with anything is better/safer to be done in shadier area.

I try not to use pesticide because of the plants’s close proximity to my children. Better kill the plants than poison my kids.

Anyway these plants are troopers. If they don’t survive, oh well, time to make another trip to the store. Heheheh

As I said, the aeonium got only the incidental droplets. The Echeverias which really “bathed” in the solution fared well.

The first problem I see is that you didn't identify what kind of pest you had. Proper identification is key to proper treatment.

The second problem is that you used a home remedy of unknown efficacy to treat an unknown problem.

The dish soap is probably as toxic or more toxic than whatever pesticide you could have applied. The proper treatment could very well have been spray with a 50:50 mix of alcohol and water.

Got it from YouTube. It was effective actually. No pests on sight. DIY blogs suggested it too. Echeverias, mammilarias and Graptoveria behaved like it was nothing.

Hi Chris. I used the same trreatment. Same ingredients and about same mix. I'm not suggesting it's a good thing by the way.

I had it recommended by a friend who worked at the gardens of the Darwin Casino. It was winter here and the plants were outside, but getting little or no sun, so burning wasn't an issue. The bugs went away but then returned or it was different bugs. So I soaked them more and they left. It's getting really hot here now, often over 30°C, so I guess I'm lucky it wasn't now. Maybe my dishwashing liquid was a more natural one.

Just because one sees something on youtube or reads about in one of zillions DYI blogs, it doesn't mean it is safest and best advice. Many are, but many are not. Even some employees of stores specializing in plants give ridiculous advice sometimes. Best is to research...

As Nil said about toxicity...Just look at the list of ingredients of Ultra Dawn for example:

But as Michel Pollan said: "If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It" (I am not suggesting you are eating dishwashing liquid or feeding it to your children!) or "Don't buy products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can't easily pronounce".

Chris - at the same time, pls. do share your positive and negative experiences. That is how we learn. Not trying to criticize; just trying to point out some possibilities.

Thanks for the advice mike. I will look it up online where I could buy one. I did try alcohol before with limited success, thank God no damaged leaves though. I do have Monterey with spinosauds but I reserve that for my petunias which are outdoors and away from where the kiddos play. Cheers.

Chris, I get mine at Lowe's or Home Depot and they are less than 6 dollars a spray bottle. I love having them around the house. Just as soon as I see any issue with any plant, the spray they get and nothing spreads..Mealy and spider mites are very sneaky..

Awesome! I got both BBS within a 4 mile radius from where I live. thanks.

Thanks for sharing, a shame for those pretty leaves. Your plant will probably be fine and recover from it though. I use Neem oil + water as a natural pesticide, works well, but a bane to anything with farina.

Chris

I am still wondering what kind of bugs were you fighting?

I have used Safer's soap once or twice, and use just rubbing alcohol - often full strength, sometimes diluted. So far, I didn't have any problems associated with it.

I don't know their names Rina. One had transparent bodies (theyeither llook like very tiny black spots or light green bodies) with a propensity for staying close to the flower buds and there's another with white powdery residue staying close to the tight crevices close the base of the leaves. I snipped off the inflorescence both new and old as they seemed to be attracted to them. I didn't take a picture.

Thanks Chris. Transparent bodies - could be aphids. They are best blasted off with stream of water - of course, not so easy to do on succulents! I believe that Safer's soap will take care of them (?)

Ones with white residue could have been mealy bugs. They are hard to get rid of since they hide well. Younglings are also often hiding in cottony-like substance, and eggs are sometimes laid in it too (some sp. are born directly from mother). These bugs should die if rubbing alcohol is sprayed/dabbed directly on, and insecticidal soap works well too. It is best to repeat treatment after 5-10 days since there are new hatchlings. Ants could be found around too, as they protect both aphids and mealy. Natural remedy for both are ladybugs - but try to have them stay long enough :)! Diatomaceous earth is supposed to be quite effective too - I never used it so have no personal experience.

Spinosad is incredibly safe. It's permitted as a topical flea treatment for dogs. The kids have probably been exposed to far more spinosad from their friends pets than they ever would be from a houseplants. Of course that's assuming they don't hug the houseplants and rub their faces on them like they might playing with a dog.

Yes they're even considered organic as they're thought to not persist after 72 hours, I think.