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Full Guide On Cactus Diseases, Pests and Treatments
Full Guide On Cactus Diseases, Pests and Treatments
Full Guide On Cactus Diseases, Pests and Treatments
Most cacti diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms.
It is quite hard to treat a cactus for pests and especially diseases, so it is the best
practice to monitor growing conditions regularly. Prevention is always easier than
treatment. Now, let’s look at the common cacti diseases and pests.
CACTI DISEASES
Soft rotting will feature wet roots and even stem, with shriveled stem and black/brown
spots. A dry rot looks more like a brown spot that spreads through the stem. With a
dry rot, the stem becomes dry from the inside, and it is usually hard to notice early.
There are few types of fungi and bacteria that cause cactus rotting. For example,
Phytophtora cactorum fungus causes a rot to the roots and the plant stem. Rot
progress quickly, so you need to act fast. This type of rot has a ‘classic’ look – wet
and black roots and dying of the plant. Your cactus is likely to get this infection if you
leave any untreated cuts on the plant.
Diplodia, Phyllosticta concava and other fungi cause black spots on the cacti,
leading to dry rot. You can also notice prominent brown/rust-colored spots (causing
dryness on the cactus) often surrounded by brown rims, all of which also mean
rotting of the cactus. Act fast and remove affected parts of the plant.
Otherwise, you will notice the black/brown spots get larger. If you can’t cut affected
parts, then quarantine and the best thing is to get rid of the cactus completely. You
can also try fungicides, but they usually fail to treat the plant fully.
SOFT CACTUS ROT CAUS ED BY
BACTERIA
Wet, or soft rotting is usually caused by bacteria in the genus Erwinia. Wet rot
usually follows any damage or cuts to the cactus, and that is how bacteria enter the
plant. The main symptom is softening of the stem, which can also become dark in
color, coupled with black spots. You will need to cut off affected areas to treat your
cactus.
You might also notice yellowing of your cactus, and there might be few causes of
this. First of all, yellowing of a cactus might be a symptom of nutrient deficiency. If
you notice yellowing of the cactus, which often affects top parts of the plant, use
some fertilizer to feed the plant.
But what is more, yellowing might be the symptom of viral/bacterial disease, and is
usually called ‘cactus jaundice’. There is no treatments for cactus jaundice, which
leads to rot and dying of the plant. If fertilizers don’t help, it is probably the jaundice.
Affected cactus can die in few months or few years.
Check your plant’s roots once a month to make sure there is no rotting. If you see
your cactus rotting, you can still save the plant if the infection hasn’t spread heavily.
If the roots have become black and thin or with any type of rotting, you will need to
clean the cactus, remove dead roots and cut off affected parts. For this, you will need
to sterilize shears or scissors (use fire or rubbing alcohol), and cut all the dead roots
and all rotten parts, even up to a stem if needed.
When cutting, make sure there are no black or brown spots on the stem, and keep
cutting until you are left with clean, green stem. Then, wash your cactus and its roots
in a warm water and make it a warm bath.
Corking will look like brown cork around the plant’s base, and there is nothing to
worry about. If it’s corking from the top, there is another problem, such as mites.
Corking can also be a result of improper conditions and care.
Sun burn is caused when you let your cactus face direct sun light straight after rest
period, without shading it beforehand. Same happens when you use any pesticides
or alcohol on the cactus and let it sit under the sun. Too much sun will burn plant’s
epidermis, preventing it from breathing and growing. Any burnt areas become brown
and can’t be treated.
Please note that if your cactus becomes purple or red, this can be normal if you have
prepared your cactus for direct sunlight. This can happen in prepared cacti or if your
cactus has been experiencing cold winds (which means that your cactus is too cold).
BURNT CACTUS
Both underwatering and overwatering cacti is a big problem and can kill plants. Many
new hobbyists make these mistakes, and end up kill the cacti.
Overwatering: all cacti are succulents and they store water in their cells. If you
overwater your cactus many times (especially need to be careful in cold weather and
winter), it will start rotting. You can also cause rot or rupture of cacti cells.
To treat overwatering, you need to take out the cactus out of the pot and let it and the
soil dry out before potting it again. Give your cactus roots a warm bath and hang it
vertically to dry for 3-4 days before repotting. If it started rotting, cut the affected
areas and use the fresh soil for repotting. Some cacti can burst if overwatered, so
you will need to wait for the scar to heal.
Underwatering: There is a big myth that cacti don’t need water, but that is not true. If
you don’t water your cacti, especially during the growth period, it will shrivel and go
dormant to survive. In this case, don’t expect any growth or flowering. Make sure to
water your cacti right throughout the year. Read about watering cacti here. Many
underwatered cacti lose their roots, so you will need to water them with little water
and increase amounts gradually. Make sure that your cactus dries between
waterings.
BURNT CACTUS
While corking is natural, you will need to treat sun burnt cactus. If you notice that your
cactus becomes weak and brown, take it to the shade immediately, spray it with
water and cover with a small bag. Leave it there for few days and take it out. Shield
your cactus from direct sun and prepare it for summer. Read more about sunlight
requirements and preparing your cactus for summer here.
With mild burns, your cactus will continue growing and will have to grow out of the
burn. The brown spot will remain and heal. But with severe burns, your cactus might
stop growing at all and die. Make sure to increase time in the sun gradually,
especially after the rest period.
Your cactus might also become ‘sick’ if it experiences cool weather and watering,
which can cause rotting. Anyways, you will notice if your cactus has become frost
damaged – it will shrivel and turn dark brown to black after few days of frost. Rotting
in case of cold weather or water will have classic symptoms. Not all cacti can survive
cold temperatures, and some can only survive them for short periods of time.
There is nothing you can do to treat affected areas of damaged cactus – you will
need to change the conditions immediately and wait for your cactus to ‘grow out of it’.
MEALYBUGS ON A CACTUS
Mealybugs are very common pests that attack different parts of the cacti – roots,
stem, spines etc. They reproduce quickly and will suck its juices. If untreated, they
will kill your cactus. Mealybugs on a cactus will have a white residue or spot look
that can also look ‘fluffy’. As soon as you notice this fluff, start the treatment
immediately. Otherwise, your cactus will become weak and die.
What is more, you can use cotton buds dipped in alcohol to physically remove them.
Alcohol will dissolve their outer layer and will kill them quickly. After spraying the plant
and removing mealybugs physically, use pesticide spray.
If your plant is weak and has stopped growing, you might check its roots – some
mealybugs hide in the soil and affect roots. You will see the same white ‘fluff’ on the
roots. In this case, you will need to wash the roots in warm water (gradually move to
hot water), then dip the roots in the pesticide solution and repot your plant.
Make sure the roots are dry before potting the plant. If roots are affected, try giving a
few hour warm-hot bath and drying your cactus by hanging it vertically before
repotting. Make sure to disinfect a pot and use fresh soil.
As mealybugs are very common pests, you can use a systemic insecticide to prevent
any mealybug infestation at the start of the growing period.
APHIDS ON A CACTUS
Aphids are small green bugs, but sometimes they can be grey or
yellowish. These small bugs are often found in groups and suck the juices out of
cacti’s stem and kill the flowers. Aphids are usually seen with ants.
CACTUS SCALE
Scale can attack many types of cacti. Scale insects infect cacti and start sucking out
the juices. They move in colonies and also have a whitish coating, similarly to
mealybugs. Scale bugs multiply very rapidly and usually cover specific spots on the
cactus, sucking the juices. These bugs move around very slowly, and it can seem like
they are still.
Scale bugs are brown in color (females have white coating). They can also be
yellow, and there are many other types of scale bugs. Affected areas of cacti will
become dry and have white or yellow spots. The whole plant will have a white
fuzzy look, but if you look closely – bugs will be most probably brown, covered
in white fluff.
Sometimes you can mistaken the rotting for scale bugs. To check that, use tweezers
to dig under the brown spot. If you can see a wet residue but the skin remains
untouched- these are scale bugs. If the infection is under the skin and you can’t
remove it – these are fungi or bacteria.
Scale bugs tend to come back easily, to repeat the treatment until they are all gone.
Also, at the beginning of the growing season, you can use a systemic insecticide to
prevent scale bugs, especially if your cactus had them before.
NEMATODES ON A CACTUS
Nematode bugs are very parasitic and affect the plant’s health drastically. They hide
The symptoms of nematode infection is the slow growing cactus and changes in the
stem color. Cactus becomes weak and loses its vivid green coloration. And when you
look at the roots – they will look swollen (also called galls), thick and often brown
because rotting has started to progress. Nematodes hide in the roots and block the
movement of water and nutrients to the cactus, making it weak. Another way to check
for nematodes is to soak the roots in the jar with water – and if you notice small black
dots left on the walls of the jar, this indicated nematodes.
As nematodes are not insects, no insecticides or pesticides will help to get rid of
nematodes. You will need to cut all the affected roots on the cactus to help it get
better. Make sure to cut the roots with disinfected shears or scissors. After cutting the
roots, put some ground charcoal on the plant and pot it in a fresh soil. Before potting
your cactus in the fresh soil, you can give it a bath with water temperature of around
131 Fahrenheit (55 Celsius) for 20 minutes, and drying it by hanging vertically for 4-5
days.
To prevent nematodes, make sure to quarantine new plants and check them before
adding to the collection. What is more, you must disinfect the soil before using it for a
cactus. Read about making and disinfecting the soil for cacti here.
THRIPS ON A CACTUS
There are thousands of thrips types, but not many affect cacti. Thrips are usually
either green or grey-black in color. One of the thrips that can affect your cacti is
called Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis, also called greenhouse thrips or black tea thrips.
Thrips are very small in size, around 1.5 mm in length and can live all year round in
the soil of indoor plants.
These fungus gnats are small black flies. They look similar to common flies, but are
much thinner and smaller in size. Adult fungus gnats are harmless and don’t cause
any damage to your cactus. But you should be careful, because gnats’ larvae in the
soil are ones that cause damage to your cacti.
Fungus gnat larvae look like white worms with black heads, and are around 4 mm in
length. Larvae feed on organic matter in the soil as well as roots of the cacti.
Because of fungus gnats, cactus stop flowering, becomes weak and stops growing.
W OODLICE/SLUGS/SNAILS/CATERPILLA
RS/W ORMS ON A CACTUS
DAMAGED CACTUS
Snails as well as slugs are small molluscs that are mainly active at night. There is a
small chance that you will get snails or slugs indoors, because they prefer staying
outside to survive and to avoid drying out. You will know that your cactus was
damaged by snails or slugs if you notice a slime lines across the plant. Snails and
slugs mostly enjoy eating flowers, seedlings as well as fresh grown parts of the
cactus.
Woodlice also become active at night and enjoy eating fresh parts of the cactus.
Caterpillars and worms often affect prickly pear cacti, hiding in the plants and laying
their eggs on a cactus – which later hatch and damage the plant.