Is this unIDed cactus infested?

[GDLWyverex]

Just got this one today

 

 

 

Any idea what ir is and are those bugs on the crown?


Richard

Edited March 15, 2020 by GDLWyverex

[Silas_Sancona]

12 minutes ago, GDLWyverex said:

Just got this one today

 

 

 

Any idea what ir is and are those bugs on the crown?


Richard

Thinking this is a Gymnocalycium,  AKA Chin Cactus. No idea on the species though.. "Bugs" are likely some sort of hard shell Scale insect, and that's a BAD infestation..  Keep it away from ..everything.. else until under control. Body of the cactus itself will likely be very  scarred once you have delt w/ the bugs. Would get it out of the "mud" it appears to be planted in as well..

[Merlyn]

Yeah that's a pretty impressive scale infestation.  If you get that cleaned off it should grow out of it.  I'd take it waaaaaay away from everything else and hit it with moderate hose pressure.  If that washes it off then great.  If not try a bit higher pressure.  I've also heard of people using an old toothbrush to get between the spines, though I haven't tried it myself.  I'm not sure what the best insecticide is for that kind of scale, but I'd guess an organophosphate like Malathion or Acephate should work to kill the "crawlers" as they hatch.  A systemic insecticide might work, but I've never tried it on a cactus.

[GDLWyverex]

6 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Yeah that's a pretty impressive scale infestation.  If you get that cleaned off it should grow out of it.  I'd take it waaaaaay away from everything else and hit it with moderate hose pressure.  If that washes it off then great.  If not try a bit higher pressure.  I've also heard of people using an old toothbrush to get between the spines, though I haven't tried it myself.  I'm not sure what the best insecticide is for that kind of scale, but I'd guess an organophosphate like Malathion or Acephate should work to kill the "crawlers" as they hatch.  A systemic insecticide might work, but I've never tried it on a cactus.

I hit it with diazanon (a contact solution) as well as Velcron 60 (a systemic solution) and the creepy crawlies seem to have shrivelled up pretty good.  I'll give it a few days before spraying them off.

I'm thinking that it kinda looks like gymnocalcium baldianum

 

Richard

[Merlyn]

If they were soft crawlies then no problem.  Only the hard scale are really an issue for me.  Diazinon is banned here, but it's an effective organophosphate for soft scale.

My ability to ID cacti is limited to, "Yep, that's a cactus!"  So your guess is probably better than mine!