I thought my plants were pest-free because I haven't noticed any sign of damage, but yesterday I saw a tiny isopod-like creature on one of my lithops. It was about 1 mm wide and 5 mm long, the same color as my pumice, and it moved incredibly fast. I'm pretty sure it was a mealy bug.
Unfortunately I didn't have any rubbing alcohol on hand, and by the time I grabbed a pair of tweezers, it had crawled onto the substrate where I promptly lost sight of it.
So I grabbed a bottle of Neudosan AF Neu Blattlausfrei, which I had because of an aphid infestation of my potted herbs. Active ingredient: "salts of amino acid".
I sprayed until the top layer of substrate was wetted, and then put the pot back under my grow lights.
Mistake.
The instructions, which I hadn't bothered to read in my panic, said that damage to the plant may occur if exposed to sunlight.
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| Yellow spots and pitting -- damage from the pesticide |
I think these guys will survive (except maybe the middle one which was already pretty screwed up) but they'll be ugly until their next leaf change. Ugh.
One day my new greenhouse will arrive. It's currently stuck in customs (thanks, Brexit). The moment I move my plants into it, I'm nuking all the pots with acetamiprid. Take that, you mealy little bastards.
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