Spider mites can be identified by their tiny webs. Spider mites themselves are so hard to see, you often do not notice them on your plants until after they start doing some serious damage.
Cactus and succulents need a different treatment because they do not like to have water on them. For a regular plant, you would spray them off with water to remove spider mites. If you did this to a succulent or cactus, it might cause your plant to rot. To treat cactus and succulents for spider mites, follow these steps.
1. Take a Q-Tip or pick of some kind and remove the webs by hand.
2. Spray the plant with a mixture of half water and half rubbing alcohol 70%.
4. Repeat these steps once a week until the spider mites are gone.
 |
| Remove webs with Q-Tip |
 |
| Old perfume bottle with water and alcohol mixture |
 |
| Spray plant with the mixture |
A common pest culprit on cactus and succulents is mealybugs. Mealybugs look like tiny, white, furry slugs on your plant. The damage they do to your plant could often be mistaken for spider mites. However, you can deal with mealybugs in a similar way to spider mites. Instead of removing the webs, you would remove the mealybugs. After that, follow through with steps 2-4.
If you are not a fan of neem oil, you can use a commercial horticultural spray. Just make sure to always read the label carefully to make sure it is safe to have in your home. Often these products look safe to use on the front, but when you look at the label more carefully on the back, it is filled with warnings.
If the neem oil smell bothers you, spray your plants outside or in your garage, and then let them dry before bringing them back in. Once the neem oil dries, the smell goes down considerably.
Good Luck!
Lily's Indoor Jungle
