The Mock Turtle

Being the millennial that I am (ha!) I bought a load of succulents for my apartment thinking that I wouldn’t be able to kill them too easily.

However some of them have developed this sort of crystallized foamy thing, sort of in the center of the plant and it appears to be killing them. Anyone know what it is?

I don't know but it doesn't look good. Have you tried getting it off? I would probably wipe off what I could and then rinse the rest off.

Looks like mealy bugs. My orchids and cacti suffer from them and I use a cotton bud and 70% alcohol to get rid. You can also use insecticides which I don't use because of Eric. If you get the 70% rubbing alcohol then I'd initially dip the plant in the alcohol as the mealy bug will hide in all the crevices. They also hide in the growing medium so you may want to decant some of the 70% into a spray bottle and spray every day.

I'd also quarantine the plant, just put it in another room until you think you've gotten them all.

They look like small dusty grey woodlice.

Oh and if you don't have alcohol to hand, if you have some vodka or gin that you can sacrifice then that'll do to.

Yes, I was pondering mealy bugs. Mumbaa used to pick them off to feed to her venus fly trap, but duo's suggestion sounds more helpful

Every day's a school day. I did not know that was what mealy bugs looked like!

Thanks all for the help. I haven’t spotted any creepy crawlies yet but doesn’t mean there aren’t any. Plant is in quarantine and will be daubed in gin later.

I thought the title said "pants". No idea why I clicked, actually, except to see who'd ask such a thing

Loralei wrote: ↑Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:05 pm I thought the title said "pants". No idea why I clicked, actually, except to see who'd ask such a thing

If it were pants I'd still be recommending alcohol

Turns out it was mealy bugs and I have lost another 3 plants to them :( My poor plants. I will have to inspect the remaining ones every day. I wonder if they've been attracting silverfish (which are a standing problem here because it's so damp) as the last two nights I've come home and found the silverfish having their own little Glastonbury.