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I have found some mealy bugs on the crown of some of my plants. On cacti, I use methylated spirits to eradicate mealy bugs - but is it safe to use this on cp's?

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How are you applying the meths?  Spray or dabbing with cotton bud? It might depend on what you're growing, I'd have thought it would be OK on sturdy plants like Sarrs but not such a good idea on Pings and Drosera, but I haven't tried it so just surmising. 

For the record, against mealy bugs on my cacti and succulent plants, I use either a cocktail stick (to squish them) or a very fine spray of Neem Shampoo diluted to 1%.

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As you may be aware, there is a biological control for mealy bug. It depends whether you grow Drosera, they would just mop the predator up. I have used meths on Sarries with no problem with scale insect.

A friend has got mealy bug in his Sarry collection and it can be a bit difficult to eradicate. 

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I can't vouch for methylated spirits on CPs but you can follow some good practice in order to keep it under control and try and fight it...

Infected plants should be isolated as soon as possible - if they are near other plants, the infestation can spread and lose you the upper hand.

Insecticides can help but don't expect miracle cures. You can safely use Provado Bug Killer or similar which does knock back the population a bit.

It's not something I've tried, but some people submerge plants to drown the bugs. Obviously CPs lend themselves easily towards this treatment as they don't mind the occasional flood.

Also, mealybugs enjoy the warm conditions of our greenhouses. You could try putting the pot(s) outside in the cool air and nighttime temp drops until you see improvement. Temperate CPs will be fine outside at this time of year.

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I grow both cacti and cp's outdoors and i have no problems with normal mealies, i don't think our climate suits them at all. I do however still have to watch for root mealies on cacti, probably these wouldn't be a problem on cp though.

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