Partners in crime
I've been noticing that one of my small aloes wasn't doing very well and assumed that I had been negligent at watering it. Looking at it today, it is much worse so I decided to check if the roots were functional.
Sometimes, if you overwater succulents like aloes, their roots will rot. I could feel that the plant was very loose meaning that there was a problem with the roots so I pulled it out of the soil and out rushed a large number of ants so the problem became clear: not overwatering but an attack of the dreaded root mealie bugs!
Ants like to "farm" aphids because they secrete a sweet substance called honeydew as the suck on plant sap. The ants carry aphids around and tend to them in order to harvest the honeydew from the aphids. When they are doing this at root level, their presence is often harder to spot and the only time there is an indication that something is wrong is when the plant starts showing signs that it is struggling with water uptake from the soil and you see a lot of ant activity in the soil.
For now, I have sprayed the aphids with a contact insecticide to kill them and I will repot the aloe when they seem gone and then treat the soil with a systemic insecticide, Imidaclodaprid. This poison will be absorbed by the plant and then any insect which sucks on the plant will die because the sap has become poisonous. Care has to be taken when using systemic insecticide as you can't use it on flowering plants as it will kill bees and it's also not possible to use on fruits and vegetables. I don't like using insecticides but there are times when that is the only way to get plants healthy again
Oh, those ants ....
And I'm sick of them !!!
I wish a speedy recovery your Aloe!
Thank you, they are such a nuisance!
Yes...
Thats right, sometimes you just need to use something stong, even though natural is what you would prefer to use.
It's my only hope for getting rid of them, otherwise they will keep reinfecting others. I also have to try and reduce the ant activity by watering more and repotting some of these, this was far from the only affected plant
You go to great lengths to take care of your plants and animals. Some would just toss and start over. I would have thought maybe the cold weather had nipped it a bit. Aloes are very receptive to even the slightest bit of care. 🐓🐓
So true, aloes don't need much and I don't see the point of binning something which is very much alive
Thats frustrating! I hope the treatment works. Have you had success with it for the same problem before?
Yes, Some plants that were struggling are doing well now. They were all in the same area and I thought that I had treated all the affected plants but the ant activity wasn't obvious on this one. Starting to think that I'll have to treat all of them :(
My grandmother and mother were very fond of growing scarlet. On all the windows we had pots of aloe flowers. These flowers they used as natural medicines.
That looks like Aloe arborescence, it has beautiful red flowers
We call it Inkalene at home
Mealybugs! Ohhh how I hate them!
Didn't have them on the roots (tfu tfu) but ever year they attack my plants. They just love the fuzzy Echeveria and some Kalanchoes.
Aphids don't really attack my Kalanchoes so much although I don't have many. The Echeveria flowers on the other hand.... Those and Aeonium "Swartkop" and Graptoveria "Fred Ives". Come to think of it, Fred Ives probably has also got root mealies too, the ants are very active in the soil. I think I will just cut the flower stalk and hit it with Imidaclodaprid as well
I read somewhere that you can spat the succulents with 70% alcohol and that will kill the mealybugs. At least the ones not in the soil. I am trying that on my E. Black Prince and Agavoides. I I don't think my hardcore spray works anymore...
If the Alcohol works it is gonna be an easy and cheap treatment :p
Many people like to spray a dilute of rubbing alcohol (surgical spirits) and say it works well. Just make sure that the echies aren't in the sun afterwards. It works in the roots, but then you must also change to soil because there will be eggs of these creatures in the soil. I don't bother changing the soil because I know that the ants will just go and find some more mealies somewhere else :( That's why I opt for the long-acting poison
I always wait for the afternoon when I don't get anymore direct sun on my balcony for any spraying actions. We will see. So far so good.
I just wasn't sure about the roots, if the alcohol is not too harsh. Normally I would use Oxygen Peroxide on the roots (orchids trick). Just pour alcohol though the soil (and get the whole plant happy and drunk) ?
That's good. Succulent growers usually unpot the plant and spray the roots with the alcohol then repot in fresh soil
I'll do that with succulents then. Not a problem :) I just might have the first "victim" so so hopefully it works.
Aw, I hope it isn't root mealies! Although that is the chance you take every time you bring home new plants :(
Wow, I love learning new things from you. If that was me, the plant would have gone into the bin already because I would have no idea what would be wrong in the first place let alone figure out how to fix it.
We'll make a gardener of you yet ;)
lol
My uncle has a lot of knowledge about insecticides.... And one thing that I've learnt from him is to use natural insecticides instead of chemical ones.
I prefer those too but in this case, this is the only effective treatment
I see..