Jolltax wrote:

Hi all

On a recent inspection of my cacti in my greenhouse (kept at about 4degrees
min) i have spotted the evidence of fresh red spider mite attack! Help! I
cant water the cacti with insecticide yet as they are still in their 'winter
dry period'.....so how do i stop the mites spreading ?

Insecticidal smoke in the greenhouse if you can still get it as an amateur.

This is my first year with a greenhouse and i was trying to not use chemical
warfair if possible.......guess that may have to change!

Spring is coming so they probably won't react too badly to a spray on a fine
day. I never had too much problem with rsm because I quaranteened all new plants
until they could be drenched in malathion. Be sure to get the bench cleaned as
well and repeat hitting them every couple of weeks until they are all gone.

Alternate between malthion/dimethoate and a synthetic pyrethrum if you need to
regain control from a bad infestation. Using the same insecticide everytime
encourages them to develop resistance.

Any help will be gratefully appreciated, i dont want to loose many cacti!

Rsm probably won't kill cacti but it will disfigure them by marking the skin.

Regards,
Martin Brown