How to get rid of cactus borer?

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peppermintplant Lodi, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 07, 2014

I bought a beautiful, large-ish Mammillaria fraileana on Wednesday. I noticed on Friday morning that there appeared to be a small damaged spot on the main stem, but figured I had just missed it when I bought it, since it was pretty small.

However, last night I spotted what looks like a little brown worm on the cactus. When I tried to get it off with a toothpick (I can't get past the spines otherwise), it pretty easily escaped and disappeared somewhere. It was a fast little turd. This morning, there is a single, small new damaged spot.

I'm thinking it might be a borer caterpillar, given the appearance of the damage. It's a very small amount of damage in both spots, so I think there's just one (so far, anyway). My question is, if I can't get through the spines to pick it off, how can I take care of the problem before it kills my cactus? Can I spray the bug with insecticidal soap next time I see it?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 07, 2014

If the thing you are seeing is a caterpillar, the juvenile form of a moth or butterfly there is a very safe way to kill it. The pest would need to eat a bit of the material, so you will still see a couple of more holes until the pest is dead.

Dipel and similar materials are specific to caterpillars, and (as far as I know) safe for all plants.
There are different varieties of the ingredients that make the product specific to mosquitoes, too. Make sure you get the one for caterpillars.

If you want it dead without any more holes, or if it is not a real caterpillar, but some other sort of bug, then other sprays will be the solution, but I do not know what is safe to use on cacti.

Post #9861652
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peppermintplant Lodi, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 07, 2014

Thank you, I will see if I can find that at the nursery here. I'd prefer to stop it as quickly as possible without more holes, but I'm fine with a little bit of scarring as long as the cactus survives.

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Vestia San Francisco, CA Jun 08, 2014

Bayer Rose and Flower spray is safe for cacti.

Post #9862415
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peppermintplant Lodi, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 09, 2014

I ended up getting the Bayer Rose and Flower, since the nursery recommended it too and it claimed 30 days of protection. I sprayed the cactus Saturday afternoon. I saw a few more tiny damage spots, much smaller than the first two that were small to begin with, Sunday morning. I haven't seen anything since; no caterpillar, no "residue" from a live caterpillar, nothing. So thank you both!

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