12/07/2026
These pesky bugs almost wiped out my entire collection. (๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ)
I just want to share what has been happening in my garden over the past year while Iโve been inactive. One of my biggest nightmares finally happened - my collection became heavily infested with armored scales. After years of collecting cacti, this was actually my first time encountering them. The reason? Before I took a hiatus and became busy with life, I purchased several cacti from different sellers. Unfortunately, I didnโt quarantine or isolate them.(๐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐โ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ.) I simply potted them and placed them alongside my existing collection. Unknowingly, some of those plants may have already carried these armored scales.
As life became busier, I slowly lost time for my garden. It reached the point where I only visited once a month to water my plants. Then, during the rainy season last year, especially around June, I barely checked on them. Months passed without proper care. I didnโt water them for a long time, but because of the heavy rains and my damaged greenhouse roofing, they still received some water naturally.
Then in January 2026, I suddenly missed my cacti and succulents and decided to visit my garden again. What I found broke my heart. Many of my Astrophytums had succumbed to these armored scales. The weaker plants had already died, while many others were severely dehydrated and struggling to survive.
Honestly, I was very frustrated with myself. Seeing my collection in that condition was heartbreaking, and I blamed myself for neglecting them for so long.
I started by watering the cacti and giving them the care they needed. After they regained some strength, I began applying insecticides and started the long process of controlling the infestation.
Until now, Iโm still treating my collection and trying to completely eliminate these armored scales. After months of hard work, I can finally see progress, and I feel that Iโm getting closer to winning this battle. Iโve been documenting the whole process, and hopefully, Iโll be able to share a video about this soon, not only to show my journey, but also so others can learn from my mistakes.
Have you ever experienced a pest infestation in your garden? What pest do you hate the most, and how do you usually deal with it?
