A Prickly Situation..

We have a prickly situation here....

 a Prickly Pear, situation.

This is the Prickly Pear 

(Opuntia engelmanii)

 I transplanted from the Deer Grove.

It has grown a lot, since then. In fact, this is just HALF

of it, when we moved it from the side yard,

to the Drive Bed.

This is how it looked last year,

This is how it looks now.

It's really spread out.

It's full of buds.

But, this is how they end up.

They try to open, but they get the life sucked out of them.

By these...

Hesperolabops gelastops.

In other words, Cactus bugs.

They suck the juices out of the pads.

See the damage to this new pad?

They've been making a mess, out of the whole thing.

The treatment is blasts of water, or soapy water...

or Neem...

There are hundreds of these vile little creatures.

And, they're fast...running to the other side of the pads,

when you walk up.

So far, I've been trying soapy water...

going around and around the cactus, trying to hit them.

More entertainment for the neighbors.

Maybe they think it's some kind of 'Cactus Ritual'...

So far, the bugs are still there.

I'll keep trying the soap.

Then, I may have to go to the big guns.

I'll let you know, how it goes.

The marks on this cactus are from the hail we had a week or so ago.

Can't do anything about that.

But, at least no bugs....

yet.

With gardening...

it's always something.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~