Mealy bugs on roots of my new loph, did I handle this correctly?

[squidgygoanna]

Hey guys,

 

My new loph started showing signs of stress, going slightly soft/spongey, colour changing, etc.

Tried giving a little extra water and sun but only seemed to be getting worse no matter what I tried.

This afternoon I decided to uproot her and see what's going on. And to my horror, the roots were infested with mealy bugs

I cleaned off the roots using light compressed air and a spray bottle. Mixed up a solution of Neem oil, dish soap and water and let the root system sit in the mixture for a little while. She's now sitting on some paper towel drying off on a window sill.

 

I've used neem for mealy bugs before on other plants and had great success rates, hoping it's the same for cacti.

 

Does this seem like an OK way to attack this issue? My only question is, will the loph be ok sitting bare rooted on a window sill for the time being? and how long until I should re-pot?

 

Cheers!

Edited January 2, 2017 by squidgygoanna

[MountainGoat]

hey mate, bummer 'bout the issue... i have no idea about how the neem treatment will go, others here have tried it and will probably chip in with their results... 

 

As far as leaving a loph on the sil bare rooted, not a problem at all. It could sit there for months without any issues...

[squidgygoanna]

Cheers goat, I'm fairly new to the world of lophs so wasn't too sure. Thanks for the help

[sagiXsagi]

it can sit bare rooted for months like Goat said, but it needn't be a bright place like a window sil. 

 

let it dry in the sil, then let it sit a week or two more , before repotting. 

[squidgygoanna]

Thanks Sagi. Seems to be firming up a bit now that the bugs are gone. Hopefully she pulls through.