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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt.
#21710052 - 05/22/15 10:54 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Has anyone ever seen this? A little bigger than a pencil, a little smaller than your finger. I cant seem to make contact with the culprit..
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Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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Lemnaminor
Lophophora - eyed



Registered: 11/13/13
Posts: 1,366
Loc: Sicily
Last seen: 1 month, 25 days
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Amanita86] 1
#21710081 - 05/22/15 11:02 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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From your description it is something that can be made by Ground Bees. That happened one week ago in one of my pots, i saw this bee entering and exiting, i just watered and then compacted the soil a bit. Dunno if i killed the bee.
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      "The best things in life, come covered in spines."
Edited by Lemnaminor (05/22/15 11:04 AM)
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Lemnaminor]
#21713147 - 05/23/15 06:18 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Ahh yea youre probably right. They must get in there and decide they dont have enough room to do their thing. I never find any, just the holes.
I have carpenter bees drilling my chairs out there too  I guess it's that time of year.
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Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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Lemnaminor
Lophophora - eyed



Registered: 11/13/13
Posts: 1,366
Loc: Sicily
Last seen: 1 month, 25 days
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Amanita86] 1
#21713251 - 05/23/15 07:10 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Yes it is... Anyhow, those are harmless, and kinda useful for pollination, but just in case you don't want them arond, just water the pots a bit and they will search for a dry place
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      "The best things in life, come covered in spines."
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Lemnaminor]
#21714954 - 05/23/15 05:21 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Well, risk/reward.. Im guessing it couldnt hurt aeration, and I dont really care he's doing it, if thats what hes compelled to do..I just dont want him tearing through roots. Whats your thoughts, leave him be or try and run him off?
Its probably not even the same one, I may just have to learn and live with it..
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Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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kosmokratorshaman
Cosmic Creator

Registered: 05/13/15
Posts: 1,206
Last seen: 7 years, 4 months
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Amanita86]
#21716658 - 05/24/15 06:39 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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If it was a root eating insect, the holes wouldjt be visible. It is probably a ground wasp, velvet ant or something else just looking for moisture and a cooler place to live. Does your plant have any issues?
-------------------- I am.
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Nope, not that I can tell.
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Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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LSoares
Farmer



Registered: 10/09/13
Posts: 3,209
Loc: Portugal
Last seen: 4 years, 2 months
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Amanita86]
#21719600 - 05/25/15 03:24 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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I once had leaf-cutter bees (or wasps) living in a terracota pot of Austrocylindropuntia tunicata. They would go in through the bottom hole, I would water it until water flowed freely from the hole but it never seemed to bother the bees too much. I eventually gave up trying to dislodge them.
(if you are wondering why wouldn't I repot the plant that is because you have never had any Austrocylindropuntia tunicata. You simply DON'T manipulate that species)
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: LSoares]
#21720314 - 05/25/15 10:29 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Yeah, those guys sound pretty vicious...
If you really wanted to try to get em out though, you might could plug the bottom hole/s they were going in and then when it was time to water, unplug and water, then replug later in the day or the next day...
-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
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Lemnaminor
Lophophora - eyed



Registered: 11/13/13
Posts: 1,366
Loc: Sicily
Last seen: 1 month, 25 days
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: LSoares]
#21721931 - 05/25/15 06:00 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
LSoares said: Austrocylindropuntia tunicata
That is the devil. I'd rather sleep in a bed full of Opuntia microdasis than touching again that Cholla
Once i took some cuttings from a friend's mother (my friends are not into cacti but their mothers are XD) And i took two pieces and put them into a napkin. When i got home , after repotting a bit i forgot them and i instintively balled up the napkin,as i was cleaning all the table. My hands still hurt, i might have taken more than 10 minutes to detach them, and the pain was something unbelivable.
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      "The best things in life, come covered in spines."
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Oeric McKenna
LIFE CAPS


Registered: 06/15/12
Posts: 5,318
Loc: Babylon
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Lemnaminor]
#21721947 - 05/25/15 06:05 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Haha... I had this in my weed room but it was a mouse... big holes
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El Torcho
Time for tea?



Registered: 04/16/15
Posts: 1,365
Loc: Lone Pine Hill
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Oeric McKenna]
#21722568 - 05/25/15 08:53 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Nothing wrong with bugs, if they aren't hurting, they are probably helping!
I add red-worms to all my plantings. They cycle the mulch and top-dressings, aerate the soil, and poop.
Quote:
Oeric McKenna said: Haha... I had this in my weed room but it was a mouse... big holes
Mice like to eat buds. At least dried ones.
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"Well it sounds trivial, but the key insight is . . . . . you don't know shit" ~Dennis McKenna "There is more to human existence and to reality itself than science can ever give us access to." ~His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: El Torcho]
#21722679 - 05/25/15 09:17 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Worms FTW!
**We need a superman/earthworm type gif...
-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
Edited by cowsRmeat (05/25/15 09:18 PM)
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karode13
Tāne Mahuta




Registered: 05/19/05
Posts: 15,290
Loc: LV-426
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: Amanita86]
#21722711 - 05/25/15 09:24 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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If whatever it is that's burrowing is causing issues then drench the plant in a bucket of water for half an hour or so. This will drown anything in the soil and force it out. It's how I control ants in potted plants. Ants can introduce pests like scale, which they farm for their sweet frass(poo).
@cows: What about an Eatrthworm Jim graemlin?
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: karode13]
#21722723 - 05/25/15 09:26 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
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El Torcho
Time for tea?



Registered: 04/16/15
Posts: 1,365
Loc: Lone Pine Hill
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: cowsRmeat]
#21722776 - 05/25/15 09:38 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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I've heard anecdotal evidence from an old hippie that plants his buds right in the middle of fire ant mounds.
They protect the plant and the roots grow into their underground food storage.
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"Well it sounds trivial, but the key insight is . . . . . you don't know shit" ~Dennis McKenna "There is more to human existence and to reality itself than science can ever give us access to." ~His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Re: Something is drilling holes in my cactus dirt. [Re: karode13]
#21723954 - 05/26/15 08:11 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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He hasn't been back. I think he poked around for a little while and then moved on. They're still in the pots I rooted them in last summer so its a pretty tight fit. Maybe not enough room for him to do what he was planning on doing.
--------------------
Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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