Recognize This Polka-Dot Succulent Pest?

Endophyllum sempervivi

A succulent pest that dots leaves with raised bumps recently showed up in Oregon, on a sempervivum.  “Understandable if you audibly gasp,” wrote the collector who sent photos in the hope I could identify it and suggest treatment.

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Ants in Your Succulents? What to Do

Rinse ants out of rootball (c) Debra Lee Baldwin

Late summer into fall, Argentine ants like to nest in the root balls of potted plants. Haworthias, aloes (especially dwarf varieties), gasterias and gasteraloes are highly vulnerable. Ants overwinter in the soil and consume the plant’s juicy core. Leaves eventually fall off and the plant dies. Ants push soil up from below. The first line of defense is to…

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