Can I rescue my cactus?! :(?

Picture - http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/4755/...





This cactus used to look entirely different a week ago. A lot chunkier and healthier.





I've been noticing tiny flies around my house for some weeks (upstairs, downstairs). I figured it may be related to a dodgy spider plant elsewhere in the house.





But I noticed today that the tip had shrivelled up. On closer inspection, I saw that the flies were congregating on around the cactus (tapping it revealed a couple more).





Also of concern - prodding the cactus reveals it to be rather flimsy; feels hollowed out inside somewhat.





Is there any way to turn this around?! I'm beside myself, because I inherited this from a late friend.





On my father's advice, I filled a squirty bottle with water and some washing up liquid and sprayed the plant with that. In his experience, that's killed blackfly on leaves.

Can I rescue my cactus?! :(?
It looks like you have over-watered the cactus - if you have, leave it to dry out but it isn't looking too healthy :( The soil is probably damp - hence the flies. Cacti like to be kept on the dry side.





ps. you should never put water on the actual plant.





http://www.oldandsold.com/articles25/cac...





http://cactus-guide.com/saguaro-cactus/t...
Reply:get a new one
Reply:poor thing it does look sorry for its self but sorry conat help mine all died
Reply:Doesn't look well. It sounds like a type of whitefly. It's not the flies that do the damage, but the larvae which are little scales that suck the sap out of the plant.





I'd suggest drastic treatment. Get a house plant insecticide spray and spray the cactus and any other plants in the house where whitefly scales may be hiding. Wear some gardening gloves. Take the cactus out of its pot and wash it and its roots under running water. Then repot it in clean compost (the best mix for cacti is 50% John Innes No2 %26amp; 50% coarse horticultural sand but they are fairly broadminded. Throw the old pot and compost away. Give the new compost a good soaking, then don't water it for a couple of weeks.
Reply:You overwatered it. The base of a cactus and most succulents will rot out from the inside if not allowed to dry out completely. The flies you saw were just attracted to the rotting cactus - they're a symptom of the problem, not the cause.





At this point, this thing is dead and will not recover, I'm sorry to say. I suggest that you go get another similar one to honor your friend. And, next time, don't keep the soil moist. Cactus are used to living for months at a time in scorching heat with no water. Also, make sure the pot and soil are both well-drained, and not sitting in an enclosed outer pot or saucer with standing water in it. That's another cause of root rot in cactus.