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I live in an area with a loamy topsoil but under that heavy clay, and these cactus still thrive. But I do live in thier native range. so anyway here is a way my grandmother would use to get rid of those little cactus spines, Im not 100% on the mixture because i was much younger but it is roughly:
Sugar Wax
-2 cups sugar
-1/4 cup water
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-few strips of cotton fabric
Okay first mix the sugar, water, and juice in a pot and heat until dissolved.
then let the liquid cool so you dont damage yourself
then apply this over the affected area
then place the cotton over this and press down (it hurts like **** but you need to make sure it adheres to the hairs)
then rip the fabric and repeat as necessary
when done rinse off this area with cool or luke warm water or wipe with a damp cloth.
Thanks for the tip. Those things hurt so bad, you'll try anything to get them out.
I lived in TX for a 'minute' and the PP's out there are huge! A rancher told me that they burn off the pastures, which burns the spines off the PP's and then the cattle eat the pads. Interesting, I thought.
Long ago our property was two lots. Evidently, someone planted the cactus along the property line, effectively cutting our present lot in two. Thankfully, it's a small portion. They tell us the only way to get rid of it is to dig it up, and that is not guaranteed. Yeah, sure! Find someone who wants that job. It's not pretty cactus, either, very old and covered with those bugs they make red dye from. I worry about falling into it at some point, so this is helpful information.
As far as I know, the only way to get rid of it is, in fact. to dig it up. It's hard to get it all out, though.
Once you dig all the big ones out, you can watch for babies coming up and get them while they are small. Eventually, you will get them all. It will just take alot of digging and staying on top of it.
I have one at my pond now that is spreading like mad. I dug it out a couple of times but have let it go for the past two yrs and enjoyed the blooms on it. The gopher (tortoise) sure likes it. He gets right up under it when he comes to the pond for water.
We're from Northwest Ohio originally where we don't have many native cacti (only one that I can think of), so when we moved to Harlingen Texas we went crazy for cacti! We "stole" one tiny leaf and in less than a year we have a Prickly Pear four feet high and four feet wide. We too have poodles (and one chihuahua), but they have learned to chase critters through the cactus section of the garden very carefully. We love the new critters in the yard as much as the cactus, so we appreciate the cactus for protecting the critters from the dogs-- checks and balances, eh?
Yep, checks and balances.
I was in such awe over the size of PP's in TX when I was there. The pastures were filled with them..I didn't have a digital camera (or a camera at all) during my stay out there or I would have tons of pics of them. It was beautiful out there.
