Hi Hunter,
Not sure if anyone told you about those nasty little glochids on prickly pear.
Here's some helpful tips.
If you get those glochids in your fingers rub them vigorously for a minute in dirt. NOT potting soil or grass. I'm talking good old fashioned, dried out, useless dirt. That should do it.
Make sure to do the same thing with the gloves you wore. If they're cotton gloves wash them and then wipe out the washing machine for obvious reasons then buy some leather ones that cover your wrists or higher.
If you are transporting the p.pear around the yard use a cheap tiny rug like the kind you put in front of the stove or in front of the toilet (about 2' by 3') or an old nasty piece of carpet. This keeps glochids out of your hands and helps steady the plant when putting it in the ground. If you still have a few glochids in your finger get a sewing needle to get them to the surface and and a pair of tweezers to pull them out.
The carpet trick works well for barrel cacti or any type of pole cacti with long spines or vicious agaves.
