Q: I have a variegated euonymus shrub which has little white dots covering the leaves and stems. I need your help in identifying the culprit.

A: You have euonymus scale, a sap sucking insect. In my experience, a heavy infestation of scale on euonymus is almost impossible to control without pruning to remove the majority of the leaves and insects first. If your shrub is heavily infested, consider removing it and replacing with a holly or other shrub. If you like to gamble, without doing the pruning, suffocate some of the immobile insects by spraying now with horticultural oil. Apply a systemic insecticide that contains imidacloprid in March and June. Follow with another application of horticultural oil in September.