Question
my plant that I have had for over a year has little white spots on the leaves and stem.  I have been whipping them off while watering them.

Answer
Dear Agnes, The little white spots on your pothos ivy are scale, a non-moving insect which attaches itself to the plant stems and leaves and sucks out the juices.  These are a little tricky to kill since most insecticides won't penetrate the shell-covering that they have.  The best method to get rid of them is to spray the plant with a lightweight horticultural oil. Please don't use vegetable oil as this will only saute your plants. This can be found at any gardening center.  Now since it is a houseplant, and you probably don't want to get out a big sprayer for this, mix the oil and put in a small handheld spray pump bottle.  Take the plant outside and spray it thoroughly, top and bottom of leaves.  It will take a day or so, but the scale will fall off easily when they are dead.  You can also hand remove them individually if you want, but watch for new bugs that will probably occur.  You may need to spray the plant a few times to completely get rid of them, but your plant will be much happier and grow much better once the bugs are gone.  I hope this information helps.  Good luck, Melissa