Question
I have noticed white sticky lumpy substance on my potted plant around the stems and leaves. On the leaves though it appears more scattered powdery than lumpy. Please suggest remedy

Answer
Dee,

The sticky substance is called honeydew. Honeydew is a liquid sugar that aphids and some scale insects make when they eat plant sap. Honeydew is very sticky.

To eat plant sap, the aphid or scale insect pushes its mouth parts into the plant. Plant sap is under pressure inside the plant. The pressure inside the plant pushes the sap into the insect. Sometimes the pressure is so great that the sap is forced out of the rear of the insect. This is how honeydew is made. The honeydew then drops from the insect and makes a sticky layer on the plant.

Honeydew on plants can cause sooty mould, which is white and appears as powder on the plant. The remedy is to kill the insects. You can do this by putting rubbing alcohol (full strength) in a spray bottle and spraying the entire plant making sure you get the fronts and backs of all the leaves and the surface of the soil. Spray it twice a week for 4 weeks. That should kill any eggs that hatch out before they have a chance to mature. Rubbing alcohol will not hurt the plant.

You can clean the honeydew off of any surfaces surrounding the plant by wiping themdown with a paper towel soaked with alcohol. If you have questions feel free to write again. Good luck.


Darlene