Question
I have had my ficus tree for 20 plus years. She is up to the celling. You realize after all this time being her owner, I feel very bad she is sick!

But recently, I noticed she did not look good. Usally she is happy in the summer. I then looked at the back of the bad leaves and found at the base of the leaf a hard white stuff and some leaves had dark brown there   Also on the backs seem to have raised dark brown spots. Also some stickly white stuff. I have tried to remove the the white stuff with my nail. I also first used alchol and rubbed it with my hand on each leaf with, but did not help too much. I also srayed her with 2 doses , 7days apart with Safer. But she still looks crapy. I also had the sticky white stuff on other plants, but Safer worked on them.So I am not sure if I have 2 kinds of bugs or how to treat her
Is it mealy bugs or scales or something else..
Thank you,
Your answers on your forum are very good

Answer
Hi Arlene,

Thanks for the nice compliment!

Hard, tiny white balls at the base of each leaf are normal and are not a problem and do not need to be removed.

Slightly raised brown bumps on leaves and stems are scale insects. Sticky white stuff is the secretions from the scale insects.

Scale resemble insects when they are babies, but they are smaller than a pinhead and very hard to see. When they find a suitable site, they insert their tiny probes into the plant tissue and stay there. As adults, these sucking insects are slightly oval, slightly raised, translucent bumps or blisters about an eighth of an inch long. They can be found along stems and on the undersides of leaves. They don't look like bugs and don't appear to move. As they get older, they develop a hard, dark brown shell and look like a small mole. As the infestation increases, these sucking insects will secrete a sticky substance called honeydew that falls onto leaves, furniture and floors. This stickiness is the most obvious sign of scale and the one that most people notice first.

The key to eliminating scale is to treat even the ones that you cannot see. That means thoroughly drenching all leaf and stem surfaces until they are dripping wet. It is also best if you repeat this treatment all over again in 5 to 7 days to catch any crawlers (the translucent young ones) that you missed the first time. After that, you should check your plant weekly to see if they return.

Large Ficus trees are hard to treat becasue they have so many leaves. Because Ficus trees benefit from regular pruning anyway, I suggest that you prune back your Ficus as much as you can stand (Don't worry, it will not damage the tree.)This will make the spraying a lot easier.

Soap sprays are not as effective as some other treatments because soap doesn't always penetrate the hard outer shell of the scale. You may want to try spraying with rubbing alcohol that will help break through the hard outer barrier of the scale and kill it. Mix 1 part alcohol with 8 to 10 parts of water. Add a little liquid soap to help it spread.

I do not recommend any pesticides because they are all hazardous to use and not 100% effective against scale. The best non-toxic treatment for mealybug and scale is called Brand X Foliage Cleaner. It is available through Southwest Plantscape Products in California (www.southwestplantscape.com). Their phone is 1-800-333-7977.It is a silicon-based product so it is very slippery. Its ability to penetrate is probably the key to its effectiveness because it gets into the tiny crevices that other sprays miss.

Sun Spray Ultra Fine horticultural oil is also mixed with water and effectively smothers the scale. Complete coverage is important.

Another good non-toxic spray is Hot Pepper Wax. Its main ingredient is hot cayenne pepper that overheats the plant pests. There is an information website for it at www.hotpepperwax.com.

Finally neem oil works similarly to horticultural oil. It should be diluted with water and Pine Sol to counteract the onion-like odor. All of these are available nationwide at plant and garden centers and also by mail order.

Important: None of these should be applied to plants in direct sun or in high temps.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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