Question
I have a bird of paradice plant in my spa room and it is growing real well, but I seem to be getting white fuzzy spots on the leafs and stems and it is real sticky on the leafs and on the ground below the leafs. Can you help me please?
                 thank you
                 tom akins

Answer
Hi Tom
It sounds as if you have two problems going on here; the white fuzzy spots sounds as if you have 'mealy bugs'.  They accumulate under leaves and along the stems and look like tufts of cotton.  They can be removed by dipping a q-tip in to rubbing alcohol and wiping them off.  The stickiness sounds like either aphids or scale, they both suck sap from the plant and leave behind what is called 'honeydew' which is the stickiness on the leaves and ground.  If you do not want to use a commercial plant bug killer, you can mix together rubbing alcohol, dish soap and water into a misting bottle and spray the plant with this.  You should also treat any other plants in the room.
Good Luck Tom!
Leslie