This pest is kind of beautiful but also terrible. What is it? Any tips for how to get rid of it, besides cleaning all the leaves?
As others have said, it’s some type of scale insect. A telltale sign is that they are mostly arranged on the middle line of the leaves, where, I imagine, it’s easiest to hook into the plant’s nutrients.
First thing to do is get it as far away as possible from any other plants you hold dear. Until it’s sorted out, avoid cross contamination via your hands and tools as well. After that, you’ll have to find some type of poison to kill them. Scales can be very resistant to external methods, something that is delivered via the plant’s juices that they feed on might be easiest. Or you could spend weeks diligently rubbing the leaves and stems with alcohol to rid of them, to possibly no avail.
(I am not very fond of scales.)
Thanks. And yes, I am also starting to be less and less fond of these creatures. Any idea how these little assholes got to my house in the first place? Wind?
Not specifically, but there’s tons of spores & microbe “eggs” in the air. That’s how we can make a yeast starter by just leaving water & flour out for a few days, it’s literally just in the air, and you’re breathing it in right now as you read this.
They look like a sort of mealy bug to me. Spray isopropyl alcohol on them and if they turn red then definitely mealy bugs.
Get a cotton swab, spray it all down with alcohol and wipe them away and that should clear them up! Luckily they are pretty large and easy to see (at least more than other pests).
Ok, will try that. Thanks!
Be careful with alcohol. It can damage the plant tissue quite a lot.
Better use organic pesticides.
To be fair, alcohol is organic. There’s carbon in it (meeting most scientific uses of “organic”), and its production doesn’t have to include nasty pesticides (meeting most legal uses of “organic”). As things that kill bugs go, it’s marvellously safe to use.
I don’t want to discuss about definitions, but there’s a big difference: alcohol kills everything, that’s how it works. It dehydrates and bursts cell walls. No matter if plant, fungi or animal.
Insecticides on the other hand are highly deadly against the pests, but usually harmless, or at least not super toxic, to humans and plants.
Just look at neem oil for example. Would you consider it harmful for anyone? It’s even harmless for bees and pets.
I for example also like pyrethrum, which actively kills insects, but is extracted from plants and is considered 100% safe for human consumption, as long as the fruits you eat haven’t been sprayed for 3 days.
Yup, but humans don’t need to wear safety equipment while using, and it’s easy enough to dose enough to kill the target and possibly avoid killing unintended targets. I’m not saying there aren’t better things to use, but it’s a safe enough place to start.
I found this reddit thread through Google lens, looks the same: https://www.reddit.com/r/plantclinic/comments/1hk3jab/confused_what_is_this/
tldr; some sort of scale bug
Relevant part
Stellate scale is also a known pest of Schefflera plants. Wash foliage with warm soapy water, try not to get any in the pot. You may have to treat multiple times. Imdacloprid (Bonide Systemic) should also be effective as it’s considered a soft bodied scale.
Thanks a lot. I think it indeed is Stellate scale!
few drops of dish soap in water applied to the leaves will help this scale get evicted. you can spray it or apply it with a soft brush.
Ok, thanks.
Do you have other plants near that one? I have a plant that when it flowers drops of little flowers like those ones on the left (red and white balls)
No, we dont. And they’re pretty stuck on the leaves. I think its Stellate scale, as others mentioned. But thanks for thinking along!
Can you get a photo of leaf damage and/or the underside of the leaves? To me they look like a spider mite species but I don’t see webbing that typically forms on the underside of the leaves. Alternatively, do they scrape off easily or adhere to the surface?
Regardless of the species you need to clean the leaves. Wipe both sides down with a paper towel covered in dish soap, ideally spray the whole thing with neem oil.
I highly recommend Cap Jack’s Insecticidal Super Soap
https://captainjacks.com/product/insecticidal-super-soap-rtu/
I’m sorry right now I can’t hear what this YouTube video is saying but this looks exactly like your photo. I skimmed its captions and I don’t think the YT video identifies it correctly. https://youtu.be/KEkk5gu4XKs
Also, it looks like a mealy bug.
