Ficus sticky leaves

[Steve C]

Having been inside over winter I have noticed most my ficus are getting sticky leaves. After looking it up it seems it's somewhat of a common issue with them inside and is probably a mild infestation. From what I have read it is suggested to mix a small amount of dish soap in a water spray bottle to suffocate the mites/bugs. Is this the best way to handle this or is there another way that is better? If the dish soap method is okay, whats the correct mix of soap to water?

 

[BrianBay9]

I usually put them in the shower and give them a thorough wash. This is less of a problem when you can get them back outside.

 

[AZbonsai]

Probably aphids. I would spray them off first. Maybe over several days. Get under the leaves. See how that works and next step could be your soap mixture.

 

[LanceMac10]

You've got scale insects and trying to hose them off probably won't work. They are very persistent. The theory on the dish soap solution is the application will suffocate.

Apply twice a week for one-two weeks, that way you cover their birth-death cycles. Personally I use Miracle-Grow organic insect soap, works a treat!!!

Scale is pretty common malady when growing indoors.

 

[Steve C]

Thanks, I'll hit the local nursery and see if I can get some of the Miracle grow soap. I'm guessing it will probably say on the bottle a correct mixture? Should I just go by what the bottle says or should I cut it down from what they suggest?

 

[LanceMac10]

Home Depot? Already in a spray bottle and everything. Any soap should work....after a coupleafew applications, just to compensate for the "egg-stage" when they might not be effected by the treatment.

As far as the ratios involved with a dish soap mix? Diluted enough to be barely spray-able, maybe? I just go commercial...

 

[sorce]

Centipedes get them eggs and crawlers.

Mechanical removal works best.

Sorce

 

[Steve C]

Centipedes get them eggs and crawlers.

Mechanical removal works best.

Sorce

I don't think I want centipedes in my basement. I already get creeped out when I happen to see one of them house centipedes race across the washroom wall LOL

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Sticky leaves is usually scale. Got any pix?

 

[Carol 83]

If it is scale, I would move the affected plants away from any others. I had an oleander, not a bonsai, but a plant very important to me get scale. It overtook the plant before I figured out what it was, and infected the one next to it as well.

 

[Steve C]

Sticky leaves is usually scale. Got any pix?

Will get some in a bit soon as I get a chance. I did look under the leaves today and I saw a few that had really tiny almost orang'ish looking spots. I'll tryin snap a pic or two in a bit.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Will get some in a bit soon as I get a chance. I did look under the leaves today and I saw a few that had really tiny almost orang'ish looking spots. I'll tryin snap a pic or two in a bit.

Look along the stems, and along the leaf veins.

 

[Steve C]

You can see the sticky stuff in this pic. Everything you see that is shiny is almost like a sticky build up. I am looking under the leaves and I can't get a pic because they are two small, but I did see two real small sort of bugs. One was the little tiny orange one, about the size of a sharpened pencil tip. And the other was so microscopic I could barely even see it. Probably 1/3-1/4 the size of the orange pencil tip sized one.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

 

[Steve C]

Not sure if this helps or you can tell anything more from this pic Brian, but here's a pic of the underside of that leaf that you pointed out above.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I grew figs for yesrs indoors and scale was a persistent issue—had one bejamina for over 40 years. Any time you put them outside for summer or bring in a new plant (epsecially from a big box store) the scale will be back. I have used alcohol on a cottom swab, Malathion, various systemics, and soaps and you can usually knock the population down but never seem to get rid of them. The eggs are everywhere and very hard ot kill so you have to keep after them until you wipe out every last one and all ther offspring and grand children, etc. And then one will drift in on a strong breeze and you’ll be back to square one. When we moved to NC we left the old benjy up north and brought a rooted cutting with us. After it too got scale a couple years later my wife had had enough so she put it outside on a freezing winter day and that killed all the acale—and the tree—no more scale problem!

 

[Hyn Patty]

I think they are right. It looks like scale to me too. If it were my tree, I would depot it and put the whole entire tree (roots can be bagged or submerged) into a luke warm soapy bath with a touch of bleach added (up to ten percent). Briefly soak it and then gently go over all of the leaves and stems to rub off the scale with your fingers. The soap (ideally not anti-bacterial soap) and light bleach will help remove and kill the scale and kill the eggs you can't see far more effectively than spraying. Once you have washed it all off, rinse it with clean also luke warm water. Pot back up, ideally with clean soil and a sterilized pot. That should get rid of it all - though a second bath to followup about a week later is strongly suggested so to get rid of anything you may have missed that hatches out after.

As Cofga mentioned scale may come back. Like mites and mealies, if you get them once, they tend to keep returning every season so you'll want to followup with some preventative spraying. Omit the ten percent bleach solution if the plant is tender, such as an episcia which won't tolerate any bleach. Something heartier like a ficus can take it just fine. I've used this treatment with great success on many kinds of trees and plants over the decades when things are difficult to control otherwise.

 

[Steve C]

I think I'm going to try the spray Lance suggested first and see if that does anything. If that doesn't then I'll get a bit more aggressive and try the bath then. I know they had the same problem last winyer when I brought them in but I don't remember it being quite as bad as it is this year. Funny thing is once they went outside last spring the problem seemed to clean up then.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You have both scale and mites, either spider mites or one of the other sap sucking mites.

The insecticidal soaps will work, Safer's Insecticidal Soap is a potassium salt of a fatty acid, rather than the sodium salt of a fatty acid found in hand soap and dish soap. 2 or 3 drops of dish soap in a pint of water will work for make it at home insecticidal soap. Washing whole tree, spraying undersides and top surfaces of the leaves must be repeated at 3 to 5 day intervals (temperature dependent, warmer, more frequent) to eventually kill off the infestation.

IF you have too many indoor trees, that repeat spraying is not practical, purchase a pesticide rated for indoor use. Read labels and apply according to directions. Most indoor rated sprays are based on pyrethrum pesticides. Pyrethrum is extracted from a type of Chrysanthemum, but most formulations are synthetic versions of this molecule.

For people with many, many houseplants. Get them all into one room. Then use one of the aerosol ''Flea & Roach'' Bombs. The type you set off, leave the room, return in 3 or more hours and air out room. This actually works for a large number of pests that affect plants & bonsai in the home. So far I have found these bombs are safe for most houseplants including my orchids. They are not totally, 100% effective, but do a nice knock down of pest infestations.

 

[BrianBay9]

.....For people with many, many houseplants. Get them all into one room. Then use one of the aerosol ''Flea & Roach'' Bombs. The type you set off, leave the room, return in 3 or more hours and air out room. This actually works for a large number of pests that affect plants & bonsai in the home. So far I have found these bombs are safe for most houseplants including my orchids. They are not totally, 100% effective, but do a nice knock down of pest infestations.

Now there's a brilliant suggestion. Thanks Leo.