AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
Question I have a sunroom with three plants/trees. I brought a ficus into the house last summer and I think it brought scales into the room. I noticed all winter little worms on the hardwood floor but I could not figure out where they were coming from. Now, my ficus is losing tons of leaves and leaving bare branches. I searched the web and found that it may have scales. Almost all of the branches are white with little black dots. And my hardwood floor is sticky around the tree. I found that my 6 year old tropical fern tree (don't know the name of it but it is huge) has these dots all over it too! Can I save them or just start over? A third tree doesn't seem to be infected. I appreciate your advice. Michele
Answer Michele,
The little worms had nothing to do with the scale now. They were probably from fungus gnats, but you are not asking about those.
There are 2 ways of treating the scale, one is a lot of hassle but is the safest way since the plant is indoors. That is putting 70% isopropyl alcohol in a sprayer and spraying each tree entirely making sure you get the tops and bottoms of all leaves every 5 days for 5 sprayings or until alll signs of the scale are gon and you see new growth on both trees. This is labor intensive and you must follow thru with each spraying or the scale will come right back from eggs that hatch. You absolutely have to be persistant.
The other way of treating it is with a system chemical that is only intended for use outdoors. It is a systemic insecticide called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed that you can use. You mix it with water and water the tree with it. The tree absorbs the chemical and it kills the scale. It says you only have to apply it once a year but I find I need to use it twice a year on my bonsai trees. It is about $20.00 for a 32 oz bottle but you only us 2 tablespoons per 5 gallons of water so a bottle will last a long time. I do not represent the company but the product does work when it comes to getting rid of scale and many other insects. Rubbing alcohol is safe indoors. This product you will need to close the sunroom off from the rest of the house and open windows to the outside then apply the product. There will be a chemical odor for about 24 - 48 hours. Then you can close the windows and open the room to the rest of the house. There will be no more problems and the scale will be killed for 6 months to a year. Then if it comes back you will need to reapply.I consider this product to be a miracle cure for insects. It works quite well. The rubbing alcohol also works well but is a lot more labor intensive. Good luck at whichever method you choose.
