Damn. Aphid or Scale?

[GarlR]

Damnit. I got pests on my fukien tea. Grrreat. I just noticed them. They are pretty small. They are white, but one is white outer with a orangish middle.

I have noticed sticky white cottonballs in middle of branches, and damn there is a lot of sticky stuff, as you can see in the picture. (Which is suggestive of scales?)

Wow, I feel like I have bugs crawling over me right now. I checked my other 2 bonsai I have next to it, and I don't see anything. They aren't touching, but they were. I hope they haven't migrated over. I will keep a lookout for them.

Anyway, is it aphids or scale? (Or even mealy bugs?) I read scale can be white, but so can aphids. I'm assuming it is one of the two from what I've read.

Best pic I could get because my ipad wouldn't focus that close. It is the white blot in the middle of the leaf. There is also another one right on the end of the little twig, but ya can't see it in the pic.

 

[GarlR]

It has to be scale, right? It has to be. If it is, should I just go ahead and buy some malathion?

Or damnit. It could be mealy bugs. I don't know. lol

If is that, I can still use malathion, or use methylated spirits?

 

[Martin Sweeney]

GarlR,

It is hard to tell from your picture, but I think I see a scale on one of the branches, but I am getting old, so I might be seeing things. Either way, tropicals typically bring scale in with them if they have been outside during the summer. I would find me a good systemic insecticide and apply it to all the plants. A systemic insecticide will handle all the bugs you are worried about. For the Fukien Tea, you may want to apply twice. For the others, one application might be enough if you don't see any active infestation.

Of course you need to make sure that whatever insecticide you choose will not harm your trees and follow the instructions.

Regards,
Martin

 

[JudyB]

My Fukien tea (when I had one) was a scale magnet. I actually used it as a scale trap plant around my other ones...
It's likely to be scale. You can treat fukien with insecticidal soap, but they don't like it much. What I used to do, is spray, let it sit for 10-15 min, then rinse it off well. That should be long enough to smother the scale, but then cleans the soap off the leaves. You have to make sure that you reallllllly spray every nook and cranny. And repeat once a week for a while, till you are sure you got them all.

 

[bougie nights]

The stickiness is probably honeydew, so I would guess aphids or mealybugs. Malathion might be a bit heavy-handed, especially for fukien tea. Try rinsing the plant real well to dislodge as many of the bugs as you can and to get the honedew off of the leaves. Adult mealybugs won't wash off, but the 'walkers' (juvenile stage)will.
If it is just aphids rinsing with follow up every few days is pretty effective. If you have mealybugs, then you may need to manually pick them off or dab some isopropyl alcohol onto the cottony masses.
Hopefully a fukien tea expert can chime in. I know the leaves are very sensitive and are damaged easily.

 

[chris38383838]

Try mixing your insecticide (I use trounce) with an equal portion of isopropyl alcool that you can get at the nearest drugstore. I don't remember which one does what, but one component breaks their shells and the other kills the scales. When it does, you should see bubbles appear, which gives me a great satisfaction... repeat once a week and you should get over it quickly!

 

[Poink88]

I don't see any scale or aphid on the pic.

I treat mine with diluted (50/50) liquid milk and water plus a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid (per litter) just spray it and let it. The leaves will turn shiny after a day and then start to peel off after couple of days.

The lactic acid supposedly eats through their exoskeleton. I am sure the soap helps kill them too. Try it, it works for me!

Did I mention it smells nice? If you keep your plants indoors, make sure you do not let it pool below too much, else it might smell sour after a while.

Mix only what you can use...it will go bad after a few days even in the fridge.

 

[GarlR]

GarlR,

It is hard to tell from your picture, but I think I see a scale on one of the branches, but I am getting old, so I might be seeing things. Either way, tropicals typically bring scale in with them if they have been outside during the summer. I would find me a good systemic insecticide and apply it to all the plants. A systemic insecticide will handle all the bugs you are worried about. For the Fukien Tea, you may want to apply twice. For the others, one application might be enough if you don't see any active infestation.

Of course you need to make sure that whatever insecticide you choose will not harm your trees and follow the instructions.

Regards,
Martin

Should I get the malathion? I think I have scale too. I watered it with a stream of water (which might help according to a website, and I think i have a massive scale infestation too. It looks like small brown discs everywhere on the branches.)

 

[GarlR]

Should I get the malathion? I think I have scale too. I watered it with a stream of water (which might help according to a website, and I think i have a massive scale infestation too. It looks like small brown discs everywhere on the branches.)

Scale? I just know malathion will kill both scale, aphids, and mealy bugs.

 

[Vance Wood]

Damnit. I got pests on my fukien tea. Grrreat. I just noticed them. They are pretty small. They are white, but one is white outer with a orangish middle.

I have noticed sticky white cottonballs in middle of branches, and damn there is a lot of sticky stuff, as you can see in the picture. (Which is suggestive of scales?)

Wow, I feel like I have bugs crawling over me right now. I checked my other 2 bonsai I have next to it, and I don't see anything. They aren't touching, but they were. I hope they haven't migrated over. I will keep a lookout for them.

Anyway, is it aphids or scale? (Or even mealy bugs?) I read scale can be white, but so can aphids. I'm assuming it is one of the two from what I've read.

Best pic I could get because my ipad wouldn't focus that close. It is the white blot in the middle of the leaf. There is also another one right on the end of the little twig, but ya can't see it in the pic.

What ever you do do not use Malathion on a Fukien Tea. You have to be really careful with what products you use on this tree; almost anything will kill it. I had a friend that sold tropicals in his bonsai business and he even had problems with insecticidal soap on Fukiens. Malathion has over the years become pretty much ineffective on almost anything and every thing except people. I really don't know what the best remedy for problem but make sure what ever is recommended comes from someone with experience with Fukien Teas.

As to the brown discs. Try a cotton swab dipped in alcohol and rub them off, this will work.

 

[GarlR]

It looks like malathion will absolute kill a ficus, too. So that is a no go.

Maybe try the trounce with the alcohol?? Plus put alcohol on the swabs and rub the little bastards too?

Edit: See prior post for second picture of possible scale.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Remember to move it away from any other trees you may have while you work through it.

Later, when you add FT to your list of trees that suck as bonsai and have a space to fill on your bench...don't fill it with a serissa...

good luck.

 

[jk_lewis]

I don't see any scale. But the pics aren't very clear.

Try squishing one with your fingers. If it is juicy, it's probably scale.

A spray containing pyrethrin (read the label) should take care of it. Spray a couple of leaves first so you know how (or if) it will affect the tree.

 

[Vance Wood]

I don't see any scale. But the pics aren't very clear.

Try squishing one with your fingers. If it is juicy, it's probably scale.

A spray containing pyrethrin (read the label) should take care of it. Spray a couple of leaves first so you know how (or if) it will affect the tree.

My friend tried pyrethrin and it too killed the Fukien. I guess that does not mean it will kill yours but there ya go. Another point to consider. If you can squish it with your fingers you can physically remove it. Once the scale gets to the point in its cycle where it produces the classic scale you don't need to worry about it spreading until the crawlers appear in the spring. Just because you have a bug does not mean you have to use a poison to control it. Sometimes physical removal is the best option.

 

[GarlR]

Ok, I drove 30 minutes to get to a home depot to buy trounce, but they didn't have it. They had ORTHO Elementals Insecticidal Soap. It is for organic gardening, and also kills scales and mealybugs.

It uses potassium salts of fatty acids. Hopefully that will cure my problem....if my fukien tea dies with this, then nothing will! lol It says you can use it on edibles up to day of harvest and be safe to eat. We shall see!!

Edit: It said it is safe with fruit trees (Fukien Tea is kinda a fruit tree) and it works with Figs (AKA my ficus) so hopefully it will be okay.

 

[jkd2572]

Don't eat you Fukien tea

 

[october]

I cannot see any scale in the pics. I would be cautious of buying random sprays from home depot etc...You could try the home made solution. In a 1 gallon jug, about 80% filled with water , mix 1 1/2 table spoons of dishwashing liquid such as ivory or palmolive and 1 1/2 tables spoons of vegetable oil. Then shake well. Pour this mixture into a spray bottle. Then, add 1 capful of alcohol (from the alcohol bottle) to the spray bottle mixure and shake. Spray all tree surfaces. After about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks weeks, you can spray again.

Once again, I am not sure I see any pests. Are yo usure yo uare not lookign at the natural dots on the leaves?

Rob

 

[edprocoat]

I cannot see any scale in the pics. I would be cautious of buying random sprays from home depot etc...You could try the home made solution. In a 1 gallon jug, about 80% filled with water , mix 1 1/2 table spoons of dishwashing liquid such as ivory or palmolive and 1 1/2 tables spoons of vegetable oil. Then shake well. Pour this mixture into a spray bottle. Then, add 1 capful of alcohol (from the alcohol bottle) to the spray bottle mixure and shake. Spray all tree surfaces. After about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks weeks, you can spray again.

Once again, I am not sure I see any pests. Are yo usure yo uare not lookign at the natural dots on the leaves?

Rob

That was my thought too, looks like a healthy Tea to me. I gave up on Teas, just too much problems, they are finicky and most things nearly kill them. Insecticidal soap will put them near death, they always seem to come back but it just got to the point for me at least that it was too much worry and stress for something that was supposed to be enjoyable!

Like Brian said "
Later, when you add FT to your list of trees that suck as bonsai and have a space to fill on your bench...don't fill it with a serissa..."


ed

 

[GarlR]

I cannot see any scale in the pics. I would be cautious of buying random sprays from home depot etc...You could try the home made solution. In a 1 gallon jug, about 80% filled with water , mix 1 1/2 table spoons of dishwashing liquid such as ivory or palmolive and 1 1/2 tables spoons of vegetable oil. Then shake well. Pour this mixture into a spray bottle. Then, add 1 capful of alcohol (from the alcohol bottle) to the spray bottle mixure and shake. Spray all tree surfaces. After about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks weeks, you can spray again.

Once again, I am not sure I see any pests. Are yo usure yo uare not lookign at the natural dots on the leaves?

Rob

I am sure. The little bastards wiggle its like antenna and feet at me. And they move.

Also the Tea was doing pretty well. I had blooming, and I still have new growth despite the damn things. Also, it only cost me $27 bucks, so i'm not too worried!!

Also I just woke up and had a FREAKING nightmare about the little bastards. Apparently in my dream, I woke up to come check on my trees, and every single one of them was MASSIVELY covered in little white cotton balls, and had mealybugs all over them. It was horrible. lol I went straight for my Q-tip with alcohol, then I woke up.

EDIT: I updated first post's picture pointing to the stress in my life right now.

In summation: I picked off every one I could find. I rubbed off all the honeydew with a wet towel. I rinsed it with a good jet of water to hopefully dislodge some that I didn't get, or that could be dislodged. I then used the Ortho Elementals Insecticidal soap. On a lighter note, just looking at it, I have new flower buds that I didn't notice before.

Oh, and I did end up pulling the trigger to buy a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture to replace my 1 bulb T5 HO on my stand. I might as well. Jumping up from 2k lumens to 8k, plus every inch of my trees will get more light coverage. AND I just got my HAWS watering can. It even came with a mister. Only like $25 bucks too. It is pretty nice!! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AFF5T2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

ONE LAST THING. Best systemic insecticide to buy to for Fukien and Ficus? I just want to go ahead, and get it, and give 'em a round in a few weeks to make sure they stay healthy.

 

[GarlR]

UPDATE:

Ok, so I've sprayed my Fukien Tea (The original infestation) twice. It looks pretty great. No yellowing of leaves. New growth. I have only sprayed my other tree once, and I am going to spray my newest tree...just in case.

I originally sprayed it 7 days ago. Now I just saw the male mealybug. He was hiding under some drying moss. (I also know that male mealybugs don't feed, and only live to fertilize the females, and they don't have a long life span)

What exactly does this mean? Does it mean they are in the roots now of my other tree? Or it was just hiding? Are they all dead??? I'm assuming it must of hatched not long ago, or is it still from the original infestation?

I don't think it will hurt to spray them again. I just want to make 100% sure I got all of them. I'm just paranoid that they are not gone. I haven't seen any, but I just want to make damn sure.

Any thoughts?