Green Island Ficus has weird black mounds growing on it? need help

[galapogostoday]

I purchased a nice old mature Green Island Ficus a few months ago and the tree was doing great, showing new growth and looking healthy. It fruited recently with small green figs growing at the nodes of some of the branches. Some of the fruit fell, some turned brown, and recently, a lot of yellow jacket wasps have been visiting the tree (I live in an 8th floor apartment ficus is on the balcony). I read that some wasps have a symbiotic relationship with ficus so I just assumed they were attracted to the fruit.

As I was inspecting the tree today I noticed small black mounds growing on the surface of the higher branches, even on some of the new light green buds that are growing at the tips. I tried googling this but couldn't find anything. To me, it looks like some sort of smut, or a fungus. It looks so far like its just on the higher branches, and I'm worried that if its a disease it will spread on the tree. I don't know if the wasps have anything to do with (there's only like 3 at a time as I can tell).

I know some trees like Jabuticaba have fruit that grows on the trunk, but not sure if ficus do this? WORRIED

 

[butlern]

some nasty scale.

Some info to get you started on management:

http://richmond.ces.ncsu.edu/2015/02/managing-scale-insects-in-the-landscape/

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Yep, scale. Pick them off, dab the spot with rubbing alcohol, treat with insecticide.

 

[butlern]

The "crawlers" live and feed on the underside of the leaves along the veins. See any active insects, or just the sessile scale forms on the branches?

Insecticides will be relatively ineffective against the mature/stationary scale forms, so Brian is right: pick those off and decontaminate any lesions in the bark with isopropanol. If crawlers are active, then you should immediately treat the tree with an insecticide.

I'm still new to bonsai, but I had a massive scale insect infestation on a juvenile oak tree in my front yard, so I know about these dirty little %^c*rs.

 

[aml1014]

Scale for sure I would do way Brian said and treat with a systemic to prevent the problem from happening again.

 

[markyscott]

Best treatment for scale is rubbing alcohol, q-tips, and a football game. You should have that taken care of before halftime.

Scott

 

[sorce]

football game

Just not the Bears, or you'll miss most of them!

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Best treatment for scale is rubbing alcohol, q-tips, and a football game. You should have that taken care of before halftime.

Scott

Well-said!

 

[galapogostoday]

Thank you guys!!! would've had no idea what to do. Time to crash their party

 

[Cypress187]

Oh noes, that's nasty man. You should watch out for the white stuff they leave behind, im my understanding you need to clean that also off (i think they are egg's of some sort).

 

[sorce]

Thank you guys!!! would've had no idea what to do. Time to crash their party

white stuff

Yeah, just when you think these ain't that nasty! Pussbomb!

After picking/burning\swabbing, a nice warm mist with a couple drops of alcohol should clean it nice.

Keep blasting it with water for a couple days to keep any crawlers at bay.

Check your other trees good!

Sorce

 

[galapogostoday]

yeah I've been leading the charge! There's also a small peacock jumping spider that has been living on the tree for sometime that I saw eating them. Took awhile since they were literally everywhere, but didn't look like they really damaged the tree after I removed them all and swabbed everything. So weird, they're like little scallops and juicy when you pull them off.

I can still see the little black scale in their active form here and there, but been spraying vigorously everyday with the warm mist/few drops alcohol. Don't really want to use insecticide since the jumping spiders sometimes hang out on the tree, but maybe I can remove them and then use it.