I'm afraid we have spider mites in the ficus tree. I recently noticed the leaves, at least some of them, have this wet, sticky ooze.
You can see here that these leaves have a wet look.
On another section of the tree the oozing is much heavier.
I did a little research online and I am now convinced that this tree is infected with spider mites. The "honeydew" residue on the leaves is indicative of one of three things: spider mites, scale or mealy bugs. I ruled out scale and mealy bugs because you can actually see those on the leaves. Spider mites are so small that you cannot see them, and I see nothing on this beautiful tree, so I am going with a diagnosis of spider mites.
This sticky ooze is making a mess of everything. It is dripping down onto the leave of the myrtle that I planted around the trunk of the ficus and it doesn't end there. The canopy of the ficus has grown larger since I first brought it into the apartment so this sticky mess is also dripping all over the floor. I am on my hands and knees with a damp sponge and a bottle of Mop and Glo washing the floor on a weekly basis. I've had enough.
My first attempt at correcting this problem was this bottle of Insecticidal Soap. This is a spray bottle and very easy to use. You simply turn the nozzle to the "on" position and spray the entire canopy of the tree both on top of the leaves and on the underside. If this tree was on the patio or anywhere outdoors, this would be a good solution to the problem. However, since we are in an apartment without a balcony where we could relocate the tree for a good soaking spray, this is not practical. Spraying the leaves with this makes as much of a mess inside as the oozing. So I had to come up with something else to address this problem.
Enter this systemic houseplant insect control from Bonide. A much better alternative. You simply sprinkle the requisite amount indicated for your pot size and water it in and the insecticide makes it way through the root system and eventually to the leaves to kill these awful pests.
Inside the container you will find a rather fine, dark grayish powder. My tree is in a 5-gallon container, so the directions state that 2/3 cup is recommended.
So I measured out the 2/3 cups of insecticidal and poured it on top of the soil in the container.
Here it is liberally applied around the perimeter of the container and on top of the myrtle. I do not know at this point if the mites have spread to the myrtle, but if they have, this treatment should take care of that also.
The instructions say to work the insecticidal into the soil to a depth of about two inches and then water in. I used a small hand rake and attempted to work it into the soil as much as possible but it was rather impossible to do with the myrtle, so I am depending more on the watering to carry it down to the root system where it will enter the plant and hopefully kill the spider mites.
The tree is beautiful. It is really not showing any distress. The only thing is that some of the leaves, not all of them, have this wet look. I am hoping that I have caught this early enough so that the tree can be saved. We will follow up on this in a few weeks and at that time I can give you my opinion of this method of ridding the ficus of spider mites.
You can see here that these leaves have a wet look.
On another section of the tree the oozing is much heavier.
I did a little research online and I am now convinced that this tree is infected with spider mites. The "honeydew" residue on the leaves is indicative of one of three things: spider mites, scale or mealy bugs. I ruled out scale and mealy bugs because you can actually see those on the leaves. Spider mites are so small that you cannot see them, and I see nothing on this beautiful tree, so I am going with a diagnosis of spider mites.
This sticky ooze is making a mess of everything. It is dripping down onto the leave of the myrtle that I planted around the trunk of the ficus and it doesn't end there. The canopy of the ficus has grown larger since I first brought it into the apartment so this sticky mess is also dripping all over the floor. I am on my hands and knees with a damp sponge and a bottle of Mop and Glo washing the floor on a weekly basis. I've had enough.
My first attempt at correcting this problem was this bottle of Insecticidal Soap. This is a spray bottle and very easy to use. You simply turn the nozzle to the "on" position and spray the entire canopy of the tree both on top of the leaves and on the underside. If this tree was on the patio or anywhere outdoors, this would be a good solution to the problem. However, since we are in an apartment without a balcony where we could relocate the tree for a good soaking spray, this is not practical. Spraying the leaves with this makes as much of a mess inside as the oozing. So I had to come up with something else to address this problem.
Enter this systemic houseplant insect control from Bonide. A much better alternative. You simply sprinkle the requisite amount indicated for your pot size and water it in and the insecticide makes it way through the root system and eventually to the leaves to kill these awful pests.
Inside the container you will find a rather fine, dark grayish powder. My tree is in a 5-gallon container, so the directions state that 2/3 cup is recommended.
So I measured out the 2/3 cups of insecticidal and poured it on top of the soil in the container.
Here it is liberally applied around the perimeter of the container and on top of the myrtle. I do not know at this point if the mites have spread to the myrtle, but if they have, this treatment should take care of that also.
The instructions say to work the insecticidal into the soil to a depth of about two inches and then water in. I used a small hand rake and attempted to work it into the soil as much as possible but it was rather impossible to do with the myrtle, so I am depending more on the watering to carry it down to the root system where it will enter the plant and hopefully kill the spider mites.
The tree is beautiful. It is really not showing any distress. The only thing is that some of the leaves, not all of them, have this wet look. I am hoping that I have caught this early enough so that the tree can be saved. We will follow up on this in a few weeks and at that time I can give you my opinion of this method of ridding the ficus of spider mites.
No comments
Post a Comment