Scale a common pest of fiddle leaf figs, other houseplants
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Question: Help! I have a fiddle leaf fig in my front window that I adore. It has tiny bumps all over the stems and the floor beneath the plant is sticky. I did an internet search, and I believe I have an issue with scale insects. What can be done to control them without using chemicals? I don’t want to use them inside, and I’m afraid if I wait until spring the plant will die.
Answer: One of the most pernicious pests of houseplants is scale. The first time a homeowner encounters this pest on one of their houseplants, it’s usually because of the stickiness found on and around the plant. Since scales feed by sucking out plant sap, many of them excrete a sticky substance called “honeydew.” The presence of a sticky sheen on leaves, floors or nearby furniture is often the first indication of a scale infestation.
Though there are more than 8,000 species of scale insects, most are not considered to be common plant pests. The handful that are, however, are difficult to both diagnose and treat.
Mature scales are 3-5mm oval-shaped bumps along plant stems, on leaf undersides and in leaf nodes. They’re hard to spot since they look much like a part of the plant and they’re immobile. The only time scales move is when they are in their “crawler” stage for just a few weeks each year.
Females lay eggs under their hard shell. The eggs then hatch into “crawlers” and move around to find a suitable place to attach themselves. Soon after they affix to the plant tissue, they form their own hard, protective covering, and there they sit, sucking out plant juices, excreting honeydew and weakening plant growth.
Scale is a common pest of many houseplants, including ficus species, such as your fiddle leaf fig. They’re also common on schefflera, ivies, pothos, spider plants and palms. Carefully inspect newly purchased houseplants (or those being moved indoors for the winter) and quarantine them for three weeks to ensure they haven’t come with any piggy-backing pests.
Since the thick, shell-like coat of scales is tough to penetrate, scale can be a difficult pest to control. The best non-toxic method is manual removal. Crush the insects with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol and continually monitor the plant for further infestations.
Commercial sprays of organic insecticidal soap are effective, too. Read the label carefully to be sure the brand is labeled as safe to use on fiddle leaf figs. If it is, use a sprayer to apply it to all plant surfaces every 10 days for two months. I suggest doing this after temporarily putting the plant into the shower or another place that’s easy to clean up and will contain the spray. Until the scale is gone, keep your infested plant away from healthy ones.