How Do You Control Scale Insects On Indoor Plants?
Scale insects suck the fluids from your plants’ leaves and stems, robbing them of essential nutrients. Leaves wither and yellow and may drop from the plant. Indoors, scale insects thrive in the warm, dry environment and may produce up to six new generations on houseplants each year. Know what you’re looking for. Scales are insects with piercing/sucking mouth parts. Female scale insects look like small (1/10 to 1/5 inch), oval, legless bumps. The males are minute yellow-winged insects, and the larvae resemble small mealybugs. Identify scale insects by looking on the undersides of leaves and around leaf joints. Scale-damaged plants look withered and sickly and may have sticky sap or a black fungus on the leaves and stems. Move an infested plant to isolate it from the rest of your houseplant collection. Scale insects are invasive and will infest other plants. Remove scale insects with a twig or your fingernail. They will scrape off of plant tissue easily. Wash infested plants with a soap/
