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How do I treat "scale" on an office plant?

I can take it into the bathroom or outside to spray it if necessary, but I cannot use anything that smells strongly or would off-gas. I'd like to avoid anything that "looks" obvious as I don't really want people to know my plants have bugs.

The plant is some sort of fern. It was labeled as "Fern" or maybe "tropical plant" when I bought it. I believe it may be a Kangaroo Fern but I'm not 100% sure.

I have been wiping the leaves to manually remove the bugs but it seems this is not enough and each Monday I come back to see more "babies" on the plant. The little guys are really hard to wipe off without damaging the leaves.

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BunnyKnitter
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5 Answers5

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Here is a quick answer

  • Take it home
  • Cut every leaf off
  • Reduce water and wait for new growth to appear
  • When scale appears use 5 ml dish soap to one litre water
    • apply with rag or cloth three times at six day intervals
kevinskio
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If it's a decorative plant just use a systemic insecticide that is absorbed by the roots into the plant tissue.

https://www.amazon.com/systemic-insecticide-scale/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Asystemic%20insecticide%20for%20scale

Graham Chiu
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This solution is a little labor intensive but soapy water in a spray bottle (just a drop or few of soap mind you) applied regularly will suffocate most pests.

it can take a few weeks at once or twice a day, depending on how thoroughly you spray all the nooks and crannies

Patrick Zissou
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what I do for scale bugs, is to dip a qtip in rubbing alcohol and rub them off... then apply neem oil when I cant see any living scale bug... it usually works pretty well for control, but they are hard to really eliminate...

Grady Player
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DO NOT cut off the growth of this plant. Mix Chrysal "Leafshine Concentrate" with water in a spray bottle. Spray the plant (safe to do in the office - I have used this product in countless offices on plants ranging from 6" planters at people's desk to 14" planters with 20 foot trees in them) and wipe clean with a clean cloth. This will not only take care of the scale problem, but it will make the plant shiny and clean, reducing the build of of dust, mites and scale. When you are done I would suggest tying that cloth up in a plastic bag and discarding it away from any plants. Be mindful to not spray any treated surfaces that could be used to walk on. It will turn a floor into "slick shoes". When you see the sheen of your plant fading away apply another application.

https://www.chrysal.com/en-us/products/chrysal-leafshine-concentrate-0

KyloP
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