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White scales(?) on my plant stem
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White scales(?) on my plant stem


I found white scales , corn shaped on my plant stem and under the leaves. Any idea what is it and how to remove it?
Location – dry climate , balcony plant

by curiecurious

45 Comments

  1. mriabtsev

    uhmmmmmmmmmm wow that is SUPER gross lol 

    looks like all the leaves coming off the affected branch are dead/rotted? if that’s the case you can just cut that entire thing off and… idk, call a bomb in on the spot where you throw it out. 

  3. Snake973

    that’s horrific, take it outside far far away from your other plants

  4. yxull

    Best to just get rid of the plant, preferably by incineration if you have the means.

  5. malakim_angel

    bah gawd, buurrrnnn itttt with fire. Or spray it with neem.

  6. ObviouslyNerd

    The plant is dead, you are in mitigation mode for the rest of your garden.

  7. tiiiiii_85

    I know that the idea of burning a plant is painful and feels extremely wrong, but OP, you gotta think of your other plants!! Whatever you do except for getting rid of the plant, can spread the infestation around your apartment. This infestation is BAD and the danger of it spreading is high.

    My terrible, but sensible suggestion, is to burn it. Don’t spray, don’t try to clean it… Take it away and remove the tumor.

  8. insert_skill_here

    Waiting patiently for the shocked Barbie picture

  10. CypripediumGuttatum

    This is bad, no idea what bug it is but this would be sacrificed to the winter gods if I found it on my plant shelf. Just nope.

  11. Ovenbird36

    If you haven’t already gotten rid of it, you might want to grab the biggest garbage bag you can fine and tent it really fast from the top to avoid those suckers flying everywhere.

  12. samuraiofsound

    Hey OP, really sorry to see this. I’ve been reading all of the responses, and I feel for your loss. I’ll pour one out for your plant. RIP

  13. WiseAnimator7081

    Based on the leaves, your plant seems very dead. Chuck it in a sealed bin, then either bury it when you get the chance, or, better yet, burn the thing like people are suggesting. I wouldn’t even throw that in compost, might contaminate it.

  14. Single_With_Cats

    Carefully bag this entire plant up, tie it, and throw it in outside garbage. Check and treat all other plants.

  17. popcorn4theshow

    That looks like mealy bugs, but the plant is definitely dead. If it is mealy bugs, they’re super contagious. Everything else is at risk. You don’t want to touch another plant once you’ve touched this one, and they will migrate if they’re in proximity to something else. That plant is dead, you’ll want to get rid of it but without getting near anything else and your best result would be to burn it.

  18. Blazing_Sapphire

    White flies
    Can be treated easily… with fire
    Just burn it at this point

  19. stringthing87

    This looks like whitefly to me. This plant is dead. Take a trash bag and lower it over this one, try not to disturb or shake off the bugs and bag it up and get it out of your house. Start treating every other plant you own. They fly so, all of them.

  24. DaJuggerHobbit

    How did you let it get to this point? This doesn’t happen overnight…

  26. International-Tea541

    Dats bugs. Use neem oil. Isolate that plant and sterilize any items that touch it or the soil.

  27. Complex_Client_1372

    Im gonna have nightmares. Please burn that plant. If you just throw it away it will infect god knows how many more. You have to BURN it

  31. RealEstorma

    This will definitely ruin the tour. I am sorry

  32. AbsoIum

    Dunk it upside down in a bath of hydrogen peroxide and I am still unsure it would survive that infestation.

  33. Upset-Strawberry6540

    Can someone explain what is is?? All folks are saying is this is bag.

  34. MyNameIsNotRyn

    The infestation is so bad I thought this was the circlejerk sub 😭😭😭

    Girrrrrrrrl. Get off reddit and get this thing outta your house

  37. Yaelnextdoorvip

    I just got out of the shower and opened Reddit and now I have to get back in

  38. Strange-Insect1352

    First and foremost: ****Do not put this plant outside! This is an infestations that must be managed, contained, and disposed of without spreading them to other ecosystems.****

    Here’s my plan: lay down a path of newspaper to cover your floor from wherever this plant is to the nearest bath tub. Then, move the plant carefully as to not shake any of them off onto your floor, place it into the tub. Now it’s in a place that can easily prevent them from spreading further than they already have. It is extremely unlikely that an infestation to such a severe degree would be contained on a single plant if there are others nearby. Now take some time to collect yourself once you’ve contained the plant in the tub and put the newspaper path into a garbage bag… I’ve dealt with mite infestations in an entire room because of a single 4” potted stag horn fern i got from the local greenhouse, I’ve felt this exact panic (although i still obsessively checked all my furniture and surfaces for the tiny, 0.5-1 millimetre long mites that terrorized me for 2 years without even doing any actual damage. But every now and again, I see one and have a minor freak out before doing a deep clean)

    What you should do with the plant is contain it in a large brown compostable bag (like those used for leaf litter) and burn it. As for the pot, don’t burn it, it’s plastic. Wash it thoroughly and ensure that none remain.

    ****DO NOT make the mistake of assuming any other plants are clean. You need to treat them all as if they are infested to some degree. Aphids lay eggs in soil and can feed on the roots of a plant. You aren’t always going to see them when they’re there. This entails changing the soil and washing the roots of all other plants, disposing of that soil appropriately, washing their containers well, cleaning and checking nearby furniture (just in case). Your goal must be to eradicate any risk of them returning, as quickly and as safely as possible.

  39. Refresh-faced

    I actually gasped and covered my mouth with a hand in shock.

  40. todaysthrowaway0110

    This is a raging infestation. If this were a ship, you would throw it off the bow still alive to protect the others. But on land, a trash bag. Don’t introduce the contagion to your other plants if you can help it.

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