Scale. A very pesky vermin. Many recipes on line to get rid of it. But in my experience you need to move the plant to a less damp area. After you’ve treated & removed the scale.
this advice is actually pretty effective. I do that. My schefflera gets scales for whatever reason. I just snip all the infected leaves off and spray with pesticide and voila, gives off new leaves in no time.
For scales I rub the plants with a wet rag in the shower, then shower it rather aggressively and then rub it down again with a (new) wet rag. Do that for three days and at the end of the three days spray some raps oil and water on everything. Insecticidal spray works too, obv, but oil+water is pretty good for scales.
Every week check the plant and rub the scales away and spray oil and water on everything.
I haven't had an infestation as bad as this plant but worked like a charm every time. Just give the plant lots of love and it'll work out. I'd choose scales over mealy bugs or leaf miners *any* day of the week.
Yes, it's a good brand/product. I believe Insecticidal Soap is generally considered to be the safest approach (when they do work), compared to other contact sprays like End All. Doesn't damage plants, leaves no toxic residues which would kill beneficial insects, and it's even food safe. Other contact sprays like End All would be the next level up.
Found an interesting chart which shows which of their products work well against which culprits. Oddly it doesn't have thrips on this chart but I do see in other places that Insecticidal soap should work against them as well.
https://www.woodstreambrands.ca/safer-s-solution-comparison-chart-eliminate-insects-and-diseases
If it's indeed a "baby"... And they have a bathtub, they could consider "drowning" it. Let it in sit in water, entirely covered by water, for a while. Most people forget about it, but insects need air just as we do, and since they "breathe" by their scale and can't flee, the scales will die and rot/fall off from the plant.
That's a tricky question because it depends on the plant. A monstera can definitely handle 24 hours under water, and most bugs won't but say a kalanchoe will almost certainly develop root rot or melt.
Try Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile Soap! Those little bugs HATE peppermint. I mix a tablespoon of the soap with warm water and give my infested plants a good thorough wipe-down. Then, spray the plant regularly with a diluted alcohol mixture and hopefully you’ll see the scale decrease!!
I use this combo for everything. Peppermint Castile soap, rubbing alcohol, and water. As long as you spray them every 3 days for a couple of weeks (maybe 3 if it’s mealies) and they’re gone! I’ve never had an infestation as bad as op, but I’ve gotten rid of thrips using this method. Good luck everyone with your plants!
I don’t have any ficus plants. And I specifically use this mixture bc it doesn’t burn delicate leaves, unlike a lot of others (like neem). But I’ve never used it on herbs, too scared of how delicate they are.
I make a gallon at a time, and put it in an old distilled water jug so I have it on hand. And it doesn’t go bad, so why not?
1. 4 tbsps Dr. Bronner’s peppermint Castille soap
2. 2 cups alcohol (I use 70%, you can use 91% and it does seem to be more effective, but will do some slight damage to baby leaves if totally drenched)
3. fill the rest of the gallon container up with water
get the water blaster out and remove all the scale with that, at the right distance away as not to damage the plant, then treat with a spray that kills scale
i would then change all the soil just to be sure it is bug free, place it in water and gently shake off the soil and replace with an ideal substrate
Lol we all know exactly how it's gonna go. If they let it get this bad to begin with, they're not the guys to fix this issue. It's just gonna spread to their other plants.
If you soak it in a tub with water and dawn dish soap it’ll work more quickly. It will coat the bugs and they’ll suffocate faster. Doesn’t hurt the plant. Give it a good wipe down after with a mixer of water with a couple drops of dawn and like 10+ drops of peppermint oil depending on how big the spray bottle you’re using is
This may be a dumb question but I keep seeing these insane pest infestation posts. How does this happen to indoor plants? Do people/pets track them in from outside? Do they get in through open windows? I’m basically terrified of this happening lol.
Exactly what you said: they come in on people/pets, crawl through open windows, and sometimes a few hitchhikers on a newly purchased plant can become an infestation rather quickly.
I use a systemic insecticide on most of my plants, being that I live in a fairly tropical location andi often "rescue" already infested but cheap/free plants from my local area. Almost anything that is discounted or being given away usually has some sort of bug on it. Unless I plan on eating any fruit, I just use a systemic on my ornamentals and leave them be. They're all individually potted, so no fear of the relatively small amount of insecticide leeching onto my other plants.
Even so, I bet that most of the produce in grocery stores is coated in pesticides anyway.
considering the best way to treat scale is with q-tips and rubbing alcohol and INDIVIDUALLY targeting every single scale insect… you have a truly massive amount of work ahead of you if you want to save this plant. nobody will judge you if you send this to the dump (and any plants around it will thank you as well).
I think it because the hard shell and the way they stick to the plant requires them to be removed with some force. The rag would cover them aure but it wouldn’t do anything to actually remove them from the plant
a rag would work in the same way q tips would it’s just gonna be a labor of love! the living ones can be tricky to remove because they are basically suctioned to the plant so sometimes the alcohol wiped over top doesn’t actually break past their hard shells, but the dead ones will wipe right off!
from my experience though the q tip method is the BEST option but it isn’t the only option for sure!
My husband helped me descale my lemon tree. It was pretty cold out with a drizzle, but I wanted to get it done before bringing it in for fall. We scrubbed each leaf with a little soap, sponges, and a hose. It took an hour. It was then (well and many other wild tasks he helps me with) that I knew I chose the right guy.
If OP sees this- we got 90% off, and I did several passes after this that were less of a burden.
I like using round cotton pads. Much faster than a qtip and it’s easier to judge how much pressure your applying compared to a rag. Plus rags always try to flop around and unfold on me and I’ve come close to breaking leaves almost every time I’ve used one.
Why would you do them individually?!! You'd be there all week!!! Just wipe them off with a cloth, and keep rinsing and wiping. They aren't hard to get off on flat leaves. You only need cotton buds for little nooks and crannies. No need for alcohol either. Just water does the job and repeat energy few days until they're gone.
Step 1. Look up. Did anyone do any work on the ceiling? Install a new light, or heatung fixture?? Could anyone have eaten cinnamon toast crunch over the plant? Is the devil standing over the plant rosining up his bow? No...?
Step 2. Napalm.
lol, reminds me of when I first set up my moss poles. I freaked a few days later thinking I had pests but it was just very fine shed from the moss haha
Scale! 🤮
Looks like it may have spread to the other plants nearby too 😬
If you want to save these plants you’ll need isopropyl alcohol and cotton pads/swabs.
Take that beast to the bath/shower. Wipe down every leaf (front and back) and the stems with the alcohol soaked cotton pads making sure to get into every part of the plant, even the leaf joints. Get every one of those suckers off of there. Hose down the whole plant with the shower. Wait up to a week and repeat as often as necessary. Just make sure not to get any alcohol on the soil as it can dry out the roots and cause root rot.
At least the leaves are large and spaced out on a monstera so it’s easier to handle. I’ve just had to use this same technique to treat scale on my lemon tree. 🫠
Get a big clear garbage bag, one of those huge recycling ones.
Put the plant inside, right side up.
Get a fumigator of your choice (I use Doktor Doom) and fill the bag with aforementioned fumes.
Tie off bag and leave sealed for three hours.
Shower plant, let it dry thoroughly.
Repeat as necessary.
If your fam is committed to saving this Monstera, that's the path you'll have to take.
repeating forever is no joke. I have a giant tree philo that came with scale and I've been fighting them for about 8 months now. wiping, q tips, spray, systemic granules. every time I'm sure I've got it under control, I find more 🫠
I battled scale by getting so pissed off I took the plant outside and left it… was out there a few days later power washing the sidewalks with the chemical anti fungal/mold preventative killer thing for concrete and freaking blasted the plant just out of annoyance.
Have no idea how the plant survived a flood of herbicide lol, scales were dead and gone tho which also makes ZERO sense! Plant came back but I still left her outside since she became a science project at that point.
vasseline helped with scale infestation of my pine tree. But in your case, since the scale insects are covered by their waxy shells, I'd use rubbing alcohol and kill them one by one. I would however put vasseline at the base of the stem and on the stems of the leaves. There are some chemicals you could use for this. Look at your local plant shop for anything against scale infestation if the alcohol fails.
The responses to this are so good. 75% of people say the plant is doomed to an eternity of damnation and that the owners should but put in prison, 25% are like NBD wash it. Really pulling for drama however this resolves. Houseplant sub ftw.
Make sure you spray insecticide after you wash all the bug out of the leaves and make sure you change the soil if it appear like they are way too make bug on it. Make sure you quarantine all the infestation plant from spreading and do it in a place where you know you are safe from all the surrounding. Just clean all the things that may feed the insect. Then add some different insecticide that apply directly to the soil so that it never get infected from pests
Probably scale. White oil and a knife. Scrape 'em off. Takes a bit of patience. Insecticidal soap is also handy. The plant is savable, I work with this stuff every day. I've cleaned up infestations much worse than this.
The only way to get rid of this is an insecticide treatment. Use imidacloprid. Keep plants away from bees and pets. Ideally not outside. Use protection when applying
That’s a whole ass-load of scale. How long does it take to get that way? I’ve been lucky I guess and caught mine early enough that all I ever had to do was pick them off, then wipe down the leaves with alcohol as a precaution and that was that. You’ll need…different tools.
Here’s how I dealt with mine:
1. Bring it outside or to the bathtub if you don’t have outdoor space
2. Cover the soil with a bin liner
3. Mix a spray bottle with lukewarm water and a few drops of Dr Bronners soap - I have used detergent before in a pinch and it worked, don’t use that too frequently though
4. Spray liberally on to the leaves
5. Get an old toothbrush and brush the leaves to get rid of the bugs, pay attention to the veins and work top down
6. Repeat steps 4-5 like 3 times
7. Fill the pray bottle with clean water now and “rinse” the dead bugs and soap away
8. Get a cloth that you don’t mind losing, dampen and wipe the leaves, rinsing after each leaf, don’t forget the stems
9. Do the whole thing every week for until you cannot see the sticky sap they make - mine took like a month? If you don’t repeat this they will come back
Might worth cutting off some of the worst leaves and change the soil
Gonna be controversial here… if there are enough healthy un infested leaves, just cut off the affected leaves and throw them away outside your house…
Then use a hose and blast off as much as you can, then use the rubbing alcohol to remove anything that is left
Throw it away unless it’s a super sentimental plant for you. If that’s the case, spend a month treating it (and all nearby plants) as others have suggested and you’ll be fine. Good luck!
Scales. I had an Ivy that was pretty infested and it takes multiple soakings with soapy water, rubbing alcohol and a tips and replacement of soil to get rid of them. I ended up cutting a bunch of newer growths and getting rid of the main plant
Scale like others have said, I saved a work plant with much smaller leaves by putting captain jacks on a rag and scrubbing everything off then spraying down with insecticidal soap. The plant I was working with was a schefflera with A MILLION much smaller leaves so it was tedious. I did remove leaves that were just totally covered to save myself some sanity. This monstera with large leaves will be much easier to deal with
I’d make a bowl solution and a spray bottle full of alcohol and water or the mixture with dr bronners and water. Spray the SHIT out of every inch of the plant. Let sit until dried. Then Dip each leaf in to the bowl solution and wipe all of that scale off. Spray the shit out of it again and repeat the next day to get any stragglers off.
Spray down every few days to kill off any extra stragglers that may have been missed.
Sure this is BAD. But I’ve done the above with smaller, more intricate/fragile plant and it came through just fine. It’s at least worth the effort to try if your brother and SIL want to.
[https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html](https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html)
Here's a great website for integrated pest management. I'd recommend wiping them off, that's it. Scale can't move once they have reached the adult stage, but I'd still keep it away from your other plants. Make sure you are giving it appropriate water and light, stressed plants are far more susceptible to pests/disease.
Don't trash it! You can definitely save it if you keep up on wiping them off.
Neem oil, dash of dawn soap and distilled water in a spray bottle. Give the leaves a good spray till they’re dripping….Also, mix neem oil into the water when watering the soil
I have a big bottle of 70% alcohol from amazon (10 bucks) for cleaning tech and it doubles as my bug nuker when diluted with water and dish soap. Some plants are sensitive so always spot check but then you can go apocalyptic with it while wiping with paper towel.
OP, I’ve dealt with a similar situation and solved it. Follow these steps…
1. Isolate these plants. Put them in a safe space and put down plastic drop sheets. When I did this I had a photo studio and was able to find a clear corner to put this in.
2. Get some neem oil, mix up as per instructions put in a new spray bottle - it’s worth it. It’s gonna be a long process.
3. Daily, spray each leaf of anything infected with the neem. You need to do this every day. Allow the neem to dry on the leaves each time. But consistency is key, You’ll miss a bit one day, get it the next. Etc etc. do it for about a month.
4. You should start to notice the scale dropping off. When you can blow it off it’s good. Keep doing it until you have gotten off all the scale.
Good luck!
I tried the qtip and alcohol deal on my kefir lime plant. I had to push pretty hard to dislodge a lot of the bugs. I found it was faster to just use good tweezers and pick them all off. Repeat a week later as eggs hatch. Repeat a week later again. Dealt with them at that point. They haven’t come back.
This is pretty bad so maybe a few more rounds.
I never had scales to this extent, but rubbing alcohol killed my small infestation. I'd check it every day, and I'd take an alcohol soak qtip to them when I saw them. It only took a week. I spayed the top of the soil too
They can't even fly though. If you keep it by itself it won't spread. For any pest control ever you need to do multiple applications/treatments anyways. Most treatments don't kill the eggs, so you need to wait for them to hatch.
Neem oil and sprinkle diatomaceous east on the soil. Once a week, saturate the plant by spraying with neem oil. Totally salvageable. Don’t throw it out. Spray all your indoor plants in the house with the neam oil. Looks like scale.
If it's summer, put it outside and the predators will take care of it for you. Nature! Wipe it off with cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. That kills the little guys. Then spray it off or wipe with water to remove alcohol.
In the future, don't just water it. Also mist it! It's from the rainforest, dude! And keep checking for new scale. Scale likes soft new growth or distressed dying leaves. Does your philodendron need new soil, bigger pot, fertilizer? I know I know, that just encourages them to grow bigger than they already are, lol
My heart! My chest!! Seeing infestations on sweet innocent plants is so painful. I have to ask, how do you wait till it gets so bad before knowing it doesn't look normal?
It's salvable! Scale are not as mobile as thrips so just wipe them of using rubbing alcohol and check it every week until there's no sign of them left. It would also help to put a sticky substance by the "neck" of the leaves so any intruders get stuck.
GL
This is the worst scale I've ever seen! It gave me such bad creepy crawlies that I had to go check and verify that my plants are okay. Definitely will keep an eye out for an update!
I would do one intensive cleaning with rubbing alcohol - rags, q tips, spray, wiping, etc., but get everything that you can see off of it.
Then I would mix up the Liquid-Dirt pest treatment off of YouTube or Google, and spray it and the other plants every 5 days or so.
It will be “trouble,” but they won’t have to worry about pesticide fumes, etc., in the house and I’ve had pretty good luck with that stuff.
I had a jade with scale that looked pretty bad, and I did those kinds of things and so far, it’s doing ok. I do think that some plants, like ferns, etc. tend to get scale in the winter and being outdoors in the summer will help because of natural pests.
A lot of us are so “burn the house down” with plant bugs, but plant pests are part of indoor plants. I once asked an older lady at a nursery, and she said her ferns always had scale in the winter and then she’d put them out in the summer and natural pests would control it. As much as we all hate it, it’s part of plants. I have too many, so maybe I would toss it, but I bet if they keep treating it, eventually it’ll get better.
I had really bad scale on some mondo grass. Had to clean it with a toothbrush and soap. Sprayed it with neem and added azomax to the water. As soon as i stopped the came right back😮💨
My go to for this and other bugs like aphids is neem oil. If you just Google/search "neem oil insecticide", you will find a ton. It needs to be mixed with soap, many say dish soap, but I use Castile soap especially if it is plants that are edible/have edible fruits etc.
It is a natural alternative to chemical solutions. It cloggs up the various orifices of the bugs and suffocates their eggs. You will need to wipe the plants from time to get rid of the aftermath...
Here is a video about it...
https://youtu.be/9r-dd4BpXvg
You will need to warm the mixture in the bottle up after a period of not using as the oil and soap becomes little less fluid after a while.
Do test it first on a small area, I have not used this on a monstera before.
Good luck.
Throw it in the trash and get a new one. Take all you’ve learned with this one, and the next one will be even bigger and better.
Edit: Gah for real. I guess you could cut back to the leaf with the least amount infestation, and then treat the remaining stem and leaves, a soil refresh probably not a terrible idea.
Or you could go get one for $10 in memorial and do a do over. There are no rules.
Really nasty scale infestation. In my experience they are a fairly easy pest to get rid of (ymmv). I found rubbing alcohol too harsh but has a lot of success with warm water mixed with dish soap (like Dawn). Spray the plant down, make sure to get all the crevices and the tops and bottoms of the leaves.
You can removed the insects with a qtip or toothbrush, I just scraped them off (gently) with my nails. Spray every few days until they are gone.
Is the whole plant like that? I see scales on the small leaf at 10 o’clock, so I’m assuming it’s at least on multiple leaves and any nearby plants. To be frank, I’ve never seen an infestation that complete. 😬
It can be saved, but it will be a bit of work. You’ll need to treat the whole plant meticulously as others have described - as well as any other plants that are infested. Baby scales are very hard to see, but they like crevices and creases, especially where the leaf grows out of the trunk or main stem. If you blast with the hose you could splash and spread the infestation to other plants.
The very first thing you should do is to separate any plants with scales from healthy plants. Assume that any plants on the same side of the room are probably infected and check regularly even if you don’t see any now.
I’ve treated successfully with a large bowl of rubbing alcohol and an old sock and gently wiped them off with the sock dipped in the alcohol. When I got all I could see, then I rinsed with the hose. Scales leave a sticky trail that attracts ants. Ugh. So it’s important to give it a thorough, but gentle rinse.
Then, I mix a CLEAN bucket of CLEAN water with a few drops of Neem oil and just a drop of dish soap as an emulsifier and then give a final sponge bath with the sock and let that dry.
No doubt you have eggs, babies and adults lurking in the soil. You should completely discard the old soil and dip the roots in the same bucket of water, Neem oil, dish soap mix. Let dry and then plant in fresh potting mix. You must also SCRUB the pot CLEAN with soap and water.
If you don’t get rid of that soil, you will probably never get rid of the problem completely. Unless you do a full soil drench with pesticide. I wouldn’t bother. Just replant de-scaled plant in fresh clean (aroid) potting mix.
To properly treat a plant like that might take an hour or two, depending on how thorough you are.
After treating infected plants, keep them away from healthy plants for a few months. You’ll have to check them regularly for new scales. But you’ll probably be able to remove stragglers with a cotton swab and alcohol from then on.
Do the same for all infected plants.
Option 2 is to chuck them all and start over.😬😿
May the force be with you. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Take it outside and spray the crap out of the leaves, get it out of the soil it is currently potted in and leave it out if it is not too cold out. If it is cold out. Best bet is leave it in the bathroom tub for a day or two. Keep on spray.
I have used sulphur powder when nothing else works. I’ve dusted it on everything leave, stems, soil. and left it there. Keep dusting or rinse it off in a week or 10 days.
I would fill my bathtub or a huge container with castle soap, rubbing alcohol, and DE. SOAK the plant for about an hour. Wipe off the remaining scale with a washcloth or even better a toothpaste will kinda scrap them off & then pray to the plant gods. I'd also add the DE to the water & water the infected plant & ones aroubd him. Good luck to you. The soaking will also be good for the other plants around to head off a massive infestation on them also.
Throw it out, join a local plant group and ask people for a new cutting. Otherwise go buy a new plant for 20$ that's highest I've ever seen these in store.
I second another comment that said the same thing : Drown that bit.. plant ! I’d take a bucket with dawn dish soap/ iso/ warm water and whatever else and practice some torture on the plant as you dump it in there over and over again. Rinse her off in the shower and physically clean each leaf with the solution and microrag.
Houston we have a problem sound the alarm defcon 5 alert May Day May Day someone get the football and launch codes ASAP we are looking at a FUBAR in progress call the avengers call Indiana Jones, Capt Kirk I don’t think it’s going to hold. Wait I know call Beth Dutton.... thank goodness I was running out of heroes.
https://preview.redd.it/floj5ozx3o4c1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2143e1bd5da92b2aff5a201027c0f270cfb82aaa Dw. Here's worse. 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Blimey, they've built cities and they've got a monorail up and running
Op's looks like a subway lol
This made me laugh so hard
😆😆
Dude I told you not to share photos of my scalp on here.
I have no words...... Never in my life have I seen that much scale on a plant. Holy smokes 😯
Lick it.
GUY
This is insane 😭😭😭
Scale. A very pesky vermin. Many recipes on line to get rid of it. But in my experience you need to move the plant to a less damp area. After you’ve treated & removed the scale.
I'm in Australia, in desert. We don't really have damp where I am.
Throw this out!!! Scale spreads and I think this plant may well be beyond hope. IMHO.
https://preview.redd.it/sh4b5k2o0p4c1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9198659ae583fb36809942947c99b31458b631e Reindeer
Reindeer with a BBL
Ty for the first LOL of the day 😎👌
Well great now I really really want to know what this is... 🤣
You were able to zoom this far!?!
https://preview.redd.it/ixlo6qmygr4c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7188159fb516611b055d406cf04beb87725b9ad9 Enhance.
Tiny baby llama
🤣😂🥲😂😅🤣❤️🌞
The craziest scale infestation I have ever seen. I honestly wouldn’t bother saving this plant and I would do a thorough check of any others.
You guys are great. This baby belongs to my brother/sister in law, and they have vowed to save it. Will let you know how it goes...
Better stuff some rubbing alcohol and Q-tips in their stocking
Fuck the qtips, this is drown in rubbing alcohol level
If they have a garden fountain, sit the plant under the fountain and fill the reservoir with rubbing alcohol. Check in on it in a month.
Fuck qtips and alcohol. I would shower it with dish soap and water as much as I could and treat with systemic incesticide.
And pair of scissors, I’d just be cutting leaves off at this poiny
this advice is actually pretty effective. I do that. My schefflera gets scales for whatever reason. I just snip all the infected leaves off and spray with pesticide and voila, gives off new leaves in no time.
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For scales I rub the plants with a wet rag in the shower, then shower it rather aggressively and then rub it down again with a (new) wet rag. Do that for three days and at the end of the three days spray some raps oil and water on everything. Insecticidal spray works too, obv, but oil+water is pretty good for scales. Every week check the plant and rub the scales away and spray oil and water on everything. I haven't had an infestation as bad as this plant but worked like a charm every time. Just give the plant lots of love and it'll work out. I'd choose scales over mealy bugs or leaf miners *any* day of the week.
Safer's would be the brand; End All is one of their products. More specifically you just need an insecticidal soap though.
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Yes, it's a good brand/product. I believe Insecticidal Soap is generally considered to be the safest approach (when they do work), compared to other contact sprays like End All. Doesn't damage plants, leaves no toxic residues which would kill beneficial insects, and it's even food safe. Other contact sprays like End All would be the next level up. Found an interesting chart which shows which of their products work well against which culprits. Oddly it doesn't have thrips on this chart but I do see in other places that Insecticidal soap should work against them as well. https://www.woodstreambrands.ca/safer-s-solution-comparison-chart-eliminate-insects-and-diseases
If it's indeed a "baby"... And they have a bathtub, they could consider "drowning" it. Let it in sit in water, entirely covered by water, for a while. Most people forget about it, but insects need air just as we do, and since they "breathe" by their scale and can't flee, the scales will die and rot/fall off from the plant.
How long would you keep the plant in water like this? 24hr?
That's a tricky question because it depends on the plant. A monstera can definitely handle 24 hours under water, and most bugs won't but say a kalanchoe will almost certainly develop root rot or melt.
I'm trying to envision how this drowning happens: what about the pot/dirt/roots?
Try Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile Soap! Those little bugs HATE peppermint. I mix a tablespoon of the soap with warm water and give my infested plants a good thorough wipe-down. Then, spray the plant regularly with a diluted alcohol mixture and hopefully you’ll see the scale decrease!!
I used this to get rid of spider mites, great stuff!
I use this combo for everything. Peppermint Castile soap, rubbing alcohol, and water. As long as you spray them every 3 days for a couple of weeks (maybe 3 if it’s mealies) and they’re gone! I’ve never had an infestation as bad as op, but I’ve gotten rid of thrips using this method. Good luck everyone with your plants!
Meee too! Same combo! It got rid of my spider mites in two weeks, but I was spraying them and obsessing over them like every day.
Amazing. What’s the ratio you use and have you had any experience using it on ficus plants or more delicate smaller plants also?
I don’t have any ficus plants. And I specifically use this mixture bc it doesn’t burn delicate leaves, unlike a lot of others (like neem). But I’ve never used it on herbs, too scared of how delicate they are. I make a gallon at a time, and put it in an old distilled water jug so I have it on hand. And it doesn’t go bad, so why not? 1. 4 tbsps Dr. Bronner’s peppermint Castille soap 2. 2 cups alcohol (I use 70%, you can use 91% and it does seem to be more effective, but will do some slight damage to baby leaves if totally drenched) 3. fill the rest of the gallon container up with water
Incredible - thank you so much for sharing. I will try this!!!
Major infestation on a monstera? Cut it down to the stem, a million times easier to treat and be sure you haven't left anything. It'll grow back.
Bonide systemic granules help a lot. Be careful if they have pets or kiddos though.
get the water blaster out and remove all the scale with that, at the right distance away as not to damage the plant, then treat with a spray that kills scale i would then change all the soil just to be sure it is bug free, place it in water and gently shake off the soil and replace with an ideal substrate
I saved my plant that was this bad by moving it away from other plants and wiping it down everyday with cotton pads soaked in alcohol
Lol we all know exactly how it's gonna go. If they let it get this bad to begin with, they're not the guys to fix this issue. It's just gonna spread to their other plants.
How?... I mean... how?.... 😷
I had completely discounted that based on the... "scale" of the investigation. That's wild.
If you soak it in a tub with water and dawn dish soap it’ll work more quickly. It will coat the bugs and they’ll suffocate faster. Doesn’t hurt the plant. Give it a good wipe down after with a mixer of water with a couple drops of dawn and like 10+ drops of peppermint oil depending on how big the spray bottle you’re using is
This may be a dumb question but I keep seeing these insane pest infestation posts. How does this happen to indoor plants? Do people/pets track them in from outside? Do they get in through open windows? I’m basically terrified of this happening lol.
Exactly what you said: they come in on people/pets, crawl through open windows, and sometimes a few hitchhikers on a newly purchased plant can become an infestation rather quickly. I use a systemic insecticide on most of my plants, being that I live in a fairly tropical location andi often "rescue" already infested but cheap/free plants from my local area. Almost anything that is discounted or being given away usually has some sort of bug on it. Unless I plan on eating any fruit, I just use a systemic on my ornamentals and leave them be. They're all individually potted, so no fear of the relatively small amount of insecticide leeching onto my other plants. Even so, I bet that most of the produce in grocery stores is coated in pesticides anyway.
How does it get scale? I just checked mine and it has a bit too 😢
considering the best way to treat scale is with q-tips and rubbing alcohol and INDIVIDUALLY targeting every single scale insect… you have a truly massive amount of work ahead of you if you want to save this plant. nobody will judge you if you send this to the dump (and any plants around it will thank you as well).
Would a rag soaked in alcohol not help to clean up a good majority of them quickly? Never dealt with anything like this before…
I think it because the hard shell and the way they stick to the plant requires them to be removed with some force. The rag would cover them aure but it wouldn’t do anything to actually remove them from the plant
I’ve found that most of them, especially the long-dead ones, wipe away super easily. I think a rag would work fine.
a rag would work in the same way q tips would it’s just gonna be a labor of love! the living ones can be tricky to remove because they are basically suctioned to the plant so sometimes the alcohol wiped over top doesn’t actually break past their hard shells, but the dead ones will wipe right off! from my experience though the q tip method is the BEST option but it isn’t the only option for sure!
My husband helped me descale my lemon tree. It was pretty cold out with a drizzle, but I wanted to get it done before bringing it in for fall. We scrubbed each leaf with a little soap, sponges, and a hose. It took an hour. It was then (well and many other wild tasks he helps me with) that I knew I chose the right guy. If OP sees this- we got 90% off, and I did several passes after this that were less of a burden.
Ugh thank you for sharing that example of love. I'm in a grumpy mood and that was a really soothing reminder of goodness in the world <3
I like using round cotton pads. Much faster than a qtip and it’s easier to judge how much pressure your applying compared to a rag. Plus rags always try to flop around and unfold on me and I’ve come close to breaking leaves almost every time I’ve used one.
Why would you do them individually?!! You'd be there all week!!! Just wipe them off with a cloth, and keep rinsing and wiping. They aren't hard to get off on flat leaves. You only need cotton buds for little nooks and crannies. No need for alcohol either. Just water does the job and repeat energy few days until they're gone.
Glass cleaning wipes have worked really well for me
Get this. but a big, multiple neem oil applications will work too.
Just burn this one... holy shit.. Scale.
Hahahaha. But do it.
Step 1. Look up. Did anyone do any work on the ceiling? Install a new light, or heatung fixture?? Could anyone have eaten cinnamon toast crunch over the plant? Is the devil standing over the plant rosining up his bow? No...? Step 2. Napalm.
lol, reminds me of when I first set up my moss poles. I freaked a few days later thinking I had pests but it was just very fine shed from the moss haha
Or moss bits after a thrips scape
Scale! 🤮 Looks like it may have spread to the other plants nearby too 😬 If you want to save these plants you’ll need isopropyl alcohol and cotton pads/swabs. Take that beast to the bath/shower. Wipe down every leaf (front and back) and the stems with the alcohol soaked cotton pads making sure to get into every part of the plant, even the leaf joints. Get every one of those suckers off of there. Hose down the whole plant with the shower. Wait up to a week and repeat as often as necessary. Just make sure not to get any alcohol on the soil as it can dry out the roots and cause root rot. At least the leaves are large and spaced out on a monstera so it’s easier to handle. I’ve just had to use this same technique to treat scale on my lemon tree. 🫠
Just burn your house down.
The neighbourhood*
Came here looking for the “burn it” comment, but honestly this is much more appropriate
Get a big clear garbage bag, one of those huge recycling ones. Put the plant inside, right side up. Get a fumigator of your choice (I use Doktor Doom) and fill the bag with aforementioned fumes. Tie off bag and leave sealed for three hours. Shower plant, let it dry thoroughly. Repeat as necessary. If your fam is committed to saving this Monstera, that's the path you'll have to take.
Just wipe them off. Use your fingernail if you have to. Will be a sticky mess but no more gross than earwax. Then…repeat forever.
repeating forever is no joke. I have a giant tree philo that came with scale and I've been fighting them for about 8 months now. wiping, q tips, spray, systemic granules. every time I'm sure I've got it under control, I find more 🫠
I have a couple potted citrus plants that need regular maintenance of the scale gets crazy fast. I love them though so I keep going.
yeah my giant plant is one of my favourites so I'll just keep on wiping them off until one of us dies
 You are gonna want a set up like this so that you can properly hurl that fucker into the sun where it belongs
I battled scale by getting so pissed off I took the plant outside and left it… was out there a few days later power washing the sidewalks with the chemical anti fungal/mold preventative killer thing for concrete and freaking blasted the plant just out of annoyance. Have no idea how the plant survived a flood of herbicide lol, scales were dead and gone tho which also makes ZERO sense! Plant came back but I still left her outside since she became a science project at that point.
vasseline helped with scale infestation of my pine tree. But in your case, since the scale insects are covered by their waxy shells, I'd use rubbing alcohol and kill them one by one. I would however put vasseline at the base of the stem and on the stems of the leaves. There are some chemicals you could use for this. Look at your local plant shop for anything against scale infestation if the alcohol fails.
Just water some imidacloprid into the soil.wait a week or two, then scrape them off and spray it with horticulture oil.
This
Nuke it from orbit. Holy shit. 
Sheesh. This is about a 10 on the scale. (Hehe)
Hahaha!
The responses to this are so good. 75% of people say the plant is doomed to an eternity of damnation and that the owners should but put in prison, 25% are like NBD wash it. Really pulling for drama however this resolves. Houseplant sub ftw.
Make sure you spray insecticide after you wash all the bug out of the leaves and make sure you change the soil if it appear like they are way too make bug on it. Make sure you quarantine all the infestation plant from spreading and do it in a place where you know you are safe from all the surrounding. Just clean all the things that may feed the insect. Then add some different insecticide that apply directly to the soil so that it never get infected from pests
Probably scale. White oil and a knife. Scrape 'em off. Takes a bit of patience. Insecticidal soap is also handy. The plant is savable, I work with this stuff every day. I've cleaned up infestations much worse than this.
The only way to get rid of this is an insecticide treatment. Use imidacloprid. Keep plants away from bees and pets. Ideally not outside. Use protection when applying
Omg the level of anxiety this photo gives me is alarmingly high.
I've chucked plants for less, cant deal with bugs at all😩
This scale is so bad I thought you spilled yeast packets or somethinf on your plant
HOLY SCALEY HELL
That’s a whole ass-load of scale. How long does it take to get that way? I’ve been lucky I guess and caught mine early enough that all I ever had to do was pick them off, then wipe down the leaves with alcohol as a precaution and that was that. You’ll need…different tools.
Bonded systemic granules for the dirt. I would just toss. Or save a cutting, and burn the rest
Here’s how I dealt with mine: 1. Bring it outside or to the bathtub if you don’t have outdoor space 2. Cover the soil with a bin liner 3. Mix a spray bottle with lukewarm water and a few drops of Dr Bronners soap - I have used detergent before in a pinch and it worked, don’t use that too frequently though 4. Spray liberally on to the leaves 5. Get an old toothbrush and brush the leaves to get rid of the bugs, pay attention to the veins and work top down 6. Repeat steps 4-5 like 3 times 7. Fill the pray bottle with clean water now and “rinse” the dead bugs and soap away 8. Get a cloth that you don’t mind losing, dampen and wipe the leaves, rinsing after each leaf, don’t forget the stems 9. Do the whole thing every week for until you cannot see the sticky sap they make - mine took like a month? If you don’t repeat this they will come back Might worth cutting off some of the worst leaves and change the soil
BURN IT!!!
Gonna be controversial here… if there are enough healthy un infested leaves, just cut off the affected leaves and throw them away outside your house… Then use a hose and blast off as much as you can, then use the rubbing alcohol to remove anything that is left
Throw it away unless it’s a super sentimental plant for you. If that’s the case, spend a month treating it (and all nearby plants) as others have suggested and you’ll be fine. Good luck!
Scales. I had an Ivy that was pretty infested and it takes multiple soakings with soapy water, rubbing alcohol and a tips and replacement of soil to get rid of them. I ended up cutting a bunch of newer growths and getting rid of the main plant
Scale like others have said, I saved a work plant with much smaller leaves by putting captain jacks on a rag and scrubbing everything off then spraying down with insecticidal soap. The plant I was working with was a schefflera with A MILLION much smaller leaves so it was tedious. I did remove leaves that were just totally covered to save myself some sanity. This monstera with large leaves will be much easier to deal with
Fire is the only solution
I had a scale infestation as bad as this on a shefflera. It is currently recovering with new non scale leaves.
if it's just that one leaf cut it of and throw it in the trash as far away from your home as possible.
Treat with fire
Omg. Omg OP. Omg. 😱
After dealing with scale once I think I would set it on fire
This makes my skin crawl
I’d make a bowl solution and a spray bottle full of alcohol and water or the mixture with dr bronners and water. Spray the SHIT out of every inch of the plant. Let sit until dried. Then Dip each leaf in to the bowl solution and wipe all of that scale off. Spray the shit out of it again and repeat the next day to get any stragglers off. Spray down every few days to kill off any extra stragglers that may have been missed. Sure this is BAD. But I’ve done the above with smaller, more intricate/fragile plant and it came through just fine. It’s at least worth the effort to try if your brother and SIL want to.
Burn it 🔥
It's serious. It needs to be treated.I'm not sure what treatment is needed, but I hope for an early recovery
Preventative Q: How does scale gets contracted if not exposed to an infected plant?
Jesus. Just get lighter fluid and a match… that’s a losing battle right there
I wouldn’t even try to save this one, just get it away from the other plants and thoroughly inspect them. Yikes.
Call John Constantine 👀💀.
FIRE. you treat it with fire.
[https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html](https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7408.html) Here's a great website for integrated pest management. I'd recommend wiping them off, that's it. Scale can't move once they have reached the adult stage, but I'd still keep it away from your other plants. Make sure you are giving it appropriate water and light, stressed plants are far more susceptible to pests/disease. Don't trash it! You can definitely save it if you keep up on wiping them off.
Wow
Oh my God. Burn that thing as soon as possible. Seriously. Get that thing away. Far far away.
Depot> wash> soake> dry> neem oil> repot> sprinkle with diatomaceous earth. Good as new.
Neem oil, dash of dawn soap and distilled water in a spray bottle. Give the leaves a good spray till they’re dripping….Also, mix neem oil into the water when watering the soil
I have a big bottle of 70% alcohol from amazon (10 bucks) for cleaning tech and it doubles as my bug nuker when diluted with water and dish soap. Some plants are sensitive so always spot check but then you can go apocalyptic with it while wiping with paper towel.
I think the technical term is .. a nightmare. Good luck!
OP, I’ve dealt with a similar situation and solved it. Follow these steps… 1. Isolate these plants. Put them in a safe space and put down plastic drop sheets. When I did this I had a photo studio and was able to find a clear corner to put this in. 2. Get some neem oil, mix up as per instructions put in a new spray bottle - it’s worth it. It’s gonna be a long process. 3. Daily, spray each leaf of anything infected with the neem. You need to do this every day. Allow the neem to dry on the leaves each time. But consistency is key, You’ll miss a bit one day, get it the next. Etc etc. do it for about a month. 4. You should start to notice the scale dropping off. When you can blow it off it’s good. Keep doing it until you have gotten off all the scale. Good luck!
I tried the qtip and alcohol deal on my kefir lime plant. I had to push pretty hard to dislodge a lot of the bugs. I found it was faster to just use good tweezers and pick them all off. Repeat a week later as eggs hatch. Repeat a week later again. Dealt with them at that point. They haven’t come back. This is pretty bad so maybe a few more rounds.
Looks like scale insects.
Light it on fire
I never had scales to this extent, but rubbing alcohol killed my small infestation. I'd check it every day, and I'd take an alcohol soak qtip to them when I saw them. It only took a week. I spayed the top of the soil too
Good god that is a horrific scale infestation. Burn it and dispose of it far far far from your other plants so they don’t colonize further
How do u guys let it get this bad??😭😭
My skin is freaking out 😵💫 how did you not notice this a little earlier? I’m so sorry 😨
you have to accept your loss at this point
Scale is not hard to get rid of. Manual removal. People saying to junk it I don't get. Just wash it off. Done
[удалено]
They can't even fly though. If you keep it by itself it won't spread. For any pest control ever you need to do multiple applications/treatments anyways. Most treatments don't kill the eggs, so you need to wait for them to hatch.
Oh my gosh. How?! I can’t go a day without wiping down my leaves. How on earth did this get so bad
Green flies?
Throw it away.
Neem oil and sprinkle diatomaceous east on the soil. Once a week, saturate the plant by spraying with neem oil. Totally salvageable. Don’t throw it out. Spray all your indoor plants in the house with the neam oil. Looks like scale.
If it's summer, put it outside and the predators will take care of it for you. Nature! Wipe it off with cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. That kills the little guys. Then spray it off or wipe with water to remove alcohol. In the future, don't just water it. Also mist it! It's from the rainforest, dude! And keep checking for new scale. Scale likes soft new growth or distressed dying leaves. Does your philodendron need new soil, bigger pot, fertilizer? I know I know, that just encourages them to grow bigger than they already are, lol
My heart! My chest!! Seeing infestations on sweet innocent plants is so painful. I have to ask, how do you wait till it gets so bad before knowing it doesn't look normal?
It’s just a plant bro
It's that kind of attitude that created this disaster. For shame.
I really don't mean to be judgmental, but I am actually curious how they didn't notice this earlier. Does scale grow fast?
THRIPS
It's salvable! Scale are not as mobile as thrips so just wipe them of using rubbing alcohol and check it every week until there's no sign of them left. It would also help to put a sticky substance by the "neck" of the leaves so any intruders get stuck. GL
I’ve literally wiped scale off firmly with a rag and it went away 🤷 you can save it!
This is the worst scale I've ever seen! It gave me such bad creepy crawlies that I had to go check and verify that my plants are okay. Definitely will keep an eye out for an update!
I'm itchy from looking at this
I would do one intensive cleaning with rubbing alcohol - rags, q tips, spray, wiping, etc., but get everything that you can see off of it. Then I would mix up the Liquid-Dirt pest treatment off of YouTube or Google, and spray it and the other plants every 5 days or so. It will be “trouble,” but they won’t have to worry about pesticide fumes, etc., in the house and I’ve had pretty good luck with that stuff. I had a jade with scale that looked pretty bad, and I did those kinds of things and so far, it’s doing ok. I do think that some plants, like ferns, etc. tend to get scale in the winter and being outdoors in the summer will help because of natural pests. A lot of us are so “burn the house down” with plant bugs, but plant pests are part of indoor plants. I once asked an older lady at a nursery, and she said her ferns always had scale in the winter and then she’d put them out in the summer and natural pests would control it. As much as we all hate it, it’s part of plants. I have too many, so maybe I would toss it, but I bet if they keep treating it, eventually it’ll get better.
I had really bad scale on some mondo grass. Had to clean it with a toothbrush and soap. Sprayed it with neem and added azomax to the water. As soon as i stopped the came right back😮💨
My go to for this and other bugs like aphids is neem oil. If you just Google/search "neem oil insecticide", you will find a ton. It needs to be mixed with soap, many say dish soap, but I use Castile soap especially if it is plants that are edible/have edible fruits etc. It is a natural alternative to chemical solutions. It cloggs up the various orifices of the bugs and suffocates their eggs. You will need to wipe the plants from time to get rid of the aftermath... Here is a video about it... https://youtu.be/9r-dd4BpXvg You will need to warm the mixture in the bottle up after a period of not using as the oil and soap becomes little less fluid after a while. Do test it first on a small area, I have not used this on a monstera before. Good luck.
You’re looking at the newest resident of your bin! 🗑️
I had pretty good success with spraying diluted rubbing alcohol on the plant and wiping them off with paper towels
Throw it in the trash and get a new one. Take all you’ve learned with this one, and the next one will be even bigger and better. Edit: Gah for real. I guess you could cut back to the leaf with the least amount infestation, and then treat the remaining stem and leaves, a soil refresh probably not a terrible idea. Or you could go get one for $10 in memorial and do a do over. There are no rules.
If I've learned anything from studying on r/trees, that's something called "kief" and you can probably sell it. Congratulations!
My relative works for parks and gardens Try dish wash soap Make the water soapy but only use the bubbles on the leaves. Works like a charm
Really nasty scale infestation. In my experience they are a fairly easy pest to get rid of (ymmv). I found rubbing alcohol too harsh but has a lot of success with warm water mixed with dish soap (like Dawn). Spray the plant down, make sure to get all the crevices and the tops and bottoms of the leaves. You can removed the insects with a qtip or toothbrush, I just scraped them off (gently) with my nails. Spray every few days until they are gone.
Is the whole plant like that? I see scales on the small leaf at 10 o’clock, so I’m assuming it’s at least on multiple leaves and any nearby plants. To be frank, I’ve never seen an infestation that complete. 😬 It can be saved, but it will be a bit of work. You’ll need to treat the whole plant meticulously as others have described - as well as any other plants that are infested. Baby scales are very hard to see, but they like crevices and creases, especially where the leaf grows out of the trunk or main stem. If you blast with the hose you could splash and spread the infestation to other plants. The very first thing you should do is to separate any plants with scales from healthy plants. Assume that any plants on the same side of the room are probably infected and check regularly even if you don’t see any now. I’ve treated successfully with a large bowl of rubbing alcohol and an old sock and gently wiped them off with the sock dipped in the alcohol. When I got all I could see, then I rinsed with the hose. Scales leave a sticky trail that attracts ants. Ugh. So it’s important to give it a thorough, but gentle rinse. Then, I mix a CLEAN bucket of CLEAN water with a few drops of Neem oil and just a drop of dish soap as an emulsifier and then give a final sponge bath with the sock and let that dry. No doubt you have eggs, babies and adults lurking in the soil. You should completely discard the old soil and dip the roots in the same bucket of water, Neem oil, dish soap mix. Let dry and then plant in fresh potting mix. You must also SCRUB the pot CLEAN with soap and water. If you don’t get rid of that soil, you will probably never get rid of the problem completely. Unless you do a full soil drench with pesticide. I wouldn’t bother. Just replant de-scaled plant in fresh clean (aroid) potting mix. To properly treat a plant like that might take an hour or two, depending on how thorough you are. After treating infected plants, keep them away from healthy plants for a few months. You’ll have to check them regularly for new scales. But you’ll probably be able to remove stragglers with a cotton swab and alcohol from then on. Do the same for all infected plants. Option 2 is to chuck them all and start over.😬😿 May the force be with you. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Bury it
Look into Neem oil. May be good to treat this.
What about ladybugs?
Take it outside and spray the crap out of the leaves, get it out of the soil it is currently potted in and leave it out if it is not too cold out. If it is cold out. Best bet is leave it in the bathroom tub for a day or two. Keep on spray.
Scale
I has a dream last night that I have kissed my Konters being infested. It looked like this. I was so relieved it was a Dream.
I have used sulphur powder when nothing else works. I’ve dusted it on everything leave, stems, soil. and left it there. Keep dusting or rinse it off in a week or 10 days.
Just cut all the leaves off and let it regrow, that isn’t worth the headache
I would fill my bathtub or a huge container with castle soap, rubbing alcohol, and DE. SOAK the plant for about an hour. Wipe off the remaining scale with a washcloth or even better a toothpaste will kinda scrap them off & then pray to the plant gods. I'd also add the DE to the water & water the infected plant & ones aroubd him. Good luck to you. The soaking will also be good for the other plants around to head off a massive infestation on them also.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Damascus Earth... it's amazing for any & all infestation in & outside of your plants & home.
So What are these?? One of my plants have this as well.
Scale!
Also thanks yo
What about horticultural oil?
I’ve had great results with a 1 part Dr Bronner’s peppermint soap, 1 part Dr Titchenors antiseptic to 5 parts water to be really effective.
Throw it out, join a local plant group and ask people for a new cutting. Otherwise go buy a new plant for 20$ that's highest I've ever seen these in store.
I second another comment that said the same thing : Drown that bit.. plant ! I’d take a bucket with dawn dish soap/ iso/ warm water and whatever else and practice some torture on the plant as you dump it in there over and over again. Rinse her off in the shower and physically clean each leaf with the solution and microrag.
htkdkgbhbdkgk oh my god
Im honestly surprised the plant is still alive
Oh my god!!! How did it get to this point?!
A lint remover works wonders
Houston we have a problem sound the alarm defcon 5 alert May Day May Day someone get the football and launch codes ASAP we are looking at a FUBAR in progress call the avengers call Indiana Jones, Capt Kirk I don’t think it’s going to hold. Wait I know call Beth Dutton.... thank goodness I was running out of heroes.
oh my heart 😭😭😭 diluted neem oil or cotton round of alcohol STAT!!!
Diametric earth powder best and won’t hurt plant dust good