bcameron23
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Location: Houston, TX

Jasmine - is this residue or infestation?

Without marked improvement of my Arabian Jasmine after repotting it and increasing sun with some plant lights, 2 weeks ago I sprayed the Jasmine every-other-day for 8 days (I have done nothing to the plant the last 7 days). Now I find whitish specs on the leaves and I am unsure if it's insecticide residue, eggs, mites, or what. I'm including pics for some help.

You can read the back story about my Arabian Jasmine here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 21&t=60678
was not improving so I started spraying it with Garden Safe Fungicide3.
plant leaf 1.JPG
plant leaf 3.JPG

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I think these are some kind of a sucking insect.
I was wondering if scale insects and searched for a picture... And to my surprise, came across an older thread which seems to depict the same problem (unfortunately, no definitive conclusion was reached in that thread and the OP didn't report back)
Subject: Eating leaves of my jasmine plant
Ram wrote:Hi,

I found there were browny small eggs like thing on the ribs and veins of the leaves bottom. I find them on all leaves. Could this be a lecanium scale infestation. The leaves main ribs are often broken and torn which makes me suspicious about these brown things.Image

Can someone confirm whether my assumption is right and is there any remedy to remove this ?

Regards,
Ram
...I think your picture of the upper side of the leaves above the clusters definitely show the white pinpoints of sucking insect damage. Maybe something like lacebugs or spidermites (I think that's what I was thinking of in that linked thread) now if somebody says thrips, I will again be saying "ohhhh" because I just can't seem to recognize thrip damage due to insufficient experience.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It does look like a sucking pest and since it likes to hang around the veins and midrib, they behave more like scale. I would stop 3 in 1 spray which contains sulfur. Wait a couple of weeks and use a horticultural oil dunk. if the plant is in a pot, I put newspaper on top of the soil mass, mix up the oil and water in a 5 gallon bucket and dunk the whole top of the plant and as much of the stem as possible in the bucket upside down for about 10 minutes Sometimes I can use a couple of scrap pieces of wood over the top of the bucket for the pot to rest on, sometimes I just have to hold it there for as long as I can. Dunking is better because unlike spraying, you won't miss a spot and the bugs will definitely get covered. You have to wait a couple of weeks because oil and sulfur do not mix. Oil works by smothering the scales and blocking their breathing holes. They are hard to kill because of their protective shell or waxy coating. Even when they are dead, they don't fall off, so they need to be scraped off. I use a cotton swab dipped in oil (vegetable oil works) or alcohol and rub them off.

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rainbowgardener
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If you have the patience, you can just touch each individual with a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. It penetrates their shell and will kill them. Scale insects do not move, so you can do this. If they are mobile, they are something else.

bcameron23
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Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:50 pm
Location: Houston, TX

UPDATE.
First, thank you all for your help.

I'm thinking these buggers might be small mealybugs.

In any event, last Friday I did the applying alcohol-with-a-Q-tip-under-the-leaves thing as was suggested. However, I didn't read carefully enough before I started and didn't "touch" the bugs with the q-tip but rather coated the underside of every leaf. :oops:

I don't think the plant appreciated it and I've since removed two handfuls of loosely clinging/dying leaves. I may have accidentally brought an early demise to this Arabian Jasmine on account of my ignorance. :cry:

If it survives I hope to get it outside as soon as the weather warms up and use a Neem oil spray (recipe of dish soap, water, and some Neem oil) to help keep these buggers away.

Included is a current pic showing the light it receives (both real and artificial) in my west facing apartment.

Any more suggestions?
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jasmin march 5.JPG



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