Help! I have sticky googy weird bug problem.

[AbuelasGift]

Hi all.
Hope you can help. It appears two of my house plants have some sort of sickness. I am not sure if it is "contagious". Overall the plant is very sticky. The leaves are tacky to the touch as is the surrounding area. There also weird little growths (for lack of a better word) some of the leaves and stems. I've attached some pictures.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Vanessa

[applestar]

Oh yeah. Those are scale insects. Typical of sucking insects, they produce sticky sweet residue called "honeydew" which attracts ants. Insecticidal soap will work on juveniles but not on adults. Their waxy coating make them resistant to sprays and soap. Get a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol and wipe them off

The 2nd plant is heavily infested. That one will need to be wiped down with rubbing alcohol, then immediately washed off so the excessive alcohol won't dry it out.

Repeat treatment until they are all gone, but be careful of dehydrating the surface cells of the plants and weakening their defenses, which will make them susceptible to other issues.

[Lindsaylew82]

Scale bug. Since you said sticky, probably soft scale bug. They are invasive and pretty hard to treat. You're gonna want to inspect all your plants. The sticky is called honeydew and they use it to grow a type of fungus.

Get off as many of them as you can find. Scrape them into the toilet or the garbage disposal or just crush them. Then rinse the sticky off with water.

Weekly Neem oil sprays will work on them and will prevent the fungus from growing. Baking soda spray and insecticidal soap will work too.

Hand picking is your best. Watch them closely and pick them daily or every other day.

ETA: ( sorry!!! I think we posted at the same time! )

[AbuelasGift]

Thank you guys. Is there an insecticidal soap you would recommend? And by baking sods spray is that just baking soda and water? Can I purchase neem oil sprays or do I need to make that ?

[rainbowgardener]

you can make homemade insecticidal soap, which would just be soapy water spray [being careful to use true soap, not detergent]. You can't make Neem oil, which is from a tropical tree, but you can buy it in garden stores.

But note what applestar said: Their waxy coating make them resistant to sprays and soap. Get a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol and wipe them off