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Ficus Scale and Mealybugs: Systemic Soil Treatment Best

6-ft potted ficus has scale on bark and white fuzzy sticky dots under leaves; new growth dies in heavy infestation areas.

Identification

Scale on bark; mealybugs (white fuzzy) under leaves. Both suck juices, kill new growth.

Treatment

Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control (imidacloprid)—blue bottle, soil drench per label (pot recipe included). Systemic, season-long. Scales don't fall off when dead—monitor new growth. Alternatives: insecticidal soap spray (outdoors), physical removal if few.

Plant Diseases: Ficus Decline After Repotting: Miracle-Gro Toxicity and Organic Recovery; Oak Tree Bark Sloughing with Gray Fungus After Drought: Hypoxylon Canker—Tree Must Be Removed; Outdoor Ficus benjamina Leaf Drop, White Powder on Bark: Root/Soil Stress, Likely Scale or Woolly Aphids—Nursery ID Needed; Ficus Tree Crystalline Deposits: Not Scale, Likely Residue; Ficus Tree (Weeping Fig) Care: Water, Fertilizer, Leaf Drop Myths Debunked; Sticky Ficus Leaves Mean Scale Insects; Caring for a Mature Ficus Tree (25 Years Old); Ficus Tree Care: Light, Water, and Pest Management; Identifying and Treating Scale Insects on Ficus Trees; Indoor Ficus Tree Care: Water, Light, and Humidity

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