Rabbit Foot Fern Sticky Leaves: Insect Honeydew

Your 10-year-old rabbit foot fern suddenly has sticky residue (honeydew) on leaves and floor after 3 months. Cause: sap-sucking insects (aphids or scale).

Check

• Leaf undersides for tiny green/black bugs (aphids).
• Stems for brown discs (scale).
• Don't confuse with spores (neat lines on leaf undersides—normal).

Treatment

1. Move outdoors to shade (or newspaper indoors).
2. Spray insecticide (neem oil, insecticidal soap) per label.
3. Repeat per instructions.

Note

Three months of infestation means persistence needed. But ferns are tough—it'll recover.