Question
Hi Will, I have these little black poppy seed looking like things on a couple of my house plants as well as the blinds and walls around a bay window in my house.  They are a bit sticky so they attatch to the painted wall.  I removed most of them today and some are hard and others seem to be brown when I smear them.  This is not the first time I evicted them and I am in NJ so the weather is getting quite cold but they appeared again.  Are they possibly spider eggs or something?  I'm not sure what to do at this point with protecting my house, pet and family from them.  Thanks in advance.  Erica  

Answer
Hi Erica,

In all my years of plant care I have seen what you described just once. I have researched them and I don't know what they are. They look like scale insects, but scale stays attached to plant tissue. So I honestly don't know what they are.

However, if you mix 5 parts of water with 1 part of rubbing alcohol and a squirt of liquid dish soap and then spray the entire plant very thoroughly, you should be able to resolve the problem. Also use the same solution to remove the critters from the walls as long as the alcohol will not damage the paint. If so, use plain soap and water.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

Visit my website at  www.HorticulturalHelp.com

If you would like to e-mail me some photos, I may be able to provide some additional insights.