Question
I have 8 ficus trees and am having a problem with the ones located in my living room window ledge. They have developed some kind of pest that I am not familar with.  They have black lumps on the stems and it is spreading to other areas of the trees.  It started out on one tree and I cut off the brances that seemed affected.  Now it has spread to all the trees in the area.  I am a florist but do not know what this is or what to use to get rid of them... thank you for your help

Answer
Hi Brenda,

I suspect that you may be seeing scale insects. They appear as slightly raised, dark bumps along the leaf stems and on the back sides of the leaves. They are about 3/8ths of an inch lone and slightly oval-shaped. They scrape off with a fingernail.

If this is what you have, then let me know and I will tell you how to treat them.

regards,
Will Creed