The new leaves on my hoya carnosa are coming in deformed and are covered in what can be described as very small pieces of rice?? Some fall off some are imbedded into the leaves. I have checked for spider mites and have found no webs or spiders. I’m not sure what I’m dealing with!?
That looks like an infestation of thrips. You need to treat that plant right away with the pesticide of your choice...Neem Oil, or a systemic. Isolate it from your other plants or they will spread
Looks like aphids. The honeydew and white skin molt on the leaf surface is consistent with this pest. I believe neither neem oil nor systemics are available to retail customers in Canada so you might use insecticidal soap. Aphids Management Guidelines--UC IPM
Thanks for commenting Jungle keeper...the insects are so small its hard for me to see them clearly but they looked like thrips to me. No Neem in Canada? Goddess forfend whyever not? Why would such a useful thing be unavailable?
It's really hard to get rid of pests on a hoya, because there are so many places where they can hide out. How big is this plant? Nice and big with lots of leaves? Is it the sort of thing on which you can remove the areas where the bugs are and still have a plant worth keeping? Even after washing off every bug you can find (and the eggs, which you can't even find), you will have to repeat that process every few days at least a few times, and then be on the lookout forever for more. By now, those bugs have told all their friends about your great plant. The normal spotted leaf surface doesn't help any when you're looking for bugs.
The plant was started approximately 35+ years ago and is quiet large. I have had it my whole life. I really don’t want to loose the plant! I have went to my local green house and they have given me a chemical to used and they also said to wipe all the leaves with alcohol once I spray and rinse the chemical off. Here’s to hoping!!! Thank you for your response!! I appreciate it very much.
At least its not a compact...those are almost impossible to cure of an infestation without resorting to the bad chemicals
It's a good thing you love it, as you will need to spend a lot of time looking at it closely. Once you've washed it off three or four times, then you need to look at it every day, top and bottom of the leaves, and just squash every aphid you can find. And never assume you've found them all and that it's bug-free. But you want to stop them from getting the upper hand. If you catch the new arrivals, you shouldn't have to keep poisoning the plant and it should be ok.
Is this a plant that can be moved easily? If so, then I suggest that it be taken outside and hosed down thoroughly using a sharp/narrow nozzle setting. Do it every day to start then ease back. This will greatly reduce the numbers. Do this before you begin any treatment with a pesticide; it will reduce the cost and effort required since such sprays usually need to be applied to all plant surfaces. On the upside, I'd rather deal with aphids than mites. At least they can be easily seen and they leave telltale signs of then presence.
Hi Crystal! If you are interested in using neem oil you can find them at health stores and also Indian grocery stores. I found mine at Garden Health Vitamins on Davie St. I think a lot of people hate the smell of neem oil but I don't mind it at all. I think it smells like garlicky ground nuts. I also use a magnifying glass with a built in flash light to help me see and identify pests. You can get those on amazon. Also, if you are interested, big Box stores like Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Lowes carry Safer's Insecticidal Soap. Hope that helps!
