I got this Areca palm 2 weeks ago and it’s been doing great, I watered it yesterday and there were no signs of trouble. Today I found these small brown dots that are walking, there seems to be a little of them so they haven’t got much control but I need to find a way to kill them without killing my plant, pls help, pictures below.
Looks like they could be spider mites Look for signs under the leaves where they usually hang out and attack the plant, and look for webbing (although not all spider mites create webs). Other signs of mite damage include deformation of leaves, wilting and spotting on the leaves. Badly damages leaves may start to fall off The best way to control is to wipe down the plants, and do this on a regular basis to keep the plant clean - about once a week, do not allow dust to accumulated. Use either plain tepid water or a solution of water mixed with a very mild dish detergent. If the infestation is bad, remove the infected leaves and discard (do not compost these leaves). Spider mites will spread to other plants very easily so severely infected plants should be removed entirely. Good luck
Those are mealybugs. Be vigilant. Inspect the entire plant closely every so often to make sure you haven't missed any. Personally I would spray and inspect every 7-10 days and repeat until there is no sign of the pest for at least two consecutive applications.
