Mystery Bug

[Richard]

Hi guys, not sure what plant's I've got here unfortunately, but I've recently moved into a new place and have a major bug problem with these plants. New growth is coming through at the top as seen in the photos, but it seems the middle to bottom leaves are being attacked by a bug I've tried to get rid of with various sprays, most recently the Yates bottle pictured, by trying to spray liberally over all the leaves every night. It's attacking the leaves quite a bit, the dead leaves pictured on the ground is a total of 1 days worth after clearing the debris the day before photos taken.

Any ideas / recommendations to be rid of this nasty family of bugs?

Any help would be very much appreciated, and by sight would anyone know the species of plant we have in our driveway?

Many thanks in advance for reading / looking,

Richard

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum Richard!

Looks like you've got sooty mould on the leaves, which is often a sign of having a sap-sucking pest attacking the plant. I'm on the other side of the world to you though, so I'm not sure which particular pest would be the most likely culprit though!

 

[Chuck]

Hi guys, not sure what plant's I've got here unfortunately, but I've recently moved into a new place and have a major bug problem with these plants. New growth is coming through at the top as seen in the photos, but it seems the middle to bottom leaves are being attacked by a bug I've tried to get rid of with various sprays, most recently the Yates bottle pictured, by trying to spray liberally over all the leaves every night. It's attacking the leaves quite a bit, the dead leaves pictured on the ground is a total of 1 days worth after clearing the debris the day before photos taken.

Any ideas / recommendations to be rid of this nasty family of bugs?

Any help would be very much appreciated, and by sight would anyone know the species of plant we have in our driveway?

Many thanks in advance for reading / looking,

Richard






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From the pictures I cannot for sure see any insects or insect damage. However on a couple of the close up pics there appears to be an extremely small white substance. These small white things could be scale. The product you are using, Imidacloprid, is a systemic insecticide and will kill "most" sucking insects. I am not sure it will affect scale although scale is a sucking insect. The only thing I know for sure that will eliminate scale insects is Neem Oil.

I think the blackened portions on the leaves is Sooty Mold. Sooty Mold us "usually" caused by the excretions of sucking insects but not always. Some plants naturally exude a substance through their leaves that can cause it. Having said this I still think scale is the best bet. Use a magnifying glass to make sure

 

[Pat]

I have seen the black spots on plants before but I am afraid I have no answers to your problem as I do not know the cause of the problem.

 

[Greenhorn]

I think the blackened portions on the leaves is Sooty Mold. Sooty Mold us "usually" caused by the excretions of sucking insects but not always. Some plants naturally exude a substance through their leaves that can cause it. Having said this I still think scale is the best bet. Use a magnifying glass to make sure

I agree it looks like Black Sooty Mold. Be sure to look at the underside of the leafs and at different times (morning - noon - night) to see if you see any pests.

 

[CanadianLori]

Welcome to the forum!

I don't know what that is but I can assure you, from personal experience, that you should listen to Chuck. His neem oil spray suggestions have been plant savers! !

 

[Marck]

Does anyone recognize the shrubs or small trees in the original post. They may be in the Aralia Family (Araliaceae), but I don't recognize them. I'd be curious if anyone has any leads.

 

[cpp gardener]

Marck, they are Threadleaf False Aralia (Pleurandra elegantissima, I think that's the right genus, they've changed it a lot)

 

[Marck]

Alright, yes, thank you. I'm used to seeing the narrow, juvenile leaves on houseplant specimens of False Aralia (Plerandra elegantissima,
formerly Aralia elegantisssima). Perhaps, I find the broader, denser adult leaves even more attractive, but alas the plant is entirely tropical in its tolerances. No surprise as the species is natively endemic to New Caledonia.

 

[cpp gardener]

It does that here, too. We had some that were in full sun all day long with no irrigation. Surprisingly tough for a tropical.

 

[Marck]

Maybe I'll try one outside, in a sheltered spot.