Just tyi, the sticky residue is I think because you left it on too long and it dried. You want to remove the stripper when it's still wet. If you have a lot of old layers of paint, put the stripper on thick and cover it with plastic and remove it the next day. The plastic will keep the stripper from drying out.

Yep, it's definitely dryness response... I had forgotten to water mine, and that's what happened. Causes can be being rootbound, drop in humidity, and change in environmental conditions. Its certainly not scale, mealies or spider mite. As always, look at it with a jewellers loupe, or magnifying glass... As a keen gardener, I always carry a loupe when doing my indoor/outdoor rounds. This particular phenomenon is a sugary excretion - if not noticed quickly, it dries into a sticky crystalline spot, and leaves a transparent spot on the leaf underside. I have cleaned it off with soapy water, and a fresh water wipe afterwards Any little bugs will have been attracted to these sweet secretions, they are not the cause.

"I am not sure why you are so resistant to making any changes"....I just have to laugh a bit since I heard this same thing on a totally different forum (dealing with cub cadet tractors). It got to the point where I actually left the forum. I'm not sure what you are suggesting I do? Start taking apart all my potted plants down to a depth of several inches...or even farther....and add new ground to each? As to "productive plant growth"...I guess I should have shown a picture of the entire sunroom where those begonias are in. There is enough 'productive plant growth' going on out there (should be with 20 windows on all but the north side) for me. Much more and I'll need another addition. There are plants out there still going strong that I've had since the late 70s....in the same exact type of mix that I still use. All these annuals - which prompted me to post in the first place - are going to be outside hopefully by mid-May. I WILL look very carefully at what type of soil I want to put them in come fall (although whatever is around the roots, etc., will still be there anyway since I don't bring in bare root stock...I dig out the annuals in different sized clumps to fit my pots). AND I will look more closely at what sort of potting mix I'm buying - perhaps go with a bit higher quality brand (is there such a thing?) or at least a more recognizable one. BUT (sorry) I will continue to add peat moss and vermiculite. I still think (and this has not been addressed here other than my mentioning it) that the springtail situation has come into play nor am I convinced that what I'm seeing is NOT springtails. Could easily be. I think they came with huge amounts of new ground and mulch that was added within feet of the room where all my plants are!! There is a large maple tree that we had added a bed around. To accomplish that, the entire area (on a slope) had to be regraded...taking considerable amount of soil/mulch PLUS large areas needing to be seeded with new grass so now we also had large amounts of straw that was kept constantly moist for the grass seed. Definitely the conditions were right for an invasion of anything that loved moisture and damp soil, etc. We NEVER had these springtails before this project was done, and I NEVER had any of whatever is flying around the plant room and the rest of the house. Coincidence? I doubt it. So I'm still leaning towards the possibility that the plant mix may well have nothing to do with any of this. I'm wondering if perhaps things other than springtails came along with the landscaper's soil as well? End of story. I think I'm done with this thread now. Again...thanks for all the advice and thoughts. I'll report back later in the spring and/or fall.

You can use Windex Original formula (the one with 5% ammonia in it) to clean off a patch of floor. I like to start with flooring behind a door that you always leave open. 1. Spray/soak Windex over a 1ft x 1ft area and let sit for 30-60 seconds 2. Wipe up with clean cotton cloth (cloth should come away a little orange or yellow/brown) 3. Mist the same spot and wipe up IMMEDIATELY using NEW clean cotton cloth. 4. Continue misting same spot until you clean cotton cloth/rag comes back colourless (perhaps a bit blue or 'damp' looking) Ammonia is a degreaser and a very mild chemical stripper that, when used as above, will not damage hardwood flooring finishes such as polyurethane/urethane or polyacrylic. Do NOT use on oiled floors. Question: have you used (or anyone used) the Bona POLISH? Bona has created two maintenance products. The CLEANER states it right on the bottle. It will also read: Does not leave a residue. The POLISH is a bit more confusing. The polish will state "returns floors to original state". That's a hint and a half that it is the polish.