Jean, yes, inspect ALL your plants.. It's the crawlers, (babies) that are hard to find.. That's the reason it's important to spray all parts of your Agave/s. Leaves/stems, etc. I think Baby Wipes contain Rubbing Alcohol, right? It's been a long time, lol. If it does, alcohol will help somewhat, but Jean, to rid those suckers, literal suckers, you better get to work. Clean and inspect daily until you get hold of Bayer or whatever you choose to use. They multiply fast. Are these guys hard-shelled? Yuck, plant bugs are gross looking, especially when magnified. I read an article that explained how eggs are in waiting, during winter months, then when climate is 'just right' they come out of hiding. Hatch. As much as I dislike Scale, IMO, they're easier to rid than Mealy.. I purchased an Olive tree from an online nursery. I ordered from this place several times, and never ever found insects, but there's always that first time, you know? The olive tree arrived. I set it beside a group of citrus and other tropicals. (BTW, it was winter, days cloudy, and my eyes aren't what they used to be.) I can't recall how many days later, while misting, I spotted a brown lump on a leaf..then another and another. Jean, I wanted to cry..there were hundreds of scales..truly that many and more. Then, I looked at citrus neighboring the olive..all branches growing nearest the Olive had loaded..which is one advantage..scale move slower than say, mites. What do you do with a hundred scale? Hand-pick each? What? Earlier in that summer I spoke with a woman in Fl who owns a citrus nursery. She's the person who told me they use Fish Emulsion as a scale preventative and insecticide. I phoned her, explained the situation, asked the portion of FE to water. She gave me the recepie, and it worked! Talk about grateful. One thing that bothered and still troubles me to this day. The olive was delivered in winter. It was very cold outside. Yet, the cold didn't bother or kill the scale. This was pre-heat-pack days..the cold didn't bother the tree either, so I don't have an answer. The olive is alive and well to this day. So are the citrus. So, IMO, scale aren't terribly destructive IF something is done, but if left to live, bye-bye plant.Good luck, Jean, Toni

Hi Meg, Thank you! I'm thinking of hand picking off what I see, then rinsing each stand in an alcohol solution. Most strands have dried out about an inch or so at the soil line and it all needs repotted/ rooted anyway. This plant is going to make me crazy trying to find out how often to water to keep it happy. LOL! Most of my collection is outside. This was hanging in the house, with one other plant about 4' away, I hope it's just the string of pearls affected. Good luck to you too! I know these things can be a pain! JoJo

Mealies under the surface of the potting mix attack the roots and get their plant juices from there. Mealies can get between the interior pot wall and the potting mix. If that is where they are hiding you can often just unpot the root ball and you will see their fuzz that they seem to leave behind everywhere they go. Though, in some odd cases I've found them in the potting mix. If it were my plant, and I were battling a persistent infestation, I'd do a couple applications of a systemic insecticide like imidacloprid about a month apart. Though, I understand not everyone will want to use something like that. Really, I think isopropyl alcohol is much easier on the environment by comparison.

I have many Ficus benjamina among the 12-15 different species of Ficus I tend to in pots. While I agree with the thought that a systemic containing Imidacloprid is probably going to be the best bet, I have had problems with products (Marathon, for one) which provide the Imidacloprid in a granular vehicle. I use fast draining, highly aerated grow media and the granular products are so fine they clog air space in the soil and negate the value of such media. Also, a spray product works much faster than a products that utilize the root pathway. My suggestion would be to use Bayer 3-in-1 for Insects, Disease, and Mites. You do need to make sure you're using the product with Imidacloprid. Bayer makes 2 different products labeled 3-in-1 for Insects, Disease, and Mites, only one of which contains Imidacloprid. Indication it contains the active ingredient Imidacloprid will be found on the lower left side of the front label, and on the back label. I just bought case of 8 quarts last summer from DoMyOwn. I have more than 200 trees in containers, and the 3-in-1 product is my 'go to' for it's systemic insecticide and it's systemic fungicide (Tebuconazole). It works well for mites, but I rarely encounter mite issues. When I do, I usually use 3 different miticides in rotation to prevent mite populations from becoming immune to a particular product, as is their wont. Your plant will tolerate the spray very well. Keep out of sun after spraying until dry. Do not spray indoors. Spray outdoors late in the day. When the product has dried on the plant, the plant is safe to bring indoors if you prefer, though your plant will undoubtedly enjoy being summered outdoors rather than being relegated to a lower light indoor setting. Your tree will quickly grow out of bounds unless you learn how to pinch it to keep it in check. W/o regular pinching, you'll soon find yourself wondering what to do with what the plant has become. In most cases, what is needed for an out of bounds plant is a very hard pruning back to a very basic structure. The plant will definitely tolerate that, but it's better do your due diligence along the way so the tree grows into what you want it to be rather than what it wants to be. Left to its own devices where the tree naturally occurs, it has a graceful weeping habit; however, significant indoor influence causes the tree to grow to look nothing like its counterparts where they naturally occur. Neem oil has little in the way of knockdown (instant death), unless it's mixed with other products like pyrethrin. It is primarily an antifeedant (makes bugs sick to their stomach) and a disruptor of the insects life cycle. It prevents breeding and inhibits the process of maturation; so, if you're using it as your 'go to' product, you need to stick with it. Also, the best product to be using is pure, cold-pressed neem oil ...... and the oil should be refrigerated until needed for mixing as it can turn rancid. Al