Hi Toni!!!! I'm noodling around here, waiting for my bread to cool on the racks :) Everytime I see a thread about a cat chewing plants, I remember when I posted the same thing as well a few years ago. Boy, the kinds of plants I can have is limited to "would Bud chew this". So I currently have peace lillies, shcefflera's, both the Hawaiaan and the umbrella (my favourite style). I couldn't resist buying a 10" pot that was on sale for $4. It's a large spiky thing, (a dracaena?) but alas, Bud thought the tips looked tempting. So I have it in the spare room on top of a pail of kitty litter on the table in front of the window! Hopefully out of Bud's reach. I thought the plant was immune to his taste buds, but he was crunching on it the same day I bought it when it was on the livingroom floor, which is where I had imagined it being. Upon looking at the peace lily I see that he's found it! Note the chewed tips. A friend gave me some spider plant babies, so I had them rooting on the kitchen sill. Bud doesn't go up there, so they were safe. They were, until I planted them in some small pots, and one was upside down in the sink. I now have them hanging in the window, and 2 are i the bathroom on top of the over the toilet cabinet. Smudge was rubbing his face on the pineapple top that I have growing. Silly boy! I was afraid he'd poke his eye on the spikes! If I see him doing it again (I admonished him) the pineapple will go out in the trash.

Step #1 - Get someone else to prune them. Step #2 - Okay, that failed. You can cut everything but the new growth if you so desire. They will eventually come back full. Never cut a frond in half, either leave it or cut it off in its entirety. Wear gloves and a sweatshirt. Watch out for the spines and keep watch for Io caterpillars - green with a red and white racing stripe - the love to chew on the underside of Roebellinii fronds and they have a nasty sting.

Wow!! Thanks trachyhead!! I was about to go and buy all the different types of fungicides and/or other pesticides that would stop this nasty white bug!! It did not look too menacing but like I said, I'm an amatuer. On another note, I guess I am not surprised that the "big box stores" can't get there ID's correct. Thanks for the help, this definately will make me sleep better. As a side note, when I said I was out of town for a month, I was actually in England for two of the four weeks!! Cheers Mate! Richard

You've got palmetto scale. A gift from your friends south of the 30th parallel. Go buy a small spray bottle and mix water, horticultural oil and a few drops of liquid detergent. Douse the leaves and the bud area. Repeat a couple more times during the summer.