If the leaves of your houseplant suddenly have a sticky coating, it is usually the fault of pests. Read here which types of pests are possible and what measures you can take to counteract the symptoms.
Soap solution or water with neem or canola oil will clean the leaves and repel the pests
Causes of Sticky Sheets
While dried-up parts of the plant or discolored leaves are usually the result of a mistake in care, a sticky coating on the leaves in most cases indicates a pest infestation. Lice in particular cause the shiny to white-brownish film. Due to its appearance or its sticky consistency, the symptom is often referred to as mildew or honeydew.
Still, a nursing error can be an overarching problem. On the one hand, the lice feel comfortable in very high humidity and warm temperatures. Heating air and a location in the blazing sun favor the appearance of the pests. Intensive watering also promotes the humidity in the area. In addition, the pests nest primarily on plants that are already weakened. Care mistakes damage the vitality of the houseplant.
Powdery or honeydew definition
Powdery mildew and honeydew are excretions from aphids or scale insects. First, they suck the sap from the leaves and then leave behind said symptoms. Unlike the sticky honeydew, you can wipe off powdery mildew with your finger.
In summer you are probably annoyed by stuck car windows or sticky sidewalks. This phenomenon occurs especially under linden trees. This is also honeydew.
Note: honeydew on indoor plants is undesirable and can cause massive damage to the plant. For example, he calls the sooty mold on the scene. On the other hand, honeydew plays an important role in the ecosystem. Even in your diet, the goo shows up without you even realizing it. It serves as a valuable food source for many species of insects. Bees collect the substance from the leaves and use it to produce forest honey with an intensely tart taste.
sequelae
As already mentioned, an infection with the sooty mold or sooty mold fungus can be the result of honeydew. In addition, the sticky liquid attracts ants. Since they feed on honeydew, they form a symbiosis with aphids. In return, they protect the pests from predators.
treatment measures
In order to get rid of honeydew permanently, you have to treat the cause of its formation, i.e. the aphids. The following methods have proven themselves:
- with a low infestation: shower off the plant
- Make sprays from neem or rapeseed oil and water
- Dissolve soft soap (€44.90) in water and spray on the leaves
- Expose beneficial insects such as lacewings or parasitic wasps (€22.99) on the plant
- Make nettle stock
- remove affected plant parts
Note: Chemical agents against scale insects and aphids are commercially available. Of course, this form of treatment is very promising and simple, but fungicides are strongly discouraged. On the one hand you damage the houseplant, on the other hand you endanger your own health and that of your fellow human beings.