White Sticky Stuff On Plants: What Causes The White Fuzz?

💡 What You Need to Know

  • White sticky stuff on plants often indicates an infestation of sap-feeding insects, particularly mealybugs.
  • Mealybugs feed on plant sap, leading to yellowing and browning of leaves and stems.
  • Honeydew, a by-product of their feeding, attracts other pests and causes fungal infections and sooty mold.
  • Immediate isolation of infected plants and careful pruning can mitigate the problem.
  • Treatment with a mix of mild dish soap (or insecticidal soap) and water, neem oil, or horticultural oil can help get rid of the bugs.
  • Repeated infestations may be due to mealybugs in the soil – replacing topsoil and drenching it with neem oil can help combat this.
  • Avoid using insecticidal treatments on blooming outdoor plants as the treatments can affect honeybees.
White waxy fuzzy sticky stuff on plants - mealybugs pseudococcidaePin
White waxy fuzzy sticky mealybugs | sweemingyoung-DepositPhotos

There are all sorts of strange things we discover while caring for houseplants. One of the most perplexing is the appearance of white fuzz on plant leaves.

Spotting this unusual yuk might spark curiosity, but it warrants immediate action.

If not treated immediately, the sticky stuff is a sign of a significant problem. It can lead to more health risks for your plants.


Other conditions can create a clear sticky substance or leave a powdery white residue.

When the substance is both white and sticky, it means you have a particularly nasty infestation on your hands.

What Plant Bugs Cause The White Sticky Substance on Plants?

Green plant leaves with white residue.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @evas.houseplants

The white sticky spots on plants is actually a case of sap-feeding insects in action.

The white, fuzzy, or lumpy part is a type of common scale known as mealybugs. They have a close relative, cottony cushion scale (which can be treated in the same way as mealybugs).

Plant scale comes in a range of colors. Mealybugs are white and tend to look like tiny bits of cotton.

The mealybugs produce a protective waxy coating lending to some of the stickiness, rendering the adults immobile.

When mealybugs pierce the plant to drink its fluids, some of this sap, along with mealybug excrement, is left on the surface. This clear, sugary goo is known as honeydew.

What Damage Does It Cause To Infected Plants?

Ants on plant with white fluffy aphid infestation.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @lazygardener.in
  • Mealybugs feed off of plant sap, your houseplant’s equivalent of blood.
  • Their mouthparts are designed to pierce the plant’s outer surface into the pressurized veins.
  • The piercing often causes some of the plant juices to spurt out or even pass through the mealybug’s body without a chance to digest it.
  • The plant juice contributes to the sticky plant leaves and the amount of honeydew left on the plant surface.
  • The feeding process removes vital chlorophyll from the leaves and plant stems. This causes those parts to turn yellow, then brown, and become brittle.
  • A single mealybug will have no effect on one plant. But, their habit of hiding on the undersides of leaves, in joints and crevasses, means a colony can spring up fast before you spot the first one.
Ants on plant stem with fuzzy pest.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @the_guava_tree

Honeydew, is a prime breeding ground for fungal infections and a catalyst for sooty mold. It attracts other pests, such as ants, who use honeydew for food.

On outdoor plants, the honeydew distracts bees, which will make honey using the honeydew instead of pollen. This causes the colony to suffer from malnutrition and reduce plant pollination.

Related: Fuzzy White Aphid Bugs



Pest Control Methods For Mealybug Infestations

There are several natural methods of control to get rid of mealybugs, and they all have the same initial steps.

Close-up of a green succulent plant.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @sucstu

Isolate

The moment you spot an infestation of mealybugs on one of your plants, isolate it and any nearby plants.

This can be difficult or impossible when you find white sticky stuff on outdoor plants. Stronger treatment methods at more frequent intervals may be needed.

Prune

Use sterile tools. Keep a container of isopropyl alcohol on-hand to clean the pruning tools frequently.

Carefully isolate each infected leaf and trim it off. Place it immediately in a sealable plastic bag.

In the case of a recently infected plant, this will often get rid of most of a light infestation.

If a plant has a severe infestation start treating with neem oil or horticultural oil.

Be sure to wash your hands after any contact with an infected plant.

Spot treatment

Dipping a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol is a good way to kill individual mealybugs.

The alcohol destroys their wax shell on contact. The alcohol cotton ball method is not for heavy infestations.

Ants on plant with white insects.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @hadayiq_that_bahja

Bathing Your Plant

One of the simplest treatment methods is to bathe your plant.

Mix mild dish soap or insecticidal soap with water. Fill a sprayer with the mixture and soak every part of the plant. Take extra care to get under the leaves and any joints.

The spray will dislodge the mealybugs and even kill them and insecticidal soap won’t leave a residue. Repeat the process several times over a week to ensure any hatched eggs have been killed.

Plant with pest issue, close-up view.Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @theflyplant

Horticultural and Neem Oil

  • Organic Neem pesticide is one of the best natural options for pest control. Wipe your plant down with Neem or use in a sprayer.
  • Coat the entire plant. This not only kills the mealybugs and other pests but will keep your indoor plants shiny and healthy.
  • When dealing with outdoor infestation of scale on plants, use neem oil’s big brother, horticultural oil.
  • Safe and natural, horticultural oil is easier to use on trees and large shrubs while providing the same benefits as neem oil.
  • Be aware, both of these options can affect beneficial and predator insects. Try to avoid coating any blooms when treating outdoor flowering plants.
"Cottony scale insects on a plant stem"Pin
Photo Credit: Instagram @hugolek

Pesticides & Insecticides

When dealing with a larger plant or outdoor infestations, a pesticide or insecticide may be necessary.

Choose a product labeled to kill mealybugs on contact and follow the directions carefully.

These products often require more than one application before the infestation is eliminated.

Be aware that insecticidal treatments will often affect honeybees. It’s best to avoid using them on blooming outdoor plants.

Bonus Tip: Mealybugs and Soil

Mealybugs are able to survive in soil, leading to the single most common cause of repeat infestations. There are many different ways to solve this problem, such as replacing the top few inches of soil and drenching soil with neem oil.