white things on my plant

Pecker Tracks

Spittlebug?

Bad Bob

"Cook him till he's blue, and smother him in onions."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

Tent caterpillars are unlikely to bother "small christmas tree like" plants (coniferous evergreens), but it might very well be spider mites, specially if the plant in question is a dwarf Alberta spruce. There are also a few varieties of webworms that can infest conifers. Hard to be more precise without a photo or better description of the problem and how the tree is growing/location.

pam - gardengal

I have had what I think is the same infestation for many years ..it does not seem to hurt the ornamental evergreens. A mild spray of Dursban gets rid of it, but they are in every nook and crany. The leads of spider mite and spittlebug do NOT fit the description. What I am looking at are very tiny pure white oval "fly specks" maybe 1/8 inch long, that are fuzzy around the edges ( no obvious legs, but numerous "hairs") and congregate at crotches in shady places. At first glance it looks like lichen growing, but on closer examination , individual bugs are evident.

Any more reference would be appreciated.

TIA, Stew Corman

sounds like scale crawlers to me

did some searches and I agree with your conclusion ...probably "pine needle scale" if not, then a close cousin

should I spray with Dursban or are other insecticides better? Is a little "simple green" good to mix in solution to make it a better wetting solution? I presume a low doseage will get the little buggers, trick is to reach them all.

Thanks, Stew Corman

Pam-a thoughtful reply and yes we need more info.