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Help please for my beloved potted red Acer :o

mrspangolinsquirrelmrspangolinsquirrel Posts: 8
in Problem solving
Hi everybody, today my husband noticed that my beloved red Acer has developed white residue blobs on and under the leaves, mostly on the top branches of the tree. The consistency of the blobs is like a sticky gooey toothpaste.
I'm surprised that I cannot find anything when I do a Google search :/
Does anybody know what this might be and how I can treat it? 
Thank you so much <3
p.s. can supply pics if that helps

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Pics would help, but scale insect is a possibility.
    They hatch out of a tiny limpet-like shell that appears to be stuffed with cotton wool.
    If it is that, they won't do a great deal of harm. I've had them on an acer - I used a stiff nail brush to shift them

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    Almost  certainly scale insect. Numbers can build up over the summer but are not a huge problem on acers . They can be blasted off with a jet of water or use a stiff brush to remove them. You may want to do this several times over summer. They will be back next year.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    When my tree had an infestation a few years ago I brushed them off and have not seen any since.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • mrspangolinsquirrelmrspangolinsquirrel Posts: 8
    Thank you all :)  I couldn't get on with a nail brush as the stuff is so gooey and sticky. I scraped them off with my nail + the edge of a sharp knife, also cut a few small leaf bits off and finally blasted it with the hose. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited June 2022
    It's this time of year that the nymphs hatch.
    So you may get another infestation next year.
    Check around March/April on the stems for tiny brown limpet like things - they almost look like leaf buds.
    Underneath the shell is the white cotton wool stuff you have in the pic. That's the time to get your brush out and brush them off before the next lot hatch.

    Some pics here to see what to look out for-
    https://www.google.com/search?q=scale+insects+on+acers&sxsrf=ALiCzsYbBm4rUwSj7RJXwlLUqQ9nmWv2Cw:1656517439587&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi92rOsgNP4AhUFQkEAHWPYCNQQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=1089&dpr=1

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • mrspangolinsquirrelmrspangolinsquirrel Posts: 8
    Thanks for the extra info and the link. I did see some grey bugs among the white stuff earlier euww  :s
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