i'm finding following on my leaves. not sure what they are. they are not really powdery. but if i rub them, they do smudge. i also found insect eggs. then again, i did see wasps and dragon flies stopping by now and then. i see lot of fruit flies on the trees.

is it mold, or mildew? how should i treat them?





pete

Looks like Mealy bugs to me ( based on the 2nd pic ).

Get an empty spray bottle and fill with ( to start light ) about 25% alcohol and the rest with water and spray entire tree. In and out and all about.

Rub alcohol all over the pot too.

You can also dab a Q-tip with alcohol directly on to the bug, should turn red or brown right away and kill it.

There was a question about these bugs recently and it seems they are exploding ( so to speak ) in the Southern parts of the Country.

Good luck

just tried 70% alcohol directly on the spot. it didn't change to red or brown. turn right back to white..

pete

Then your problem is not a Mealy bug. But they are similar to what you described and what I see in the pic.

Little White fuzzy thing that smudges at touch. 

Sorry I couldn't help you with your problem.

Good luck

rafed,

thanks for your suggestion. it was worth trying. at least it doesn't look like it's spreading yet.

pete

Try a magnifying glass. Maybe you'll get a better idea. Is is a bug, or a fungus, or ?

Could it be drops of latex?  It looks like that to me, but my eyes aren't that great.

noss

Looks like latex to me too. 

Do you pinch out any of the leaves? this is a drop of sap.

took the magnifying glass out and looked at it this morning. it's not moving, but the magnifying glass isn't all that strong. it looks more like some hard stuff.

not sure what dried latex looks like.. the trees are getting full sun 6-8 hrs a day, if it's mildew or mold, i would think they will die with that, but not sure.

at least it's not spreading or looking like powdery mildew picture i saw on the web.

pete

it's not bird poo for sure. growing up in nyc and going to manhattan for high school taught me lot about bird poo.

pete

As mentioned above, I guess that it is dried latex.

I'm guessing latex too.

The deer (we are plagued by deer) thankfully don't eat our figs, but it's been so hot a dry a few of them have nibbled at the new leaves, then you get little white spots like this.

Hopefully the taste of the latex will teach the local deer to leave the figs alone.

Best wishes.

John