5 Common Pests and Diseases in Florida that Affect Tropical Plants

Sometimes you have to do hard things, and that includes talking about mealybugs. 

Sure, you could avoid it, and put your hands over your ears, but meanwhile out in your beautiful garden, these gross, waxy-looking villains could be coating your precious hibiscus, croton or ixora with icky, sticky goo that turns into a sooty black mold and your whole day could be ruined while you’re sitting there saying, “Gross —  I don’t want to hear about mealybugs.”

So let’s get to it. There are a handful of common Florida pests determined to feast on your spectacular tropical plants, from mites to whiteflies, aphids to scale. 

None of them are good. All of them can kill your plants if you don’t catch them early. 

Keep reading to learn more about common Florida pests, and what to do about them, including:

Scale
Mealybugs
Mites
White flies
Aphids 

My Plant Has a Disease! Or Does It? 

Luckily, plant diseases aren’t a huge problem here in Sarasota.

Sometimes you might notice something weird going on with your tropical plant’s leaves and assume it has a disease, but there’s really something else going on.

Here’s a great example: 

Ixora ‘Nora Grant,’ a favorite shrub around here, often gets red spots in the winter.  For years everybody — even the University of Florida plant experts — thought it was a fungus. So we treated it with fungicide. In the spring, the spots disappeared, much like a fungal disease would. 

We’ve since figured out the red spots are actually a magnesium deficiency. In the winter, this Ixora doesn’t absorb nutrients as efficiently as it should.

Now we know to add magnesium to our plant care package in the fall. Problem solved. 

Powdery Mildew? Maybe, Maybe Not

You might think your plants have powdery mildew, a fungal disease that causes a white or grayish-white powdery growth on plants. 

But guess what? Insect damage from scale and mealy bugs can look a lot like powdery mildew.

Plant care pros can swoop in and tell the difference. 

Speaking of Scale and Mealybugs…

While there aren’t many plant diseases that affect your precious pentas, hibiscus or African iris, that’s not the case with Florida plant pests that attack tropical plants. 

Several munching little beasts are out there looking for a free lunch buffet. 

Among the most common Florida pests:

1. Scale

Scale are sap-eating insects named for the scale or shell-like waxy covering that covers their bodies. 

Scale feed by sucking sap from trees and shrubs with their weird-sounding “piercing-sucking mouth parts.” 

These Florida plant pests vary in color, shape, and size, but most often appear as small, brown, rounded lumps on your plant's leaves and stems.

2. Mealybugs

Mealybugs are a common Florida pest, causing significant damage to tropical plants.

They're known for their distinctive white waxy coating, making them appear fluffy or cottony.

These tiny invaders are usually found on the leaves and stems of plants, laying their eggs in hard-to-reach areas. As they feed, they weaken the plant, causing yellowing and curling of leaves. 

If you have a mealybug infestation, you’ll likely see a sticky substance on your plant called honeydew that promotes the growth of sooty mold, a black fungus that blocks sunlight from reaching leaves, weakening plants.

Ants love this sticky honeydew, so if you see lots of ants around your plants, time to get an anteater as a pet. Actually, it means you might have mealybugs. 

3. Mites

This Florida plant pest damages plants by piercing plant cells and sucking the plant juices.

You’ll notice yellow or white spots on the leaf where the mites are feeding. Leaves may curl and fall off.

Fine, web-like threading may appear on the leaves and stems. A plant that was doing great might suddenly stop growing.

4. Whiteflies

Whiteflies are another common Florida pest that can cause serious damage to plants. 

They’re not actually flies, but are more closely related to aphids, mealybugs, and scale.

Whiteflies are most active during the day in warm temperatures. They gather on the underside of leaves and feed by sucking sap from plants. 

Whiteflies can cause leaves to yellow, wither, and die. They also secrete that sweet, sticky honeydew, so be on the lookout for ants.

Whiteflies are rapid reproducers, especially in warm weather like Sarasota. 

Each fly can lay up to 400 tiny white eggs in a circular pattern on the underside of leaves. That means a population explosion can happen fast.

5. Aphids 

Everybody has aphids. Even if you don’t think you do, you do. Let’s not argue about it.

They’re the most common insects found on trees, shrubs, and garden plants.

These tiny, soft-bodied pests are less than a quarter-inch long, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

There are several species and they might be white, black, brown, gray, yellow, or light green. Their pear-shaped bodies have long antennae.

You might never see an aphid, but the damage they do is noticeable.

Like lots of bugs, aphids feed by sucking the nutrient-rich liquids out of plants. 

When a whole bunch of them gather to feast, their feeding can cause wilting and sometimes even dieback of shoots and buds. 

You can lose a whole hibiscus to aphids. The buds will fall off.
You might see misshapen, curling, or yellowing leaves. Look underneath leaves—aphids love to hide there.

And here’s that sticky honeydew again — aphids produce it, too.

These common Florida pests multiply quickly, so it’s important to get them under control before reproduction starts. Many generations can occur in one season.

Preventing Pests: Say Hi to Horticultural Oil

It’s a lot easier to prevent plant-eating pests than to treat them after they show up.

Horticultural oil spray is a highly refined petroleum product used as an insecticide to suffocate insects and insect eggs on trees and shrubs.

Instead of poisoning the bugs, you’re basically smothering them with the oil. The oil kills any lingering insects as well as their eggs, so they won’t hatch. 

The timing is important, though. 

Here in Florida, If you apply the oil during the day the hot sun will sizzle your plant leaves like bacon.

The best time to apply it is at dusk. Tropical Gardens crews aren’t working then, but homeowners can apply it. 

Then, in the morning, use a spray bottle of dish soap and water to wash off the oil. 

The Best Way to Stay on Top of Plant Pests and Diseases 

Get on board with Tropical Gardens’  full-service maintenance plan, and our team will be on your property each week, closely monitoring your tropical plants for early signs of plant pests and diseases.

If they notice a few aphids as they’re trimming, they’ll walk back to their truck and get the insecticide needed to keep a real infestation from happening. 

We’re on your property often, which means you might have 12 aphids instead of 1,000.

We see them before they become a problem. 

Treating Plant Pests

Different pests eat in different ways — some eat the leaves, others feed through the plant’s vascular system.

Tropical Gardens crews use an insecticide that works both ways, targeting bugs that eat through a plant’s roots and through contact with the leaves, for a one-two punch.

Worried About Plant Pests and Diseases? Talk to Us 

The mealybug talk is over. See, that wasn’t so bad. Now it’s time for action, with landscape maintenance services in Sarasota designed to stop damaging plant pests before they take over. 

Get on board with a comprehensive plant health care program, and experts will catch things like damaging insects and undernourished plants early, before the distressing damage is done. 

We know how to maintain tropical plants so they thrive in your backyard tropical oasis, with six targeted visits a year to nab everything from pesky white flies to extra hungry Ixora — and the many potential problems in between. 

We can’t wait to get started. 

Give us a call or fill out our form today! Our team can’t wait to help you keep your precious plants safe so you don’t have to worry about gross things like mealybugs.

Image Sources: Scale, Mealybugs, Mites, White Flies, Aphids