scale on Ladder Fern
Quick answer
If your Ladder Fern has scale, the most likely cause is: Scale insects are listed among the sap-sucking pests that produce honeydew on houseplants including Nephrolepis exaltata (Boston Fern, the species sold as Ladder Fern); their honeydew then becomes the substrate for sooty mold on the pinnate fronds of this tropical fern.
Start here:
- 1. Shake the ladder fern over a dark surface to dislodge and reveal scale insects that have settled along the rachis and at the pinnae bases.
- 2. Spray affected fronds thoroughly with insect soap, covering both the upper and lower surfaces of the pinnae, and repeat until the infestation clears.
Why Ladder Fern gets scale
ladder fern
Scale insects are listed among the sap-sucking pests that produce honeydew on houseplants including Nephrolepis exaltata (Boston Fern, the species sold as Ladder Fern); their honeydew then becomes the substrate for sooty mold on the pinnate fronds of this tropical fern.
How to reverse scale on Ladder Fern
- 1
Shake the ladder fern over a dark surface to dislodge and reveal scale insects that have settled along the rachis and at the pinnae bases.
- 2
Spray affected fronds thoroughly with insect soap, covering both the upper and lower surfaces of the pinnae, and repeat until the infestation clears.
- 3
Where biological control is preferred, release appropriate beneficial insects on the fern rather than reaching for chemical sprays, as the source notes insect soap and biological control are both effective.
Keep scale off this Ladder Fern
Space the ladder fern so no leaf or frond touches another to reduce the humid, still microclimate scale insects prefer, and quarantine any new Nephrolepis for at least two weeks before introducing it to the rest of the houseplant collection.