A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Identify a 'bug'

Hello everyone, I just made this account to get a question answered, if I post this in the wrong category, or mess something up, I apologize in advance. =)

I am finding these strange 'bugs' on some of my plants. I have dubbed them 'slugs', but they really look nothing like slugs, other than that they seem to be composed of goop. As of yet, I have not seen one move. I'm not even sure if they are alive or not.

My first impression was of a blister or such on the plant. When the 'blister' is scratched off, underneath where it was, the plant looks fine. I don't even know if the plant is actually harmed by them or not.

The biggest one is probably no more than half a centimeter, but they are usually much smaller than that. If you find one, you can find three more nearby, usually on the leaves or clustered around where the leaf meets the stem.

So far I've found them on English ivy, sapling lemon trees, and a type of fern; all kept in the house.

Here's links to some (rather poor quality) pictures:
Vine with slugs circled in red
'slug' taken off of plant

Please ask questions if it will help, Any info would be appreciated! Thanks.

I don't have any indoor plants. It looks like you have one of the 'sucking' insects. I think I would use one of the insecticidal soaps available for them as per the instructions. Those are actually very good pictures considering the tiny subject.
Welcome to The Garden Helper.

you have scale. they seem to suck the sap out of the plants and if you leave them, eventually the part of the leaf/stem will get a depressed black dead spot.

the tops are hard and crusty usually, unless you catch them early.

i don't know the proper way of getting rid of them, i have cut the plant back and repotted the root to grow again, throwing away (not composting) the cuttings and soil.

it is possible to get ride of it though, without that drastic measure. i just don't know how.

About the best way to treat a plant with scale is to 1st isolate or quarantine the plants then use either horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. Make sure all surfaces of the trunk, stems, and underside of leaves are covered. Reapplication will probably be necessary due to the fact that you are not using a poison, but rather something that smothers them, so you will have to spray all generations of hatching eggs before they have a chance to reproduce themselves. about once every 5 days for about 5 weeks should be good.

Thank you, everyone! Hopefully I'll be able to get rid of them before any damage is done. But, as you might have guessed, I'm no expert. Wish me luck. =]