7 Tips To Fix Areca Palm White Spots

Do you see white spots on your Areca palm?

The white spots issue on indoor plants is something that many gardeners don’t want to see on their plants.

It is a dreadful issue and requires more work to get rid of it completely.

More importantly, you should try to stop this problem as early as possible.

Otherwise, it might spread too quickly and damage the plant permanently.

In the following guide, I have shared a few insights on this white spots issue.

Hopefully, you will be able to fix the problem with the suggestions shared below.

What Are Areca Palm White Spots?

As I mentioned earlier, the white spots issue is one of the deadliest of them all.

It often happens because of three main reasons, i.e., mealybugs infestation, scale infestation, and fungal issues.

The worst thing about the white spots is you could have all three issues in your plant at the same time.

But let’s not think about the multiple infestations at this moment.

Let’s try and understand what these white spots are all about.

1. Mealybugs Infestation

Mealybugs are a common problem in indoor as well as outdoor plants.

They usually live in colonies and form fuzzy spots on the stems of the plants.

You can find these colonies on the bottom part of the stem of your Areca palm.

As for the bugs, they will have cotton-like bodies that are easily identifiable from a distance.

2. Scale Infestation

Scale infestation is pretty similar to mealybugs infestation.

It also happens due to white pests that feed on the juices of the plant.

This type of issue is quite common in palm plants, and you will see many waxy-bodied insects on the different parts of the plant.

Since these insects feed on the plant, the leaves and stems turn yellow or brown in color.

In later stages, the infestation intensifies further, and it becomes unbearable for the plant.

If you don’t take care of the plant at this stage, it won’t survive for too long.

3. Fungal Problem

The third problem could be the fungal attack on your Areca palm.

If you live in humid weather and there is too much water in the soil, you will see this problem in your plant.

The white fungus issue often arises from the soil.

So, if there is an overwatering situation in the pot, it might lead to a fungal attack on the plant.

Note: The fungi may also appear in other colors, including black and gray color.

Moving on, let’s take a look at the following section, where I’ve shared a few tips to deal with this problem in your Areca palm.

Tips To Fix The Areca Palm White Spots Problem

Here’s what you need to do –

1. Inspect The White Spots On Your Areca Palm

In order to get to the main cause of this problem, you will have to inspect the plant thoroughly.

When you inspect the plant, make sure you check the bottom of the leaves too.

Sometimes, the bugs hide under the leaves so that they remain protected from sunlight, hot weather, and predators.

So, it’s essential to inspect the underneath of the leaves.

2. Prune The Heavily Affected Leaves 

Once the inspection is over, it’s time to get into action mode.

Get the shears or scissors and try to identify the leaves that seem more affected by the problem.

Although there are few ways to tackle these issues, you should also get rid of the damaged leaves from the plant.

When you remove the heavily affected leaves from the plant, it makes things even easier for you to carry out the next stage of action against the pests.

So, prune the leaves that are wilting or look greatly infested by the bugs.

Once you remove such leaves, put them in the bin.

Do not use these leaves for the composting process or any such activity in your garden.

You need to discard them entirely, as the issue may spread further in some of your other favorite indoor or outdoor plants.

3. Clean The Stem And Branches With Rubbing Alcohol

Now, let’s move to the next step, where you will have to deal with the problem directly.

As soon as you remove the affected leaves, prepare a solution of rubbing alcohol, dish soap, and water.

It should be a dilute solution so that it won’t affect the tender parts of the plant.

Here are the steps to follow the cleaning process –

1. Wear your gardening gloves.
2. Get a cloth or cotton swab and dip into the prepared rubbing alcohol solution.
3. Clean the stem and leaves affected by the problem.
4. Wait for the solution to dry out completely.
5. Rinse the plant with plain water.

The drying period may take up to 5-6 hours, so you will need to wait for this period.

Ideally, you should perform this task in the evening and rinse the plant in the morning with your gardening spray.

4. Spray Neem Oil On The Affected Parts

Neem oil is one of the best organic products you can use to deal with pest or fungus infestation on the plants.

It works really well with such issues!

However, if you have already used the rubbing alcohol method, you can avoid spraying the plant with neem oil spray.

Instead, you should wait for 4-5 days before you can spray the plant with neem oil.

Note: Prior to spraying, you should carefully take a look at the plant.

If it doesn’t look fresh, there is no need to spray the neem oil or any other solution.

You can simply wait for few more days to see if there is a resurgence of the bugs problem.

If you see any new growth again after 4-5 days, you will have to repeat the alcohol method a couple of times more.

The interval period between these processes should be around 4-5 days, or you can wait for a week as well.

5. Add Dry Soil Or Dried Leaves To The Pot

When you are done with the spraying task, you can add some dry soil on top of the existing soil on the pot.

If you don’t have dry soil, you can also make use of dried leaves from the garden.

This will allow you to balance the moisture content in the soil, which will further help in preventing the growth of fungus.

Since most fungi grow in a damp environment, you should try to create a barrier by providing dry soil to the plant.

6. Repot Or Transplant The Areca Palm

Alternatively, you can resort to the tried and tested method of repotting the plant.

This method helps in completely getting rid of wet soil from the pot.

So, if you have a fresh soil mix, do consider this option.

It may take some time to repot the plant, but it will surely be helpful to get your plant back to the growth phase.

Apart from the repotting method, you can also consider the transplanting process.

This method will be useful to regrow your Areca palm plant in a completely new environment.

7. Move The Plant To A Sunny Location

Done with all the steps?

Now, move the plant to a place where it can receive a good amount of sunlight throughout the day.

The Areca palm is known to do well in sunny and bright locations.

This type of location also helps in limiting the fungal growth in the plants.

So, try to find such a place in your home and move your plant there.

Well, these are the few things you should know while addressing the white spots on your Areca palm.

If you see similar spots again on the plant after a few days, you should repeat these processes a couple of times more.

You may not get a 100% result with the first application of solutions or spray, as the bugs are often resilient in nature.

They will make a comeback with more colonies in a few days.

So, be prepared to take the necessary action again.

FAQs

Over To You

As you know, the white spots issue can be a difficult one to control for the gardeners.

It spreads so quickly that you may or may not even get a chance to revive the plant thoroughly.

Hence, it is crucial to take action immediately.

Meanwhile, if you have any more doubts, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this guide, do share it with your friends and family.