Areca palm pests, webbing or sticky leaves: causes and what to do
6 results in the diagnosis tree begin with pests, 5 of them marked likely when the answers fit. They are ordered here for Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens), using what its sources say about pests and diseases, humidity and watering and 6 problems recorded for it.
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, also known by its synonym Dypsis lutescens and as golden cane palm, areca palm, yellow palm, butterfly palm, or bamboo palm, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae, native to Madagascar and naturalized in the Andaman Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, Réunion, El Salvador, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Canary Islands, southern Florida, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, and the Leeward Antilles. Its native names are rehazo and lafahazo. Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Native range: E. Madagascar (wet tropical). Also sold as Bamboo Palm, butterfly palm, cane palm, Golden Butterfly Palm, Golden Cane Palm and golden yellow palm.
What Areca palm’s sources say that bears on this
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by whiteflies, soft scale, fern scale, banded greenhouse thrips, greenhouse thrips and root mealybugs.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Can be troubled by scale insects, thrips, mealybugs and red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
- ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60%Penn State Extension · read 11 September 2026
- Watering
- During growth, water generously and feed 2 or 3 times over the growing season with a balanced liquid fertiliser. Give little water in winter.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How this shows up on an Areca palm
Dull, finely mottled fronds and faint webs: spider mites
The fronds of the areca palm lose their shine and fill with tiny pale dots. In a heavy infestation fine webbing strings across the shoot tips.
RHS lists spider mites among the pests it may attract. They feed from the underside, so the damage shows on top long before the mites are noticed.
Telling it apart: Tap a leaf over white paper. Dots that crawl are mites; dust stays still.
RHS · read 13 September 2026Silver-flecked leaves and marked or distorted flowers: an insect pest
The surface of the fronds of the areca palm looks scraped and silvered, and slender insects smaller than a grain of rice run or jump when disturbed.
RHS lists thrips among the pests it may attract. They feed on leaves and in flowers, and hide in buds, which makes them hard to spot.
Telling it apart: Shake a flower or leaf over white paper. Thrips show as tiny slender insects that move.
RHS · read 13 September 2026Small raised bumps along the stems and veins, with sticky fronds: scale insects
Flat or domed bumps, tan to dark, line the stems and the midribs of the areca palm. They do not move, and the fronds beneath them are sticky or dusted black.
RHS lists scale insects among the pests it may attract. The shell protects the insect, so it survives a wipe that would clear aphids and keeps feeding.
Telling it apart: Stickiness below the bumps. Scale drips honeydew; a leaf spot is dry.
RHS · read 13 September 2026Small white flying insects under the leaves
White, moth-like insects settle under the fronds of the areca palm and rise when disturbed.
NC State Extension lists whitefly among the pests it may attract. The young stay fixed under the leaves feeding, so the population keeps growing after the adults are cleared.
Telling it apart: What lives under the leaves. Whitefly young are flat, pale ovals; mealybugs are woolly.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026White, cottony tufts in the joints of the fronds: mealybugs
The areca palm carries white, cottony specks in its crevices, and growth slows. Leaves beneath the colonies turn sticky and, in time, dull or yellow.
RHS lists mealybugs among the pests it may attract. The wax keeps them dry and hard to reach, so they multiply in the sheltered joints of the plant.
Telling it apart: Whether the white comes with stickiness. Mealybugs leave honeydew; dust and mildew do not.
RHS · read 13 September 2026Wilting with white, waxy patches on the root ball: a root pest
The areca palm stops growing and droops between waterings. Slid out of its pot, the root ball shows white, powdery patches on the roots and on the inside of the pot.
NC State Extension names root mealybugs for this plant. Feeding below the surface cuts the water supply, and the fronds show it as wilting.
Telling it apart: What the root ball shows. Drought and root mealybugs both wilt a plant, but only one leaves wax on the roots.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Possible causes, likeliest first for an Areca palm
Most likely spider mites
Ranked higher because Areca palm's recorded problems point this way.
- Dull, finely mottled fronds and faint webs: spider mites RHS
Why: Spider mites feed on individual leaf cells, and each emptied cell shows as a pale speck.
What to try:
- Move the areca palm away from other plants.
- Wash the leaves, top and underside, with a strong spray of water in a shower or sink.
What would settle it: Hold a sheet of white paper under a leaf and tap the leaf. Tiny specks that move across the paper are mites.
Most likely mealybugs
Ranked higher because Areca palm's recorded problems point this way.
- White, cottony tufts in the joints of the fronds: mealybugs RHS
Why: Mealybugs are soft insects that cover themselves in white wax, which gives the cottony look.
What to try:
- Move the areca palm away from other plants.
- Wipe off every insect you can see with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, testing a single leaf first.
What would settle it: Touch a tuft with a cotton swab. If a small, pale, oval insect is underneath, it is a mealybug.
Most likely scale insects
Ranked higher because Areca palm's recorded problems point this way.
- Small raised bumps along the stems and veins, with sticky fronds: scale insects RHS
Why: Scale insects settle in one place under a hard or waxy shell and feed on sap.
What to try:
- Move the areca palm away from other plants.
- Scrape the scales off with a fingernail or a soft brush, then wipe the stems and leaves.
What would settle it: Push a bump gently with a fingernail. Scale comes away and leaves a mark; a bump that is part of the areca palm does not move.
Less likely for an Areca palm, still possible
Questions
- What usually causes pests on an Areca palm?
- For Areca palm: spider mites, mealybugs and scale insects.
- How can I tell which one it is on my Areca palm?
- What can you see? Fine webbing, and tiny pale speckles on the leaves; White, cottony tufts in the leaf joints; Small brown or pale bumps on stems and leaves that do not move; Clusters of small, soft insects on the new growth; Tiny dark flies around the soil; Sticky, shiny residue, but no insect I can see.
- What do Areca palm's sources say about its pests and diseases?
- NC State Extension: Can be troubled by whiteflies, soft scale, fern scale, banded greenhouse thrips, greenhouse thrips and root mealybugs. RHS: Can be troubled by scale insects, thrips, mealybugs and red spider mite. Diseases: usually none.
- What does this look like on an Areca palm?
- The fronds of the areca palm lose their shine and fill with tiny pale dots. In a heavy infestation fine webbing strings across the shoot tips. Telling it apart: Tap a leaf over white paper. Dots that crawl are mites; dust stays still.
Other plants that show pests
Chusan palmSticky leaves and immobile shell-like insects on the stems
Kentia palmA black, sooty film on sticky leaves
Lady palmDull, finely mottled fronds and faint webs: spider mites
Parlor palmDull, finely mottled fronds and faint webs: spider mites
Pygmy date palmFine pale speckling on the fronds, then webbing at the tips: spider mites
AlocasiaFine pale speckling on the leaves, then webbing at the tips: spider mites
Something else wrong with the Areca palm?
What this does not cover
This page orders a decision tree's results using a plant's sourced care. It has not seen your plant, its pot or its window, and two problems at once are common: that is the usual reason a confident answer turns out wrong. The questions in the diagnosis tool narrow it further than a list can.