Busy Lizzie 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 Busy Lizzie (Impatiens walleriana), using what its sources say about pests and diseases, humidity and watering and 2 problems recorded for it.
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Impatiens walleriana, also known as busy Lizzie, balsam, sultana, or simply impatiens, is a species of the genus Impatiens, native to eastern Africa from Kenya to Mozambique. The Latin specific epithet walleriana honours a British missionary, Horace Waller (1833–1896). Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Native range: SE. Kenya to S. Trop. Africa (wet tropical). Also sold as Bizzy Lizzy, Busy Lizzy, buzzy lizzy, Common Impatiens, Garden Impatiens and Impatiens.
What Busy Lizzie’s sources say that bears on this
- Pests and diseases
- Diseases: southern bacterial wilt, southern blight.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Usually free of pests, though vine weevil, aphids and greenhouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: downy mildew can occur.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
- ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Watering
- Given enough water they can grow in part sun, though strong sun may scorch leaves. They cope with humidity but are sensitive to heat, looking wilted in hot, dry spells, when they need extra water.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
How this shows up on a Busy Lizzie
Curled, sticky new leaves with green or black insects: aphids
Aphids gather on the undersides of new leaves and around buds on the busy Lizzie, leaving honeydew and shed skins behind.
RHS lists aphids among the pests it may attract. They feed on the sap of soft new growth, which distorts it, and they multiply quickly without mating.
Telling it apart: Where they sit. Aphids crowd soft tips and buds; scale sits still on older stems.
RHS · read 13 September 2026Fine pale speckling on the leaves, then webbing at the tips: spider mites
Seen side-on, the busy Lizzie looks dusty and bleached. Under a lens the undersides move with minute mites, and silk gathers where leaves meet the stem.
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 2026Possible causes, likeliest first for a Busy Lizzie
Most likely spider mites
Ranked higher because Busy Lizzie's recorded problems point this way.
- Fine pale speckling on the leaves, then webbing at the tips: 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 busy lizzie 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 aphids
Ranked higher because Busy Lizzie's recorded problems point this way.
- Curled, sticky new leaves with green or black insects: aphids RHS
Why: Aphids cluster on soft new growth and flower buds, where the sap is easiest to reach.
What to try:
- Rub them off with fingers, or rinse them off in a sink or shower.
- Repeat every few days while new ones appear.
What would settle it: Look for the pale shed skins among the insects. Aphids molt as they grow, and the skins are left behind in the colony.
Most likely mealybugs
Why: Mealybugs are soft insects that cover themselves in white wax, which gives the cottony look.
What to try:
- Move the busy lizzie 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.
Less likely for a Busy Lizzie, still possible
Questions
- What usually causes pests on a Busy Lizzie?
- For Busy Lizzie: spider mites, aphids and mealybugs.
- How can I tell which one it is on my Busy Lizzie?
- 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 Busy Lizzie's sources say about its pests and diseases?
- NC State Extension: Diseases: southern bacterial wilt, southern blight. RHS: Usually free of pests, though vine weevil, aphids and greenhouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: downy mildew can occur.
- What does this look like on a Busy Lizzie?
- Aphids gather on the undersides of new leaves and around buds on the busy Lizzie, leaving honeydew and shed skins behind. Telling it apart: Where they sit. Aphids crowd soft tips and buds; scale sits still on older stems.
Other plants that show pests
African violetIrregular notches bitten from leaf edges by an insect pest
Barberton daisyCurled, sticky new leaves with green or black insects: aphids
Bearded irisRagged holes and slime trails: a slug or snail pest
Bigleaf hydrangeaClusters of small soft insects on the shoot tips and buds: aphids
Bird of paradiseDull, finely mottled leaves and faint webs: spider mites
Blue passion flowerPale stippled leaves and tiny moving dots underneath: a mite pest
Something else wrong with the Busy Lizzie?
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.