How to View Lemon Trees With Speckled Leaves
- 1). Inspect your lemon leaves for small, red, scale insects known as Aonidiella aurantii or other colors of scale insects which present as tiny flattened bugs on the underside, stem and top side of the leaves. The yellow to brown speckled discoloration of the leaves is due to the scales puncturing and sucking the moisture and nutrients form the leaves. Take large scale infestations seriously and treat organically by introducing lady bugs to feed on the scales or use oil sprays, which suffocate the scale. Chemical pesticides effective on scale are also widely available
- 2). Look for tiny red mites or spider mites as a cause of finely stippled or speckled surfaces of your lemon leaves. Mites consume the leaves and also lay and nest their eggs on both sides of the leaves in tiny groups often draped in fine, silk-like webbing. Keep your lemon trees well irrigated especially in hot and dry weather to keep the mite population under control. Treat the infestation biologically by introducing predator mites known a Euseius tularensisor to feed on the citrus mites. Spray the leaves and branches with a narrowly targeted miticide product to drive down the infestation via chemical means.
- 3). Check the lemon tree for signs of citrus aphids, which deposit tiny droplets of glistening honeydew (waste) onto the leaf surface. Dirt and dust adheres to the sticky honeydew, creating a darker, grimy, speckled look. Treat citrus aphids seriously, as they carry other diseases onto your lemon tree as they feed. The most problematic aphids are dark brown or black, a round or tapered body and may or may not be winged. Introduce lacewings and lady beetle populations as biological controls to consume the aphids.
Spray with a chemical insecticide designed for aphid control early in the infestation to knock it down. Quarantine the lemon tree from other citrus trees if possible to control the infestation and prevent spread.
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