I recently received a Blue rabbit foot fern from a friend. On the bottom of the leaves are tiny dots that look like scale bugs except they are in a perfect double line down the center. Is this part of the plant or are these scale bugs?

Answer #1 · Brent Wilson's Answer · Hi Jane - The lines of tiny dots you see on the back of your fern could be spores, which are a natural, reproductive part of the plant. Many if not all ferns have these spores on the backside of the leaves/fronds. That being said, scale can be a problem with ferns.

Scale are insects that suck the life out of plant leaves. They exude a sticky substance called 'honeydew'. So, if the backside of the fronds are sticky, it could be scale. Try to squash one of these dots with a fingernail. If it squashes, it's scale.

If it's scale you'll have to do something to try to eliminate them. Ferns are often very sensitive to pesticides, but you can try spraying with horticultural oil or dipping a cotton swab in Isopropyl alcohol and dabbing each and every bug. Or you can spray with Safer's Insecticidal Soap. Safer's does have some warnings about ferns, but on the bottle it says "tender ferns." Not sure if Rabbit's Foot is classified as a tender fern? I might try a spot treatment on one frond before spraying the whole plant.

Hope this info was helpful. - Brent)