It may start with a white or gray waxy crust on your crape myrtle's stems, twigs, and trunks.
Then, a sticky substance coats your tree and drips onto anything below.
Annoying ants, flies, and wasps come next, attracted to the sticky mess.
A black mold moves in after that, ruining your tree's look.
And all the while, your tree is losing its vigor and has a lot fewer flowers than it did last year.
Who knew such tiny insects could do so much damage?
We're talking about scales this week and why you need to watch out for them in the upcoming months, especially if you have crape myrtles.