Plant Detective: Rescue Case — ID & Gentle Fixes for Common Houseplant Pests

A tenant texts the show a grainy photo of sticky residue on a fiddle-leaf fig and a dust-like webbing. Mikey opens with the scene; Dana becomes the plant-detective and sets the case file. We play a short, 20-30 second clip from an entomologist at the city conservatory to confirm photo-ready cues for mealybugs, scale, spider mites and fungus gnats, then translate integrated pest management into a prioritized, non-chemical rescue plan. Listeners hear three safe weekend actions—isolate and inspect, targeted rinse/wipe/scrape, soil-surface drying and repot basics—plus sticky-trap tactics and a clear decision flowchart for when to call a pro. Show notes include annotated ID photos, a printable one-page cheat-sheet, repotting step-by-step, sticky-trap purchase links, a sample script and certification keywords to bring to a technician. Tone: calm, reassuring, detective-sharp and action-focused so listeners leave with a step-by-step rescue they can complete in a day.