Are these bugs in poinsettia leaves?

Question

We have a poinsettia at our house that we bought in Christmas. At least over here (the Caribbean), these poinsettias are very delicate; they usually die after a few months.

So our poinsettia has been surviving, but I've noticed that many leaves are dry and dying. I started looking at the leaves and this what they look like:

Most of the plant is covered with this.

My question is: is there anything that can be made homemade that will treat the plant and not just individual leaves? I can spray each leaf with mild soapy water, but it's just too many leaves. Also, I don't know if that will really help the plant.

My biggest concern is that this plant is very fragile and delicate, so I'm worried that the plant may die if I use something too strong.

Any help is appreciated.

I also wanted to point out that the plant's in a balcony, and it gets tons of sun (which hasn't affected it so far). I was thinking of moving it somewhere else, but I worry that the change and the bugs will end up killing the plant.

Answer 1

You have a "white fly" infestation on your plant. The white insects are flies, and the tiny circular things are empty fly pupae "cocoons". There is much information online for these pests, but they are difficult to eliminate. You can look for additional Poinsettia care information online also. Your location in the "Caribbean" is not ideal for Poinsettias, so you might have to adapt your current growing conditions. The links below may offer further detail/help.

https://www.almanac.com/pest/whiteflies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia