Does anyone have any experience with this '~whatever' that's attached itself to my 'Improved Meyer Lemon' tree..??.. It's on top and under some of the leaves and also down the stems. It's NOT completely covered the tree but obviously I need to figure out WHAT it is before it gets any further.
When I scrape "it" -- it's actually kinda' oily --??--
You have scale. Use a good magnifying lens to identify the type of scale you have. This link will help you identify the scale:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/l2310.htm
Information on scale:
http://gardening.about.com/od/insectpestid/g/Scale_Instects.htm
http://anlscape.com.au/_literature_66093/Growing_Citrus
Horticultural oils will kill scale during the crawling phase, but may not get the insect once the shell is formed. You will have to spray, depending on the type of scale you have, on a regular basis until you get rid of every stage. The shell will remain in the leaves so it becomes difficult to tell whether you have killed the adults or not. Every so often, gently scrape the scale shells off and rinse every leaf throughly. Keep up the spraying until you no longer see the formation of the scale shells.
Be sure you use the oil appropriate for use on plants that lave leafed out. Many horticultural oils are dormant sprays and they will damage the leaves if used now.
Ahh... I think it's "Brown Scale" or "Barnacle Scale" -- Fortunately my tree isn't too large yet and I should be able to get most of this taken care of.
Thanks so much for the links.... very helpful.
