DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

I found this on my gardenias in the house today. Treated it with soapy water bath but have no name to look up how to treat it properly. Can anyone help me?

Looks like scale of some sort--usually when I see them they tend to cluster more on the stems rather than out on the leaves, but it sure looks like them.

Wipe down the entire plant with a rag soaked in rubbing alcohol, especially the stems.

Found this link on another site and it is very helpful. I have scrubbed the plants I could and now I am about to find something to treat the soil. I may loose them before I can get them cured because I had to remove them from the other plants. It seems they like fragrant plants. Wouldn't you know. So far they have only invaded the gardenias and mandevillea. In fact the mandevillea I purchased from a very prominent suppplier was what started all this. It happens to the best of us but it is so annoying. I am so glad I caught it early. Thanks for your help.

Here is the link:


http://www.google.com/search?q=scale+insects&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm...

It's a hardshell scale. Treatment: Horticultural oil that says 'summer, perfect, or all-season' on the label or a systemic insecticide, like imidicloprid. Hand picking and regular treatment with a 50/50 water alcohol mix will help to keep them in check, but won't rid you of the problem entirely. Getting the plant back outdoors asap, where it exposed to predators and its metabolism (and therefore its natural defenses against predation) will get a big boost will go a long way to helping you get things under control.

Al

Al, all the infested plants are now outside...going to freeze I am sure, but I can not have them in the greenhouse because of the State inspection being due soon and one bug could shut me down. So, I am going out of the gardenia propagation business for now. I spent two days checking plants and I thank God the jasmine are clean, so are the others and they do not seem to like the Christmas Cactus. I wish I knew for sure where they came from. I am so careful what I take into the greenhouse because of the State Inspections. The inspector actually uses a magnifying glass on the plants when he inspects them. If he finds one live bug.....he pulls your license usually gives you a month to clean up and then they re inspect. In the meantime you can not ship plants.
They are identical to blueberry scale and we have some blueberries (only two bushes). I thought I brought them in on the mandevilla because I had that both in the house the then moved it to the GH when it got too big. I do not propagate that so I am going to let that baby freeze for sure. I was thinking of buying ladybugs again for the GH but the last time I did a blizzard blew the greenhouse apart and they all got out. LOL Thanks for your comments.

PS I am using the oil based spray on each and every leaf (under side especially). I did keep two gardenias in the bird room and they look pretty good. I spray them daily. The camellias are clean and so are the CC inside. The african gardenia is also clean in the house. I think I caught them early thank God.

Scale is very hard to get rid of

I know the scale is a mess, but I caught it early and I am hoping the granules work. The other plants (about 6 beautiful gardenias) are all frozen stiff. I am heartbroken.

Sorry to hear that JB.

Ric, gassed the GH yesterday. We have a bevy of insects down there. We have done some spraying that have knocked down a good bit of them but every few weeks we see more signs of them. So he tried using a Hot Shot Bomb. It will be interesting to see how that will work.

I was so lucky. I am scale free now at least I hope so. You can not see the babies until they eat and grow that brown shell. At least that is how I read it. So, I am hoping the granules will eliminate any of them. I have no gardenias in the greenhouse at this time and only three in the house. The others are gone as you know, but I at least saved the house ones. You must be so careful with those chemicals in the GH. Be sure he does not breathe them with no ventilation. I did that once and wow, I saw weird things and felt high. Not a good idea that is why I do not use chemicals anymore. I had the vents open, the door open, and roof open and I still got it somehow. Live and Learn I always say. LOL JB

Yes, He is really careful about those types of things. Had to turn off the gas heater and then after 2 hours went back to open and air it all out before he could turn the heater back on. Lucky we had a nice warm day yesterday to do that.

My SIL is a certified chemical whatever they are....lol.....anyhow, he will not permit me to use some of the chemicals they suggest without his supervision. He has to go to school here in NJ for certification. He knows I can get into trouble. LOL