I have a major outbreak of cottony scale on a number of different plants in my garden. Is it too hot to use the soap spray rememdy on them now? Should I do it in the evening when the sun is down or really early morning? Will the sun still kill the plants if it hits the leaves after the soap has dried? I've never had this problem before, but think I bought a Turk's Cap from Lowe's that already had it on it and now it's infecting everything. I guess even if the soap killed 'em, it looks like they're not gonna' make it anyway if I do nothing. Any advice is appreciated.
Cotton Scale
Use the soap in the evening, that way it will have a chance to work without the burning heat. You may have to do it more than once, good luck.
Frostweed, thanks so much for the help. I don't think I'd have ID'd the problem without your input as I thought they were powdery mildew at first. I've never had these before, and don't want them again! I can't believe how they are spreading. They're now on the brugs, esperanza, hibiscus, copper plants, and on and on. Thanks again.
You are going to have quite a battle on your hands. I have had scale and tried everything, the only thing I have found to work for me is Bayer Tree and Shrub- I believe that it kills everything so I don't use it unless I have to; about 18.00 to 20.00 per bottle, you dilute it based on size of shrub/tree and apply once a year. It does work, takes maybe 3 or so days. I have used it on a couple of types of scale and at different times of the year w/ success. It was recommended by a neighbor and I did look up info on Aggie site.
Thanks for the info april. I'll try that. I hate to use chemicals unless absolutely necessary, but this infestation is so bad, I think I'll try it since it seems to be spreading so rapidly to everything.
crow, I avoid chemicals whenever possible, too, but if your kid has a really bad infection, you give him an antibiotic. You just don't give it to him every time he sniffles.
Here is a link to some information on cottony scale, I hope it helps.
http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg116.html
Thanks again Frostweed for your help. I took a look at the link and I think my problem is Mealybugs, but whether scale or mealybugs, the treatments listed are the same. I'm going to try the insecticidal soap and see if that helps. If not, I'll try a stronger insecticide. I'm amazed how fast these things are spreading and feel I have to do something immediately. Everything is already so stressed from the heat, even the things that normally don't have a problem, that I don't want these pests to kill already troubled plants.
I have lost two coleus to the mealy bugs. Interestingly enough, they started on one and then got to another. I pulled those two up before they started to get the rest. Now I am spraying with soap as a preventative treatment on the others that were close and hoping that works.
I found another article that might be of help.
http://www.gardenlady.com/superioroil.html
Josephine.
ugh....I know how you feel, crowellli...I've got scale on about 4 plants...and the little critters are sooo hard to get rid of. Mine seem to love hanging out on some of my cactus. I've used soap/water with a toothbrush to remove them...because I hate using chemicals too...but I may have to break down and do something more drastic. Store bought soap pesticides don't seem to work for me...
brigidlily excellent analagy!
I prune back all of the shrubs that have cottony scale, and use a cue tip with alcohol to get them of cactus and succulents
hmmm...interesting idea ya got there..butterfly...I'll have to try that... :)
If it is cottony cushion scale, do not use Bayers Tree & Shrub for Insects...It is imidacloprid, which is a very good systemic control for many insects, but it does not work on cottony cushion scale. They live on, but the vedalia ladybeetles that are predacious on them die when they eat the scale. The predator being gone, the scale has free rein and the problem gets worse. So be very sure what you have first. Cottony cushion scale is large - anyway the egg sack that is attached to the scale is large. Mealy bugs are smaller....Can you take a picture?
I tried, but can't get a clear pic with my digital camera. The plants look like they have flattened spots of pure white cotton on them, usually starting as about 1/4 inch diameter, roughly circular spot. I've seen some of the bugs and they are also about 1/4" long, flattened oval shaped with visible tiny legs to the sides. As the days progress the white spots spread and a cottony substance almost covers the underside of the leaves. A few of the spots can be seen on upper side of the leaves. Some of the cotton, when scraped away, has yellow spots in it that I am assuming are eggs. The critter looks exactly like the mealy bug photos in the link that Josephine posted. I'd try the alcahol, but there's no way I can do that for the number of them, it'd literally take weeks. Will a systemic such as Dy-Syston do any good? I'm going to try the soap thing today and hopefully that'll do some good. I've cut back the foliage on newly infected plants, but some of the others are so bad, it'd mean removing the whole plant. I'm open to any ideas and suggestions.
I looked on the aggie site and for cottony cushion scale they sugest pruning back the plants and using dormant oil in winter and summer or volick oil in summer. You do have to be careful about when you apply the oils because if you do it while the sun is shinning the leaves of some plants will burn. The problem w/ scale in general is that they are not susceptable to insecticides in all stages- the crawling stage is most vulnerable. Per the aggie site the use of oils will kill them but I think I'd keep checking to make sure. Biological control is with the Australian lady bug, specifically bred to control scale.
Don't ever use Di-Syston - for anything. If you know me, I am not an full blown organic gardener, but I am very careful about what I would use, should I have to. Di-Syston is highly toxic to mammals - that means cats and dogs. Do you remember the story in the Chronicle a few years ago about the couple that used it around a tree, covered it well with mulch, and then let their two labs out a couple of days later, unaccompanied, for a potty break. They finished getting ready to go out to dinner and called them back in and left. When they returned home, the dogs were throwing up, feces everywhere - I think one was already in a coma, the other was convulsing... They rushed them to the vet, but they died soon - a horrible death. Sent the bodies to Texas A&M for a necropsy, which found Di-Syston in their bodies. They thought they had covered it so well, and yet, they can only imagine that the dogs may have rolled in it, or simply walked over it, but got some on their bodies and licked it off. I HATE it that it is still on the market. And people still buy it because it does work - it kills everything. Disulfoton is another name for it.
This message was edited Aug 18, 2006 10:54 AM
Ceejay, I am glad you put out the warning, sometimes I hesitate to say stay away from poisons, because people might think I sound like a broken record, but what you said should send out the message very well.
Well, there are poisons, and there are poisons. Just be sure you use the right one for the right thing, and stay clear of those that are over kill. Do your research first. Follow the label, and don't use it on anything else but the plant in question, for the purpose stated. And always check first to see if the beneficial insects are taking care of the problem. They need to eat, too!
I would suggest imidacloprid for this problem if it is mealybugs. But not for cottony cushion scale. It is systemic, lasts a long time, and does not impact butterlies and hummingbirds. And since you don't spray it, it doesn't affect the beneficials either.
Crow - Google (images) mealybug and cottony cushion scale - then you'll know what is best to use.
I've compared the pictures of mealybugs and cottony scale and I'm 99.9% positive that I have mealybugs. I've sprayed with insecticidal soap and will give it a couple of more sprays at 3 day intervals before I resort to anything more environmentally damaging. This stuff is just spreading so fast that I'm afraid everything is going to get it and I really don't want to have to replace a major portion of the garden. I'm trying to stick to plants that I know are Texas tough and are either native or very tolerant of our conditions. I don't want any plants that have to be coddled. I've never had these things before, so I don't know what conditions caused them to spread so quickly. I do know they were introduced by an infected plant purchased from Lowe's. Anybody have a sure fire fix for these if the soap doesn't do the trick?
Imidacloprid - Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect Control (systemic and doesn't impact beneficials that might be feeding on the mealybugs - like the mealybug destroyer....) would be my first choice. Second choice - Oil (Ultra fine) - summer spray. Be careful with the high temperatures. Can burn the leaves of plants. This will kill the beneficials too. Then we get into the "heavy" stuff - like Orthene, Isotox, Sevin, that I hate to use because they kill everything.
The fuzzy guy to the left is the larval stage of a ladybug, and is called a mealybug destroyer, because it eats mealybugs (and aphids and some scale).
This is the adult mealybug destroyer. Very small, but you can see it with the naked eye - just have to know what you're looking for. About the size of a flea beetle. The adults also eat mealybugs, etc.
ceejay, I bought the Bayer Advanced that you recommended, but it says it's a systemic best applied in the fall and not recommended for an existing infestation. Have you had luck with this on plants that are already infested with mealybugs? I don't guess it will hurt to try it now, but don't want to apply chemicals if they don't have a chance of working. I had thought I'd apply this and use a soap spray too. Do you think that would work? Please let me know if you've tried this on an existing problem or just use as a preventative. Thanks.
crowelli - i am in the same mess you are in. i just came back in from checking my plants and yep...they are back.. I guess I didn't really get rid of them. I am off to research on the web, I will post back if I see something.
I have used this product at all different times of the year- not in the winter however, and it always works fine for me. It's not a super fast acting poison, so don't expect that if you use it today that you will see not bugs tomorrow. I suggest that after you use it wait several days then go out and spray remaining mealy bugs off the plants.
This has been a particularly bad year for mealy bugs for me and one thing I have noticed, they don't seem to bother my weeds, just the plants that I like!
(Like April said.) It takes a bit of time for the plant to take it up and be effective, so that's why they recommend it to be used before the problem occurs. Well, I don't work that way. No problem - no pesticide. And it's good anytime. Best (for uptake) when the plant is actively growing or not dormant. I've used it for scale on a Sago palm. It worked. And it remains effective for 3 to 6 months.
Thanks very much. I've applied it to the root zone and I'm going to use the soap spray this evening after the sun is down. I appreciate all the help.
Crowellli, How is it going with the mealy bug battle?
Frostweed, I think I'm losing the battle. I've cut back the copper plants pretty severely, since most of the bugs were on the new growth. I hated to do it because they were so gorgeous, but at least this way maybe they'll survive. I've sprayed twice with soapy water and applied one application of the Bayer Advanced. These are tough little bugs, it seems nothing is working. I'm thinking I might need to pull out the infected plants before they wind up on everything. What do you think? Since they've been out here for weeks now, I guess anything they're going to spread to might already have them.
I would spray with the soap a few days in a row before giving up. The soap cant hurt and you might be able to save them.
I had to spray one of my plants for mildew 6 or 7 days in a row, but I won the battle, it has nice green fresh new leaves now.
Stay with it, and you might come out the winner. Are you using a hand sprayer?
If you are, you might want to get one of those that attach to the garden hose, put some dishwashing liquid in the container , attach it to the hose, and run the hose with at least medium force, that might work better since spraying by hand can become tiresome, plus thare isin't much force in the spray to dislodge them.
A lot of times, with sucking insects, once you dislodge them, they can't find their way back, so it is worth a try.
Josephine.
Thanks Josephine, I'll try that. I've been using the pump up type sprayer with a wand. I'll try my hose attachment.and see if that does better.
Good luck crow. I am wishing you the best with this fight against them.
The reason that they are so hard to get rid of is because they create a hard type covering over their bodies to protect them from such things. In my trip to a nursery this week, I asked them if they knew of a non toxic way to get rid of mealy bugs. They suggested I try NEEM or a Pyrethrin. They admitted that these types of bugs are a type of scale and are one of the hardest to get rid of. I truly hope you win your battle and can teach us all how to stick it out and get rid of them.