Scale Insect Control
Scale are one of the most common pests that infest plants. If you grow plants chances are high you'll be needing to do some scale control at some point. There are many species of scale but all are destructive to host plants. Scale don't move much so many times they can infest plants without being detected. Once they get a strong hold on host vegetation, scale will literally suck the lifes blood out of the plant leading to a slow death.
Scale are small insects ranging in size from 1/32nd to 1/8th of an inch. Colors vary as does their shape and size. However, life cycles are similar for all species. Eggs are laid inside protective waxy coverings which can be seen wrapped around various parts of host plants. Life cycles start with eggs hatching. The newly born nymphs may offer your best chance at controlling local infestations since most of them will migrate away from their waxy protective environment. They do this to seek new food gathering points on host plants. This migration won't be far from where they were born and may only occur for a day or two. Some may actually end up on neighboring plants if the parent host plant is over crowded. Once a good feeding location is found, they will insert their straw like mouth and start sucking away at the vital host plant sap. As they grow, some species will produce males that can fly thus making the spread of the problem that much quicker. During growth their fecal matter will help build a waxy by product that acts as protection for them as well as an egg laying medium for future generations.
Scale can become a pest on plants both outside or inside the home. Since their shape and size can vary dramatically, it's not uncommon to find two species living on the same plant that are very different from one another in look and color. Additionally, scale is commonly mistaken to be a fungus or some other plant disease so many times infestations get left alone or improperly treated allowing them to be ever persistent. And because their waxy excretions and protective housing makes them less vulnerable to basic pesticide application methods, control can be a little tricky once scale has a strong foothold on any plant.
Scale Treatments
Scale control can be done at any time of the year. Traditional scale control was always done in the winter or offseason months when plants were either dormant or without leaves. Today we have a wide range of products that can be used at any time of the year. Since migrating and flying scale are extremely susceptible to treatments, it's always a good idea to treat plants as soon as possible. Though you might not be able to control the entire infestation with one treatment or one application, making multiple attempts will surely prove beneficial for scale removal.
Scale Products
The old standby product and one that has been used for a long time is PESTICIDAL OIL. Though the original formulations of oils were designed for use in cold "pre-growth" time periods, the newer formulations can be applied at any time. Pesticidal Oil will effectively suffocate scale and this has proven to be a good approach for reaching all stages some of which may be lodged deep in their waxy home. It is always better to treat during the cold season when using Pesticidal Oil and 1-2 applications at the beginning of the year should do a good job of keeping scale under control for the season.
Since Pesticidal Oil is slow acting, if you find scale active during the growing season and want something that will provide a quick kill, consider some INSECTICIDAL SOAP. It too will work on the suffocation premise and is extremely safe to use so it can be applied to any type of plant including vegetables. Like the Oil, you'll have to apply it frequently since it doesn't provide any long term residual action.
Two other materials you might consider, especially if you're treating during the summer months, is either VEGETABLES PLUS PERMETHRIN or BIFEN. These insecticides are active on a wide range of insects and will provide residual action. The Vegetables Plus will last at least a couple of weeks and the Bifen can last 1 month or more. Use the Vegetables Plus if you're needing to treat vegetables; the Bifen would be the strongest material you wold ever need and can be sprayed on non fruit bearing vegetation. To get the maximum use out of either product, add some SPREADER STICKER to the tank mix. Spreader Sticker enables the spray to better penetrate and cover all parts of the plant you are spraying. This could prove important when treating for scale. Both products should be applied with one of our SPRAYERS. Remember that these materials will prove very effective on migrating stages of scale since they offer long term residual. Using Pesticidal Oil during dormant growing times and either Vegetables Plus or Bifen during the warmer summer season is a common strategy many growers will use. This approach will yield the best results when dealing with the sometimes aggravating and ever persistent scale.
