I need pest help 🙏 Does anyone have an effective way to get rid of scale insects?
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I need pest help
Does anyone have an effective way to get rid of scale insects? I didn't really find anything that would eliminate all stages. I saw a recommendation for tobacco "tea", but before I go search for tobacco, I'd like to hear other people's experience. The bastards are almost invisible on the plants, and are killing my poinsettia 
(it's easier to see them on citrus plants, and scrape them off). I'll take something that will make the sap toxic for them, too.@EntangledPear oil. Horticultural oil can be easily sprayed on plants, taking care not to do this on a very hot day or in a lot of sunshine. Follow directions on the bottle
On small plants, a cotton ball or small piece of fabric can be used to gently wipe the scale. They suffocate and can be removed once they're dead.
Once isn't generally enough- at least a couple times this must be repeated to really clean things up.
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@EntangledPear oil. Horticultural oil can be easily sprayed on plants, taking care not to do this on a very hot day or in a lot of sunshine. Follow directions on the bottle
On small plants, a cotton ball or small piece of fabric can be used to gently wipe the scale. They suffocate and can be removed once they're dead.
Once isn't generally enough- at least a couple times this must be repeated to really clean things up.
@deepmud Does it work on the waxy stage? I thought the wax protected them from this type of spraying solution.
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@EntangledPear we control by hand: check every couple days and scrape them off w/ fingernails. It's kind of a pain, but it works.
@colo_lee I was hoping to avoid this
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@EntangledPear
I used tobacco years ago, it was effective but also damaged plants. The aphids were gone but it also kills good bugs. I would only repeat this if things got out of control.I used Windex/Glassex eons ago inside, this was terrific. I had a vague idea it would help. This was before internet, and I never actually looked for this use online
It got rid of aphids on a house plant. But some bugs are extremely difficult to get rid of, and some plants hardly have defences against them.@pascaline Ain't that the truth. I used to have huge problems with spider mites, but found that horticultural oil works quite well. Of course, air movement is the best, which is harder to achieve inside - the poinsettia never went outside, I wonder if I should try
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@lionelb I do that, too, and it works great on most plants, but they seem to be even more "invisible" on the poinsettia. They leave the sticky residue, which helps find them, but I never get all of them
External treatments can't get at them through the shell, so systemic is the only treatment solution.
Unless you have very specialised light, temperature control and watering, poinsettias are not suitable for use as houseplants.
For the coloured bracts, I would buy fresh each time and treat them as cut flowers.
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@colo_lee I was hoping to avoid this
@EntangledPear I too would like to avoid that ...
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External treatments can't get at them through the shell, so systemic is the only treatment solution.
Unless you have very specialised light, temperature control and watering, poinsettias are not suitable for use as houseplants.
For the coloured bracts, I would buy fresh each time and treat them as cut flowers.
@lionelb I had this one for several years, from a very small one, then munched on by cat (no problems beside throwing it up for the cat, since it was so small), surviving that and even flowering for the previous two years. Producing the red leaves, too. I was quite surprised by how well it was doing.
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@pascaline Ain't that the truth. I used to have huge problems with spider mites, but found that horticultural oil works quite well. Of course, air movement is the best, which is harder to achieve inside - the poinsettia never went outside, I wonder if I should try
Ah yes, that could be interesting.
Some house plants really benefit from going outside. You can try! -
@lionelb I had this one for several years, from a very small one, then munched on by cat (no problems beside throwing it up for the cat, since it was so small), surviving that and even flowering for the previous two years. Producing the red leaves, too. I was quite surprised by how well it was doing.
Good to hear. Being in the right latitude must help a lot. They are notoriously difficult.
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@EntangledPear I too would like to avoid that ...
@colo_lee hahahahah both of you
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