skip to main content

Organic Gardening

need scale advice!

15 years ago

Hi!

I have two climbing hydrangeas that are INFESTED with cottony cushion scale of some kind, and am getting frustrated. I first noticed it last year and sprayed with insecticidal soap a few times, but I don't think my timing was right on. (I didn't notice them until they made their fluffy egg cases.)

This spring I sprayed with horticultural oil about a month ago, and again this past weekend, as I noticed the little buggers were back with a vengeance. I looked at them again the next day, and they seemed unscathed. Should I have used insecticidal soap instead? Shouldn't they be dead?

I'm confused on how to handle this, and getting upset because I also noticed them on some of my viburnums today. I don't want these little pests to take over my garden! What should I do that will take out the scale population and not hurt my plants? I'm worried that time is short, they're in their soft bodied stage now, and I don't know if I can spray anything else so soon after.

Thanks for any help with this!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years ago
Yup. Scale is a tough one. You need to understand its life cycle in order to effectively combat it. I suggest using The Google and finding a suitable pamphlet from an Extension Agency you like and go from there. Soaps and oils work, but timing is everything.

Good luck.

Dan
0
Kimmsr
15 years ago
Insecticidal Soap is not a control for cottony cushion scale although oil is. Usualy dormant oils will work by coating the scale so they cannot breath and they then suffocate. If needed a superior oil, or summer oil, can be sprayed but due care is necessary because even this oil could harm the shrub.
0
Related Discussions
Medium scale vermicomposting advice
Q
Comments (18)
Whoa Simon, there is a little more to it. If you just put a couple pounds of bought worms in your freshly started windrow, you will not likely have success. You may or may not see them again... You need to start a small worm system. That way you can learn and grow your own herd.The principles you learn managing a small system will apply to your larger endeavor and help make it a success. You could build yourself a worm bin out of scrap wood. Maybe use some recycled fence posts like I did and check off another box. A simple wood frame sitting on the ground . Mine is 3'x5'x18" open bottom, and with a plywood hinged lid. This could be your breeder box for your windrow. It would also be your learning center. You could also add your kitchen waste..... another box! When you buy worms, they are usually raised on a certain and regular feedstock. In this area, horse manure is widely used. When they arrive to the buyer, they are usually put in a environment and feedstock that is quite different, and they want to leave. It takes them awhile to settle into their new home. Buy local bed-run worms if you can find some. If you could source some local horse manure to start you herd in, and slowly transition them into eating aged dog poop, it would help you. Doubling your herd every 3 months is a good rule of thumb. It can be faster if you provide a good environment with plenty of food and space to grow .If you do well you can seed your windrow next year. I would not worry about de-wormers as long as you compost or age it first. You should do that anyway. Start your windrow now and let it slowly cold compost. Best of luck, and let us know how it goes..... Pete
...See More
scale and height advice please
Q
Comments (46)
There are a few good options - like I said before, it all depends on how it looks three-dimensionally. Thanks for the link to the other post - I'll get over there eventually. It's been a busy end of week with work stuff and I have to update the blog, like get a new post up asap and edit my podcast about violet so it's up first thing Monday am. Thinking about using this thread as inspiration for the blog post needed immediately --- divine proportion, etc. ties into proportions of color in a room too.
...See More
Plumie newbie seeking advice re: scale.
Q
Comments (11)
After taking a closer look, I figured out that most of the dots were lenticels. A few did seem like scale, though. They were more oval shaped and scratched off easily. Now I have a better sense of what to watch for. Thanks for the helpful comments. @ tropicofcancer: Your comment made me remember how much I loved playing with the microscopes in my high school biology class. I loved to bring in flowers to dissect and study. Seeing them up close, I appreciated their beauty even more.
...See More
Scale advice for artwork arrangement
Q
Comments (7)
I think people who say that you can only have one photo/painting on a wall don't own, or have never been exposed to, large collections of art. There are no rules. Art is personal and subjective. Pieces aren't diminished by having other pieces hung around them. I was lucky to be exposed to the home of someone in the art business. There were paintings from floor to ceiling in every single room. It worked for them and their house. Would I want that much art on my walls? Probably not, but neither of our choices is right or wrong, and it opened my mind to being more creative and free with my own art. Life is too short to do boring cookie cutter decorating!
...See More
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years ago
Insecticidal Soap is not a control for cottony cushion scale

Sure it is.

Soaps work on the crawlers.

Not as well nor as easy as sticky traps for crawlers, but presumably the OP has the soap already.

Dan
0
gardenlen
15 years ago
we know them as mealy bugs and over here if we get them on our plants we look for ants as they have a symbiotic relationship. also our treatment is after dealing with the ants we use a product called "white oil" it is a product of the petro-chemical inustry what i think you call dormant oil?

there is a homemade recipe on our remedies page. the oil should be applied after the heat of the sun and may need subsequent doses of up to 2 extra applications at say weekly intervels.

if they are in shrubs an applicatin of vaseline (anoterh petro chemical product) or some such gel product around the stem will stop the ants crawling up the bush, be sure that the foliage does not make contact with any other avenue that the ant may use.

scale insect is treated the same way it looks more like hard little pimples on the branches and backs of leaves.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
0
kristimama
15 years ago
I have one orange tree in a container that came from the nursery with scale. It was at one point massively infested with scale (but not the cottony cushion scale per se), and I use an OMRI certified product called "Organocide." It' a fish/sesame oil based product that works on all soft bodied pests. Stinks to high heaven. But it works. It's also about $18 a bottle, so might get expensive for a larger tree. Good luck. I hate scale!
0

Related Stories

THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE Sound Advice for Designing a Home Music Studio

By Eric Reinholdt, Architect

How to unleash your inner guitar hero without antagonizing the neighbors

DECORATING GUIDES Decorating Advice to Steal From Your Suit

By Sophie Seeger

Create a look of confidence that’s tailor made to fit your style by following these 7 key tips

TASTEMAKERS Book to Know: Design Advice in Greg Natale’s ‘The Tailored Interior’

By Grace Chamia

The interior designer shares the 9 steps he uses to create cohesive, pleasing rooms

LIFE Edit Your Photo Collection and Display It Best — a Designer's Advice

By Apartment 46 for the Home

Learn why formal shots may make better album fodder, unexpected display spaces are sometimes spot-on and much more

DECORATING GUIDES 5 Decorating Tips for Getting Scale Right

By Apartment 46 for the Home

Know how to work art, sectionals, coffee tables, lamps and headboards for a positively perfect interior

DECORATING GUIDES How to Use Full-Scale Decor to Make a Small Space Feel Bigger

By Toronto Interior Design Group

With a less-is-more approach, even oversize furnishings can help a compact area seem roomier

ROOM OF THE DAY Room of the Day: Right-Scaled Furniture Opens Up a Tight Living Room

By Mitchell Parker

Smaller, more proportionally fitting furniture, a cooler paint color and better window treatments help bring life to a limiting layout

DECORATING GUIDES Downsizing Help: Color and Scale Ideas for Comfy Compact Spaces

By Becky Dietrich, Interior Designer

White walls and bitsy furniture aren’t your only options for tight spaces. Let’s revisit some decorating ‘rules’

DECORATING GUIDES Divide and Conquer: How to Furnish a Long, Narrow Room

Learn decorating and layout tricks to create intimacy, distinguish areas and work with scale in an alley of a room

DECORATING GUIDES Decorating Secrets: How to Layer Patterns Right

Here's How to Get That Perfect Mix of Color, Shape, Texture and Scale

Sponsored

Klaus Roofing of Ohio

Central Ohio's Source for Reliable, Top-Quality Roofing Solutions

More Discussions

Veggie Tales ... January 2024

7

Will mulch prevent ground covers from spreading?

5

Can I replace fertilizer with horse feed?

12

Anyone ever buy Earthworms to add to your garden?

3

Composted manure vs gardens and shellfish compost

15