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I didn't get to read your post, realized the time, but it looks like THRIP damage. They suck the life out of your blossoms, scar the fruit, and leaves behind a trail of tiny weany black poops...Some one will see this before I get to work

Welcome here!

Mike

Looks like scale to me. Two treatments of dormant oil will get rid of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: mrtexas

To have the photo appear in your post, copy and paste the html code from photobucket. I belive its the 3rd line.

JoJo

Could be mealybugs, too. I can't really see enough detail to determine which pest you might have. Look up Cottony Cushion scale to see if they might be a match.

Rhizzo,

I was thinking of you...:-) :-) :-)

Mike..:-):-):-)

Rest assured its not Citrus Thrips as the leaves show no sign of Thrip damage. The tree looks fairly healthy to me. If anything I would say you may have an early stage spider mite infestation attacking your blossoms but the picture is not close enough to tell. Are there any tiny webs intermixed with the blossoms or on either side of the leaves?

I am glad you said that thisisme...Because when my trees had a severe case of thrips, that is exactly what the blossoms and the fruit looked like..

Now I might of had a spdiermite or mealy infestation then too..lol I will make sure this never happens again...

Thank you.

Mike;-)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try to get better close-ups in the future.

I'm going to Armstrong Garden Center tomorrow, so I think I'll put one in a ziploc bag and see what they can tell me. Maybe I can pick up whatever *potion* will take care of the problem too while I'm there. I haven't used any kind of pesticides or any chemicals of any kind in my yard/garden for years. I blanche at the idea of having to spray anything. But I also don't want to lose my oranges.

Sigh. :-(

Thanks again, everyone (and also for the tip on how to post pics).

Well, it is simple...

You could treat the plant for any pest, since it looks like a pest problem that we all seem to agree on, with some great products.
Whether you see them or not, your tree will definately let you know almost immediately if they are gone, since they know they are there and sure will feel the relief once you have killed them buggers, what ever they may be.

Thrips are very sneaky but damage is idetifiable, spider mites impossible to see with the naked eye unless you see webbs, but their damage indentifiable, and mealies are easily seen, damage sticky..

Mike

Mike

Well, the mgr. at Armstrongs is confident it is mealy bugs. She recommended spinosad which I bought, but haven't used yet. I don't want to lose my oranges, but I don't want to harm the beneficial insects either (or birds for that matter). Maybe if I only spray the fruit that is showing signs of infestation rather than the whole tree as she recommended?

Rhizzo :-0) Right again..:-)

;-)

Meyer Mike and I both agree, Rhizzo's right on the critters.

I would try nheem oil on a test location only.

I'd be caution against use of dormant oil now. Any oil, even those called "summer" kind of soybean oils can burn at around 92F.

If it is real hot where you are even detergent can burn new growth now. If that really is mealy bugs, you may knock down a few now and K.O. all with stronger stuff later next month.

They're kind of waxey and shed water based stuff. A sticker such as Hy Yield can be very useful. Heaviest kill is from 15ml oil + 15ml malathion in 1 gal reverse osmosis water. No RO water?, use regular water w/15 ml vinegar added first, but this is deadly on almost all beneficials.

You need to control them because they get around the calyx and suck juices and that causes fruit to
turn yellow and fall off.

Rhizzo,

I was told by the local nursery to tell her to water in Bayer systemic pest control,and I am afraid that is the same advice that is what she is going to get if the surface app doesn't work..I do not have the authority to say not to just yet, still doing reasearch, but I know just common sense says it is a no no..

Can you please share your thoughts on this, before others are givin bad advice..

I sort of like tatanmans advice on natural oils, but then many here have complained they don't work well. they do for me if used correctly...I agree with Tat on you knowing critters more than anyone...You have taken care and givin me much support for years on how to rid some of the hardest ones to kill..

Hugs Rhizzo from my aged "Mom" and me, whom have much affection for you..My mom says you are in her thoughts with what has gone on with you in recents weeks..She also thanks you for the advice you gave on how to rid Aphids on her roses..Not a one problem with them this year, while all my neighbors suffered...

Mike

Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the advice/suggestions.

Before I decide what I'm going to do (and I do want to act quickly before the infestation gets out of hand - right now it seems manageable... of course, I can't see the fruit that is very high up on the tree) any thoughts on spinosad? I found an older thread about it here at GW. Sounds like it is safe to many beneficials (like ladybugs), but possibly not good for bees and maybe birds?

The woman at Armstrong assured me it was safe (did she use the word 'organic' -hmmm... I can't remember). It cost $27 so I need to decide if it is worth trying or whether I need to return it.

I would never use the Bayer product on any edible plant....or most any plant, period. The active ingredient enters the vascular system of the plant, creating a hazard for nectar and pollen feeding critters (insects and birds). Not only that, we should consider what we are ingesting ourselves. It's applied as a soil drench, and is acutely toxic to earthworms, if that's important to anyone. It is also considered mildly to highly toxic to birds and other non target animals.

As far as the Spinosad goes, it IS approved by the organic associations, but it should still be used very carefully. As should all organic products. You should also know that Spinosad is not typically recommended for the control of sucking insects such as mealybugs, aphids, and others. It needs to be ingested to be affective....ingested as in mouthfuls! It does not enter the system of the plant.

Spinosad is considered relatively safe for beneficials because they don't chomp on plants! It's the leaf eating insects that are affected. But it's very important to avoid spraying the product on flowers because pollen and nectar gets ingested, eventually, by bee larvae. Spinosad does not harm birds.

Bottom line....I wouldn't use it for the mealies. And I SURE as heck wouldn't use dormant oil at this time of year.

Oh, reeeeeely? Then what? (As in what would YOU do?)

I checked out the tree this evening. I didn't see many 'bad' fruits (but I did cut off all those that I could see that were infected last week). The tree is maybe 15 or 20 feet tall - whatever I do end up using when all is said & done I really don't know how I'm to get to the fruit at the top. I don't have a large enough ladder, & not sure I would climb a big one if I did.

Did I mention that my veggie plot is directly adjacent to this tree? That has been one of the worries with the spinosad - overspray even on a non-windy day I can't see how it wouldn't get on the raised beds.

I'm frustrated and sad at the thought of losing my beautiful, delicious oranges.

Thanks again, everyone for your input. I'm going to do some more research on the internet and see if I can find some ideas that seem do-able. Still undecided on spinosad.

I was directed to University of California by a helpful gardener at another site where I posted my problem. Their site suggests getting ants under control so that they won't inhibit the activity of natural enemies of mealybug (ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps).

SOoooo, I decided to order some Tree Tanglefoot and halt the ants first. Checked out the tree again today and there doesn't seem to be much spread along the branches that are visible while I stand below.

The UC site also suggests that mealybug is somewhat controlled by the heat of summer too. So I guess that is in my favor and gives me some time to try the tanglefoot first. I have a large order of ladybugs on the way --maybe I will be able to handle this organically after all.

I'm including the link to UC Davis in case anyone else out there is having this trouble or later finds this thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of California - managing mealybugs