To eradicate many types of scale as well as mealybugs, etc.,I find that a solution of isopropyl alcohol in water(2:1) with a few drops of dishwashing detergent and a few more of Malathion will do the trick. A second application probably will be needed. The old stand-by VOLCK also does a fine job. Good Luck!!!

First you need to identify the specific scale since there are many different ones. If you know that, then you need to know when they are in the "crawler" stage, that means they are not protected by a waxy coating and can be killed by the appropriate insecticide. Your extension office can help with the ID and recommend the proper treatment.

As taxonomist said, good luck. I've never had scale on sedum before.

Sandy

Thanks guys. I'll try anything now that I know how fast they can kill something. I mean my sedum was just sitting there waiting for spring being a good little plant and in a matter of 2 days it was yellow and dead. I ripped it up and stomped and cursed at those bugs. I'm sure that helped.
Literally, I jumped up and down on them then drowned them with the hose. I hadn't even gotten a chance to see it in bloom yet.

Oh I feel SOOOOOO bad in hearing your experience. It's maddening when that happens. I've been there! I'm going to head outside the first thing tomorrow morning and check my sedum out. Call a good garden center and talk to someone over the phone. They usually have capable people on staff who can suggest a number of things. The folks who posted here seem to have some good ideas.

Best of luck in getting rid of these EVIL bugs. They're all from the pit of hell I tell you!

Thanks for posting this. My sedum gets chewed up every year, and I've never identified the pest. When you look up sedum, any book states they are not bothered by pests...Now I know what to look for.

Good luck with your new batch of sedum!

I know that's exactly why I got it. Well, that and it was on clearance. I think I am gonna skip the sedum thing. As much as I want another with my first real flower bed in the works, I imagine I will have a whole new set of bug problems to worry about. The scale I had didn't quite look like that picture. They looked like tiny little black dots. It was just such a strange time of year to have pests....

I think the most effective method to eradicate scale is a flame thrower. Of course I doubt the sedum would survive, but it feels good. Besides yanking em out, stomping on them, then drowning the little buggers, didn't do much good either.

If scale are suckers, I should think a systemic, watered in well would be more effective and could be used as a preventative in the late winter/early spring.
(sorry..I got bored over in my own forum and went moseying around here)

I found out mine were being chewed up by slugs. Not as bad as scale, but another daily task to add to the list...