g'day grim,

don't know that they would destroy the plants make 'em look pretty sick tho'.

anyway here's what i know, look for ants in both cases the ants harvest these bugs as well as thrips/mealy bugs, i myself have never had any of those bugs without ants being present. so when/if you find the ants you will need to move them on.

aphids are just too easy to get rid of a good strong spray of water from the garden hose will knock them to the ground might have to do that for a day or 2, once on the ground they or the ants are going to have a very difficult job getting them back on the plant.

now the scale i use white oil (clear or the milky 1 no matter), usually i mix it at app' 1/4 the recommended rate, apply heaps of it to the stems/trunks, leaves over & under, but always after the heat of the sun you may have to do a couple or so sprays. spray only the affected parts. there is a recipe for home made white oil on my remedies page.

there are products around that will help to stop the ants climbing in the tree, there is a gel' that fruit orchidist use, plus i have heard of petroleum jelly/vaseline being used, and also a wide strip if sticky maybe duque tape wrapped around the trunk sticky side out is another i've heard of.

also recipes for ant baits on my page, if you have plenty of water? a dripping hose set up over the ants nest for 3 or 4 days will move them on as will giving their nest a good watering morn' n nite for 3 or 4 days.

anyhow that orta keep you busy for a while.

len

mail len

lens garden page

I know we used to use the water out of the washing machine to get rid of scale,it worked well.
Dence soda ash will get rid of scale.

Thanks to Mike and Len for your help. Unfortunately my scale problem seems to be getting out of hand. I have loaded the critters with white oil but it hasnt seemed to have much of an affect on them. We also tried Mikes washing machine water as well. My lime tree has died due to the huge amount of scale on it, and I am finding it on a lot of my other household plants as well. Several different species too. I was going to buy some scale eating insects from www.bugforbugs.com but after reading the info about the scale eating insects I found that they require a warmer temperature than we have here at the moment otherwise they just go into hibernation. I have even tried Carbaryl which did seem to have some effect on them but didnt totally get rid of them. I have just been out spraying white oil yet again as I really dont know what else to do. Can anyone help?? Im not fussed at this stage if we have to use poisons or whatever to get rid of these critters.

Hi Grim,
I have heard of people using a garlic or chilli based recipe for scale, but have no personal experience of this.
There is also a product called Clensel, which I believe is based on soap and pyrethrum, which is good for aphids and I have heard also for scale. It's quite cheap. I have found it good for aphids.
Cheers,
Dee.

Adult scale particularly pink scale are almost impossible to kill because their waxy coating prevents the white oil from penetrating. What you have to do is break the breeding cycle by spraying every 2-3 weeks to kill the emerging baby scale insects before they form the protective wax coating. The adult scale dies once it has bred and sporned its young so it is the young scale you target ie 2-3 weeks and after there are no signs of more young you keep spraying for at least another 3 week cycle to ensure you have got them all. One surviving scale insect will re-infest the plant.

At the same time as spraying for scale kill the ants present as it is the ants which farm the scale for the sticky secretion exuded by the scale. Black sooty mold is another sign of scale as it is the secretion that causes sooty mold. The white oil will also kill the mold.

A good alternative to control sooty mold is a tablespoon of LUX laundry flakes dissolved in half a bucket of hot water and then diluted down to make 20 litres of spray. Don't use more flakes than stated, it is unnecessary besides too much soap on your plants is not good for them.

Lux beats detergent and cooking oil mixtures hands down and it will also control SOME of the soft scales and you don't need a space suit to spray it.

If you use a lot of white oil try your local Ampol/Caltex bulk fuel depot for "Ampol DC-Tron Plus". A 20 litre drum here in Brisbane is about $80. DC Tron Plus is the same product as one of the major fertiliser suppliers sold in nurseries for about $15 for 500ml. The nursery branded product is bought from Ampol and repackaged under their own brand.

Doug.
Doug.

Thanks a heap everyone...am trying everything..will see how they are an a few weeks or so.

Hi Grim
The reason you have aphids and other bugs is because your soil condition do not suit the plants you are trying to grow
Maybe its too darn dry
Maybe you do not have enough decomposaed organic matter in the soil...trees that will tolerate very low levels of organic matter such as casuarinas may fare better
if you are planting into expasture soil then be aware that grass roots exude an enzime that deters other plant's root systems from spreading
I have mentioned it quite a few times in other forums that when you get infestations of insects you have the first stage of decomposition occuring because what is happening is the plants are beginning to die and the insects start doing their job...ie. start the decomposition process so that the decomposed organic matter of the plant can be utilised by the next generation
The best defence against these insects is good soil conditions and sufficient soil moisture
Ultraviolet light kills soil organisms beneficial to good soil health ...farmers that allow grazing and burning off and do not leave sufficient debris under trees in order to prevent leaflitter and sticks as well as not allowing understory species to develop are courting failure
It may look pretty to have clean grassland under native trees but it is not natural and ineviatably results in dieback.
I hope I have been able to help you understand a little of what is happening at your place and maybe you can better put your money and time and efforts in in another more longerlasting strategy than poisoning your plants and soil...anyway good luck
Peter
Peter

I

Hi I’ve had success with Tom whyatts remedy of 1/3 cup of Lux flakes, 30g Pyrethrum to 4 1/2 litres of water, spray once per week for 3 days, if still present after 3 weeks keep doing it weekly till under control…the lux soap flakes will get rid of the black soot which is the excrement of the scale, the pyrethrum is for the scale…wouldn’t hurt to locate the ants nest and destroy too.

Sometimes plants under water stress get mobbed by sap sucking pests, perhaps a big drink from time to time may help.