I have been spraying them and it doesnt seem to be getting any worse...all newer leaves are free from scale also.. ==>> you know.. a dead scale looks jsut like a live one.. the dead carcass isnt going to magically disappear ... and the fact that the ants left.. might be your second clue they are dead ... ants harvest honeydew from some scale ... put on a glove.. and wipe off all the scale ... and observe... and i think.. put away the chems for a while.. potting media.. NEVER reuse it.. its spent.. its not a scale issue ... besides scale doesnt live in the media ... ALWAYS sterilize all pots before use or reuse.. 10% bleach will do the trick ... i usually sterilize my potting media also.. especially if used indoors .. see link ... which would solve your scale worry.. but for it being old used up media ... jsut throw it in the compost pile ... media is engineered from a multitude of things.. and those things breakdown.. and dont do their job properly.. so its not worthwhile to reuse it ... drainage is usually the prime need for media.. and as peat and bark.. etc.. breakdown.. water will be 'held' vs drained.. leading to future problems.. its the predictability.. that makes use easy ... and when it gets old.. you cant predict ... and .. of course.. those damaged leaves will not recover ... but as long as they are green.. they are processing sunlight ... the future is in the buds ... i didnt know citrus had one inch thorns.. i think i got all your questions ... ???? ken Here is a link that might be useful: a lot of peeps here mock me for such.. but hey.. it should put your mind at ease ... if nothing else ....

A very simple and really inexpensive way to kill off growing "weeds" in that bed is to cover it with newspaper or cardboard and cover that with compost or a mulch material to hold it in place, no expensive "weed" or plant killers needed and certainly no chance then of contaminating the soil with unwanted substances. Cut off any plants access to light and it will die, as will any plants, including the grasses, growing in that area.

I'd like to know what the plants are (some are more susceptible to scale) , what type of scale it was, how big the plants are ... and what you are now going to put them amongst...and what you've been treating them with... but.. by way of a general answer(s) 1. The only way to keep those plants, and the rest of the garden safe, is to keep on top of the scale. You need to know a bit about their life-cycle. They can reproduce very fast and at first stage they are mobile and called "crawlers" and they go off looking for a nice juicy spot to anchor themselves. At this stage there are thousands of them - almost invisible to the naked eye - but they are at their most vulnerable. Light chemical sprays that reach all parts of the plant, will usually do the trick. After that stage they begin to settle and may be oval or flat or raised but often simply green or whitish or opaque and it is really hard to detect them unless you know what you are searching for. At this stage also they can be easily killed by chemical treatment, even by gently dislodging them with a cotton bud. Once they anchor, they set that hard shell and at that stage they are harder to treat. Type of treatment depends on the plant, and where it is - oil based treatments "drown" the insect but can cause burning to leaves in outside areas unless used carefully. Also some folk don't like using pesticides inside the house. But at this stage the scale are pretty "immobile" so can also be removed manually with a toothbrush or a toothpick, just very gently popping them off the plant. Anyway you know what to look for and to keep up the inspections every few days and even so, the treatments every 2 weeks at least for say 2 months, to make sure you have got them as they have a very fast reproductive cycle and the eggs can then still remain ready to hatch. The second thing is to try to keep your newly planted out things a little apart from other plants so there is no "bridge" (leaf to leaf) for the scale - or ants - to climb over while you are eradicating the scale. You must get on top of the ants, as they are attracted by the honey-dew that the scale excrete, and they actually "farm" the scale and move them around plants. If you don't object to more chemical help, dust the plants and the immediate soil with an ant-killer (not a spray) - I have found Hortico Ant & Roach dust very fast and efficient at killing ants on the surface. Depending on the type of plant, you could also try smearing vaseline (petroleum jelly) on the trunk of the plant from ground level to a few inches up - this also deters ants from trying to climb into the stems. 2. Yes, the ants do add to the problem. If you were only keeping the existing plants, then I would say you should treat for the ant infestation also and usually you can do it by (a) plunging the pots in a bucket of water to above soil level for say 15 mins till all air-bubbles come out, and the ants will usually evacuate...

Thanks for everyone's input. I think I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably never get rid of this weed because our yard is too big to be pulling all of them out, and we don't mow here until after they've already done to seed in the spring (like about now). Well, I'll strive to keep them pulled out of my flower gardens because I at least don't want them taking over there. Probably five years ago I never even noticed this weed here, and now wham, it's taking over. I only have a few weeds here that are so aggressive. I'd actually say that this one is probably at the top of the list. If it weren't for weeds, I could spend less time in the garden and more time with hubby. I really do spend a LOT of time outside!