There are two types of scale insects; armored and soft scales. Non-pesticide control. Trustworthy Source Now spray the leaves and stems with the lye. ", over an hour before I found your website! They are usually green or red, although they can be nearly any color, and are more mobile than scale insects. Use a garden hose to spray off the pruners or loppers before using them on another plant to remove any scale insects that may be left on them. Typically, eggs hatch in spring or summer. And during the time you wait, other plants might become infested as well. University of Maryland Extension, Scale Management Guidelines. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. Using a Q-tip with alcohol is a good idea. Check plants for live scale infestations. Identify ‘crawlers’. Remove existing scale on houseplants by rubbing gently with a facial-quality sponge or cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. Let’s clear something up: scale is a broad category of insect that actually includes that other dreaded pest: the mealybug. Neem oil products work by suffocating the insect. If possible, start by carefully scraping off as many of the scale insects and their egg masses as possible. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Spraying the immature scale with insecticidal solutions will kill the young and cause the population to die off. Neem Oil. You have to spray the plant in winter because some scales will survive the cold. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Spray it with diluted 100% Neem Oil, using 2 tablespoons of oil to 1 gallon of water, shaking well whilst spraying all parts of the plant. To Get Rid of Scale Insects: Scale insects can be difficult to get rid of but spraying with PLANT health Spectrum and/or Organic Insect Control followed by Organic Super Spraying Oil is most effective, killing scale through suffocation. Scale insects belong to a large group of sucking insects that attack a wide variety of trees and shrubs. As crawlers, they are highly mobile, six-legged, have no protective cover, and are usually smaller than a pinhead. However, you will never see just one of them, which makes them hard to miss. Once you have detected a scale insect infestation, you should begin eliminating the pests as quickly as possible. How to protect your plants from Scale Insects. Be sure to buy plain sponges without cleanser or lotion in them. Pine needle scale will appear to be whitish scabs on the needles and stems of the plant. Try using a product like AzaMax, which is derived from neem oil naturally, inside greenhouses or indoor growing areas. Adult male scales only have one pair o… There are more than 20 families of scale insects world-wide including hard or armoured scales (family Diaspididae), soft scale (family Coccidae), ground pearls or margarodid scales (family Margarodidae), mealybugs (family Pseudococcidae), felt scales (Eriococcidae) and other smaller groups, e.g. Should I burn the trimmings from my scale and mite infested burning bush? Will scales attack peace lily or aloe vera plants? Oldest botanical garden in the U.S. and center for botanical research and science education, Recognizing Scale Insects and the Damage They Cause, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/db\/Get-Rid-of-Scale-Insects-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Get-Rid-of-Scale-Insects-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/db\/Get-Rid-of-Scale-Insects-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid5525886-v4-728px-Get-Rid-of-Scale-Insects-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"