AusBonsai

I have been collecting Ficus since 1991 and never had a bug to worry about.
Today however I have noticed a little shell like creature on my favourite trees.
The books tell me it is a scale insect!
But what should I use to get rid of it? I am guessing the shell will protect it from the usual confidor etc which has kept me safe up until now.
Can anybody help advise me what to use?

Confidor is a systemic that is it is ingested by the plant so that the insect eats the parts it would normally and dies.
What I have found is we tend to spray the foliage, now that will not kill scale, so pour some of the mixture over the soil. It is the ingested by the plant though the roots all the way up to those nasty little s#*ts the scale.
Or failing that you can use pest oil which is used for the purpose of suffocating said scale to death. Hope this helps in some way.
Pup

I had a severe infestation of scale a couple of years ago on a PJ fig. I used Pest Oil several times, partially defoliated the tree and then went over it several weeks later with a toothbrush and warm water to remove the dead scale. The same tree has had a bit of scale since but nothing that couldn't be removed with the same treatment.

John T

Pest oil is good, ECCO OIL is better as it is fully natural. Don't use White Oil. You can pick the little devils off. If it were my tree I would pick all off that I could find, including getting a warped neck looking under and around all branches and leaves, and then spray with Confidor followed by Ecco Oil or Pest Oil. You can use the two together. I have one olive in my 'Olive Pit' of 14 trees that gets scale. Don't know why... it is healhy. But I pick and then spray and follow 10 days later with another spray.

Hi MelaQuin
Why do you suggest not to use White oil.
I have been using it and notice the only problem being that some of the leaves will drop off - otherwise I havent had any harmful side effects
Regards
Steve

Thanks everyone.
Ive found it on 5 trees so I guess Ill be off line for a while as I scrape the little buggers off and get the confidor and pest oil on.

Ive only found this forum the other day and I am already in your debt.

Thanks.

White oil is good but don't use it in direct sunlight and on very hot days.

bustadog wrote:White oil is good but don't use it in direct sunlight and on very hot days.

That is usually the case for any foliage spray. I would expect that the PestOil and EccoOil would be no different.


Steve, I suspect that people avoid white oil because its probably considered more toxic than the alternatives. For me it depends entirely upon what is available.