Question

Scale Insects?  

Healthy...but not!   Hi Will

I'm hoping you can help me. I was searching on line and saw your post from 12/22/2006 about scale insects.

I've lost a bunch of plants due to this as it starts out as scale and then turns into a pitchy mess. I've gotten rid of all but one plant, an otherwise beautiful and healthy jade that I've attached photos of, but I still find the brown scaly spots and I'm worried it will reinfect all of my new house plants.

Can you help? I've tried sprays before, soap, even cayenne pepper! I started last summer and did the treatments for over 6 months and don't want to have to throw out my beautiful jade to save the other members of my plant family!

Thanks!

Cecilia

Answer
Hi Cecilia,

I have been in that place where I had to discard many otherwise healthy plants due to a serious pest infestation and it was very discouraging. That was before I understood the key to treating indoor plant pests was not the product used, but the thoroughness of the treatment. Let me see if I can help you through this.

As with most indoor plant pests, scale is fairly easy to treat when it is caught early and before it has spread to lots of other plants. It gets much harder to treat as the infestation spreads. You did the right thing by discarding your other infested plants that were not as valuable to you. Triage is the unfortunate first step with widespread infestations.

Thanks for providing the good photos. The close-up is an excellent shot of what scale looks like and the other photo shows how healthy your Jade Plant is. Unfortunately, because your Jade is quite large with many tightly spaced leaves, it will be difficult to treat. But it can be done!

I recommend mixing a solution of 8 parts water, 1 part isopropyl alcohol and a squirt of liquid dish soap. Move your Jade to a shaded outdoor location where you can spray with impunity. You will have to thoroughly spray ALL leaf and stem surfaces until they are all dripping wet. Thoroughness matters because the spray must have direct contact with every scale insect including the juveniles that are virtually invisible and those that hide in crevices. If you miss just a few, they will reproduce and the infestation will be back a couple of months down the road and you will get totally discouraged. Did I mention that THOROUGHNESS is the key?!

Because the alcohol may damage the waxy coating on the Jade leaves, I recommend that you rinse the plant throughly as soon as you are finished spraying with soap and alcohol. Keep the Jade away from any direct sun until the leaves have dried.

Although it is not necessary and a bit of a pain to do, you should consider using a soft cloth to wipe away as many of the dead scale carcasses as possible. This will make it easier for you to monitor the return of any scales that you may have missed. At each watering, check for scale, concentrating on new growth and crevices where leaves attach to stems. At the first sign of any new scales, spot spray where you see them.

If you are really diligent in following my recommendations, I am confident you will get the scale infestation under control and eradicate it completely over the next several months. Once you have treated the Jade the first time, it is safe to bring in new plants as long as you continue to monitor the Jade as described.

I have written articles on treating indoor plant pests and on Jade Plant care that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

Visit my website at: A link to HorticulturalHelp.com