White Scale

[Sharyn]

Yesterday, I noticed that both of my coleus plants were infested with white stuff. At first, I thought it was mealy bugs, but after checking out some pics in the gallery, it appears that it may be white scale. This appeared literally overnight!

Since I also have a number of orchids in the patio area, I'm freaked out. All of my orchids have been misted a couple times a week with worm tea and watered with the tea once or twice a month. No bugs. However, I had not been using the tea for my other outdoor flowers, including the coleus.

I hosed down the coleus and sprayed over & under with Safer7. Then this morning, I misted them with worm tea and also watered them with the tea. Is there anything else I should do? I can't afford to lose my orchids. If the problem persists, the coleus will go in the dumpster before losing my chids. I've never had this problem, nor have I ever seen it before. Any futher suggestions will be appreciated.

[janet_a]

ultrafine oil or another horticultural oil, once a week for at least two weeks, might do it. don't leave the plants out in the sun after spraying or they will fry like tater tots.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Mealies, I believe, are closely related to scale, but mealies are mobile in the adult phase, where scale are not.

[NancyG]

Sharyn,

I have had white scale on one of my orchids. I keep it isolated from the others. I misted and watered it with worm tea also. It helps but it hasn't eleminated them altogether. I did just repot this orchid and it wasn't in such good shape. Maybe when they are doing poorly is when something attacks them. I was surprised to see how many rotten roots there were. I was using the skewer system and the leaves looked good. Now I have it in semi hydroponic so we'll see if this helps.

NancyG

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Nancy, I hope you are now using something like the Bayer Advancec Rose and Flower (several sprayings over a few weeks), as scale is a relatively quick killer of Catts. It saps their energy, and I think secondary infections of bacteria finish the plant off when they get a foothold in the wounds left by the scale. I've seen Cyms and Oncidiums barely affected by bad infestations of scale, but you don't usually see very bad infestations of scale on Catts because the die before that.

[palito]

scale can be very problematic because of all the crevices and tight corners in the plant where they can hide and colonize and you don't even see them.

I have a miniature cattleya hybrid that was dying very quickly for no apparent reason. I removed it from the basket to inspect the root system -thinking it was rotting... The big surprise was to find all the root system covered with disgusting white hard shell scales. I had never seen a scale attack in the root system!.

[NancyG]

Thanks Cynthia,

I didn't realize the scale could kill that quickly. I will treat immediately.

NancyG

[Sharyn]

Update: Wow, this scale pest is a nightmare and I sympathize with those of you who deal with this problem very often, or especially on your orchids! Thankfully, none of my orchids were affected. I ended up using the Bayer Advance on both pots and it seems to be working on the larger coleus (retreated this morning and it's looking good).

After a week of struggling and reinfestation, the smaller plant was sent to the trash. Not worth my time or money for an inexpensive plant or the risk to other plants. I would have spent more time trying to save it, if it was one of my orchids. It's amazing how fast this pest shows up (like overnight) and I hope I never see it again! Now I'm off to set beetle traps for my hibiscus.........

[LeftCoastAngler]

I use NEEM oil to battle scale... Both black, and white scale... Organic, stinky stuff. But it works! I generally just spray everything down w/ it when I'm sprayin'... Organocide's the name of it.

~LCA.

[PhalPal]

Since scale is a sucking insect I have had the best luck with a systemic treatment which will treat the buggers no matter where they are present on the plant, like roots that you cannot see. I have quite a few Sago Palms and scale loves them - the ONLY way to really irradicate the problem for me has been with Bayer Rose Systemic, the granular type that goes into the soil or orchid mix. I use it 1/4 strength on orchids and they tolerate it very well; one treatment works and it continues to slow-release for a month or so taking care of the stubborn bugs.

[solay]

Scales are my #1 problem on my cymbidiums. They are just nasty. Good thing cyms. are hardy enough to recover. They tend to appear when there isn't enough air circulation around the plants and if they are weak. Leaves that have been bent or creased will have more scales than healthy leaves.
I spray once every 1-2 weeks with neem oil until they are under control. I also manual wipe them off after spraying with a paper towel. A friend of mine wipes with alcohol which dries them up fast and kills them. This works fine with cyms. but I'm not sure if you can do that with the orchid you have.

Good Luck.

[Kassey77]

I spray mine with White Oil, I buy a concentrate and mix with water at home. One thorough spray covering every nook and cranny in the plant - especially where leaves fuse with the bulb and the evil critters were gone.

[Andrew]

Pest oil is usually my first port of call. For bad infestations I use malathion, which I find more effective than 'contact' insecticides. For any non-systemic insecticide I repeat treatments at 3 day intervals. Any longer and your allowing a window for any scale you didn't hit the first time to reproduce. The prolem is usually solved by the 2nd-3rd application but I continue for 4-5 applications to make sure.

[NancyG]

I've been using the 3 in 1 Bayer Advanced. It has worked on my gardenias and orchids. This time of the year is the worst for scale and mealies in my backyard. This systemic really works.

NancyG

[cupcake]

My mother always used to call coleus " dirty" plants because they always seemed to attract aphids!In fact I seem to remember them being used in greenhouses to keep other plants free of them.

[neworchidlover]

Hello everyone!! I am trying to figure out if my orchid has a "scale" problem. Would anyone have a picture of a Phal that had this problem? I am in an arid enviornment without much air circulation so wonder if the white parts of the plant (one bitty section with a few black spots) is the problem...

[kid a]

scale are small pests, yes you should find a way to get some fans in there for better air circulation, here is a link of what tey look like, they basically look the same on all plants:Scale Insects on Orchids