Common Problems

Scale

Symptoms

Scales camouflages themselves beneath brown or gray shells. They remain stationary on twigs or leaves, looking natural as a bump on a log. Yet scales can, if numerous enough, destroy a plant in a very brief time. Scale damage mimics the injury caused by many other insects. Unlike other insects, scales do not disappear after they have done their damage. Living or dead they stay attached to the tree.

Treatment

The key to controlling scales is to applya pesticide during the crawling stage before the hard shell stage. Most scales have a crawler stage in early summer; others have a second brood in late summer or early fall. Repeated applications throughout the growing season can prevent additional damage. A late winter spray before buds swell, will smother scales over-wintering and their eggs.