SCALE & Mealy Bugs

(Because IPM is the same, these two pests are combined in one thread)

I'll post info as I can because my connection is iffy most of the time.
Expect edits!
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Sometime last season some of my outdoor plants were, unknowingly to me, infected with Scale. I had brought a few plants back indoors, at seasons end, for reveging for the next season. The plants were in my veg area for a few weeks before I noticed the little bugs shells all over a couple of specific plants. I attempted to contain the Scale to those plants with no success. They spread through the room, somehow, & got onto all my clones in the room at the time. I had been manually crushing these creatures on the stems & leaves where they were found, leavingvthe juices on the leaves & stems as a warning to future travelers up said stems. Unfortunately, manual controls only work when a paerson can actually see what they're battling. Anyway, long story short, a few plants went out into the full season garden with a few of these bugs in tow. The indigenous natural enemies, some what, kept them at bay but upon harvest & trimming I noticed a lot more Scale than I am comfortable with on the stems of the clones that went full season.
Fortunately, none of my seed started plants had any scale present upon trimming.


Preping the thread so keep your eyes peeled if interested in this subject.

If you've delt with these pests please post your experiences along w what you did to eradicate them.

Info per Stitch

Info per Stitch

Scale & Mealybugs:
Mealy Bugs are 1/10 to 1/5 inch long w flat segemented, oval bodies, typically found at nodes.
Scale are 1/10 to 1/2 inch long/diameter, round to oval, white to dark brown & mature females appear as hard bumps on stems & leaf surfaces & crevices.
Males of both look like tiny flies.
Scale & Mealy bugs are related to Aphids & White Flys.
Females of both tend to attach to a spot & not move, covering themselves, w a protective layer, against predators.
They lay a couple hundred to a thousand eggs that hatch in 1 to 4 weeks. Nymphs, less than 1mm, spread around the plant then either attach as females or morph into male flys within a few weeks of hatching. An entire life cycle takes 1 to 2 months & can produce 6 generations within one season.

Stitch says they're easy to eradicate due to the plants structure. I say bull shit... Not when they're coming in from outside! But my IPM isn't the greatest either.

Alcohol kills on contact.
I can attest to that! I sprayed a plant w 91%IPA at the beginning of flower & all visible scale were eliminated. However, they returned after a few weeks, before harvest.
Lemonine is said to kill on contact.
Insect repellant herbal oils are said to kill on contact & via evaporates.
Pyrethrum
Neem oil
Parasitic wasps specific for scale & mealy bug control
-Leptomastix dactyloppi, Anagyrus pseudcocci, Metaphycus helvolus.
Mealybug destroyer Cryptolaemus montouzeiri
Minute Pirate bug (Orius)
Ryzobius lophanthae
Hort oils
Insecticidal soaps

Info from Hemp Diseases & Pests

Info from Hemp Diseases & Pests

Authors: McPartland, Clarke, Watson
Scale:

This text covers 4 species:
Long Tailed Mealybug (Pseudococcus longispinus), Cottoncushion Scale (Icerya purchasi), European Fruit Lecanium (Parthenolecanium corni) & Hemispherical Scale (Saissetia coffeae).

I believe I am dealing with either EFL or HS.

-Long Tailed mealybug is 2-4mm long & 1-2mm wide, yellow becoming covered w waxy secretions that turn white. Late females grow 4 tails about as long as their bodies. These bugs live mainly outdoors but will become a serious pest in the greenhouse.
This species gives live birth.

-Cottoncushy Scale is red/brown w black legs & antenna. Females are covered w large cottony, white egg sacks that contain 300 to 1000 eggs each. Red bodied nymphs w black legs & antenna gather on leaf ribs on the bottom of leaves.

This species overwinters in all lifes stages. Eggs take a few day to two months to hatch, depending upon environmental conditions. Larve are mobile & adults are gregarious eating together. Up to 3 gens in a year in Cali. They were imported from OZ & were a serious pest to the citrus industry until Vidalia Beetels, their natural enemy, were imported.

-European Fruit Lecanium is green & less than .5mm in their 1st & 2nd instar periods. Later turning brown & settling on stems & twigs. Adults are 3-5mm long, brown w dark brown mottling, oval & hemispherical. Eggs are contained underneath the shell & appear as a wooly ring coming fron under the edges. They hatch in June or July feeding on leaf midveins. One gen per year moves to stems for wintering.

-Hemispherical Scale are similar to P. corni in shape however smaller at 2-3mm. Light brown becoming dark. Eggs are pink/beige ovals in groups of 400-900 under shells of dead females. 1st instars are .7mm pink/beige, flat w two red eye spots. Older nymphs make H shaped ridges when they begin to dome.
Young HS feed on leaves & older moves to stems & branches where they form groups & secrete honeydew. Several overlapping gens per year.

I missed this 5th type on skimming the book...
-White Peach Scale (Pseudaulacaspis pentagona)
White Peach Scale are white to pink, broad, oval, notched on sides, less than 10mm long. They prefer branches & trynks of woody plants.

Mentions go to Black Scale (Saissetia oleae) & California Red Scale (Aonidiella aurantii) which are easily confused with P. corni & S coffeae.

Control method number 1 is physical removal of the offending cteature & sanitation.

Biocontrol measures include Rodolia cardinalis, Cryptolaemus montroyzieri, Rhizobius ventralis, Harmonia axyridis & Lindoris lophanthae.
Parasites include Encarsia Formosa, Aphytis melinus, Metaphycus helvolus, Encytus lecaniorum & Microterys flavus. Leptomastix dactyloppi, Anagyrus pseudococci...
Verticillium lecanii (fungus)

Info from Marijuana Growers Handbook, Ed Rosenthal

Info from Marijuana Growers Handbook, Ed Rosenthal

Scale:

I live in an area with old citrus and got scale.
It was interesting to deal with.
I used an oil which I believe deprives it of air effectively smothering the pest.

Gry said:

I used an oil which I believe deprives it of air effectively smothering the pest.

Click to expand...

Horticultural oil definitely smothers scale and mealy bugs. Be careful if you choose to use it on Cannabis. I had bad burning as a result of using it to control whiteflies.

Soap spray is effective but it has to be applied thoroughly to all surfaces on a 3 to 5 day rotation until the scale dries up.

I haven't dealt with scale personally but helped a friend in Cali with poor interneting skills deal with her issue.

If you opt to physically remove them, spray each attachment spot with alcohol to kill the young, formerly shielded by the female, as mentioned by MJ and BH.

buzzmobile said:

Horticultural oil definitely smothers scale and mealy bugs. Be careful if you choose to use it on Cannabis. I had bad burning as a result of using it to control whiteflies.

Soap spray is effective but it has to be applied thoroughly to all surfaces on a 3 to 5 day rotation until the scale dries up.

Click to expand...

What concentration did you spray?

Mikell said:

What concentration did you spray?

Click to expand...

I was crazy enough to read and follow the label directions. Ultrafine Sunspray Oil is a 1:100 ratio.