Scale pesticide: back to the drawing board.

[BrassavolaStars]

Hello all,

I have been trying to find a "nuke" to take out the very severe scale infestation I have that is affecting probably a hundred or so plants in my greenhouse. I originally wanted to use imidacloprid. I found out after trying to buy/order it that it is banned in NY now without a license, along with the whole neonicotinoid group. A bunch of supposed alternative are also out. Cygon: Banned. Safari: Banned.

What are my remaining options. I wanted something xylem mobile and systemic and the problem is so bad now alcohol and neem oil probably are not going to cut it, unfortunately.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you again.

[estación seca]

If you're not willing to drive to another State to buy something, my suggestion would be to move everything out of your greenhouse to the great outdoors, covered with shadecloth. Then don protective gear and spray down the entire inside and fixtures with bleach diluted to 10%, leave sit for 15-30 minutes, and rinse it off anything that might corrode.

Treat as many plants per day as you can. You're racing freezing weather. Wash them with slightly soapy water and a soft brush to remove as many bugs as possible. Let dry, then spray the entire plant and medium with horticultural oil spray, not neem oil. I've never used neem oil but I've read numerous stories of it failing. Horticultural oil has been used on commercial crops for many decades. It kills adults and eggs.

Or, after washing, brushing and drying, submerge entire plants in slightly soapy water, as I've previously described.

Then put treated plants back in the greenhouse.

Be vigilant. You shouldn't use oil oftener than every few weeks. At the first sign of infestation I would wash and brush again, and repeat the soak. I think your scale might be eliminated by the first treatment, or easy to eliminate from just a few remaining plants afterward.

I have eliminated scale from about 50 plants all at once with a soak. I bare-rooted them. I didn't need to re-treat. It was gone.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by estación seca

If you're not willing to drive to another State to buy something, my suggestion would be to move everything out of your greenhouse to the great outdoors, covered with shadecloth. Then don protective gear and spray down the entire inside and fixtures with bleach diluted to 10%, leave sit for 15-30 minutes, and rinse it off anything that might corrode.

Treat as many plants per day as you can. You're racing freezing weather. Wash them with slightly soapy water and a soft brush to remove as many bugs as possible. Let dry, then spray the entire plant and medium with horticultural oil spray, not neem oil. I've never used neem oil but I've read numerous stories of it failing. Horticultural oil has been used on commercial crops for many decades. It kills adults and eggs.

Or, after washing, brushing and drying, submerge entire plants in slightly soapy water, as I've previously described.

Then put treated plants back in the greenhouse.

Be vigilant. You shouldn't use oil oftener than every few weeks. At the first sign of infestation I would wash and brush again, and repeat the soak. I think your scale might be eliminated by the first treatment, or easy to eliminate from just a few remaining plants afterward.

I have eliminated scale from about 50 plants all at once with a soak. I bare-rooted them. I didn't need to re-treat. It was gone.

Thank you for writing back.

I think the bleach is a no go in the greenhouse. I believe it will react with the polycarbonate. I think if I clean anything in there, I am stuck with just soap. It doesn’t really get cold until November here, so I do have some time.

The other problem I have is a mosquito one. I have *swarms* of them. I get surrounded by them with about as many as you might see gnats by the river at sunset. Essentially, outside is a cloud of mosquitoes. I timed that in 15 minutes, I got about 46 bites. In just 2 or 3 minutes, maybe 6 bites. A neighbor has an abandoned pool that has breed many tiger mosquitos in addition to the significant problem I had in my own yard already. That’s part of why I wanted something I could spray quickly that was systemic and be done with it. I can’t spend hours out there or I’ll probably end up in a hospital.

[Leafmite]

Not sure what is available or legal in New York but here are some options....

Cross state lines and buy what has been recommended or have Amazon send the recommended product to a friend or relative's home that might be planning to visit.

Have a professional come and spray your plants. They can often buy what we cannot due to licensing (like some stuff that worked great but is now banned). They may have to come a few times. You will want to take care of your plants before they come and keep clear for about forty-eight hours. If this is done in your greenhouse, be sure to air it out well once the spray dries. Keep any pets out of the greenhouse for a time. Ask how long you should wait to water your plants.

Malathion. You spray this every two weeks and have to cover every inch of all the plants. It is a contact spray. You have to buy a sprayer and protective gear (disposable suit, eye wear, mask) and spray when there is no breeze. You have to keep the plants dry for forty-eight hours (what they recommended at the orchard) to give the pesticide a chance to work. Try not to walk in the area for that time. Not recommended for indoors, around pets/children, etc. We used this on the fruit trees for thirty years--I really do not miss having fruit trees.

Horticultural oil/Neem oil/insecticidal soap Oil suffocates the scale. Every inch of the plant has to be covered and it might take a few sessions to get them all. After the oil is washed off, release lady bugs. Insecticidal soap works by breaking down the outer shell.

Carbaryl It kills everything but spidermites. Just wear protective gear and keep any pets out of the greenhouse. I have used this both as a powder and as a spray.

Isopropyal alcohol...you will have to buy quite a bit of it and spray twice a week for a few weeks to get rid of the scale. Fine for a few plants, but not practical for a few hundred.

If not using a systemic, once you think you have gotten rid of them, wash your plants well (with the hose) and then release lady bugs. They will find the few missed by the treatments. If you do use a systemic, buy a few citrus, jasmines, or coffee tree and the scale will attack those and leave your other plants alone.

Good luck!

---------- Post added at 04:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 AM ----------

Mosquitoes... Can a few 'feeder' goldfish be added to the abandoned pool? They are voracious eaters of mosquito larvae and quite tough. No need to feed them. If you cannot do that, could you buy some mosquito dunks and throw them in their pool? Maybe even buy them and ask the neighbor permission to add them every month?
I am sure your neighbors have no idea what to do with the pool. Pools are quite a bit of work and expensive to maintain so it might just be too much for them.

If you cannot do the above, try covering yourself with Noxzema skin cream...they seem to dislike biting through it. You could also call the health department. More and more mosquito-born illnesses have been making their way to the US so this should concern them.

[Ray]

Bleach will not affect polycarbonate.

Have you considered acephate? I'd be happy to ship it to you.

[Dimples]

I recently bought some mosquito pants and a top that has a zippered hood. The mesh is tight enough to keep out everything. I attract every mosquito in a half mile area. It’s not high fashion, but it’s effective. Lol

---------- Post added at 07:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:03 AM ----------

Definitely try and find a trap-crop for the scale. Anything they prefer over your orchids will work.

Example: Growing nasturtium around the farm all but eliminated our aphid problem on our crops.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by Ray

Bleach will not affect polycarbonate.

Have you considered acephate? I'd be happy to ship it to you.

I have this stuff already:

Amazon.com

Not exactly sure how to use it or if it is the right stuff for the job. It seems like it is in granules in the bag . I also want as few insect casualties as possible aside from the scale.

I also have malathion but I did not think these were systemics.

[estación seca]

Report the pool to your County health department. That's a severe health hazard. They may put Gambusia fish in the pool to eat the mosquitos. Mosquitos in your region spread several encephalitis viruses, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus and possibly Zika virus. Malaria was one of the leading causes of death in colonial New England.

[BrassavolaStars]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Not sure what is available or legal in New York but here are some options....

Cross state lines and buy what has been recommended or have Amazon send the recommended product to a friend or relative's home that might be planning to visit.

Have a professional come and spray your plants. They can often buy what we cannot due to licensing (like some stuff that worked great but is now banned). They may have to come a few times. You will want to take care of your plants before they come and keep clear for about forty-eight hours. If this is done in your greenhouse, be sure to air it out well once the spray dries. Keep any pets out of the greenhouse for a time. Ask how long you should wait to water your plants.

Malathion. You spray this every two weeks and have to cover every inch of all the plants. It is a contact spray. You have to buy a sprayer and protective gear (disposable suit, eye wear, mask) and spray when there is no breeze. You have to keep the plants dry for forty-eight hours (what they recommended at the orchard) to give the pesticide a chance to work. Try not to walk in the area for that time. Not recommended for indoors, around pets/children, etc. We used this on the fruit trees for thirty years--I really do not miss having fruit trees.

Horticultural oil/Neem oil/insecticidal soap Oil suffocates the scale. Every inch of the plant has to be covered and it might take a few sessions to get them all. After the oil is washed off, release lady bugs. Insecticidal soap works by breaking down the outer shell.

Carbaryl It kills everything but spidermites. Just wear protective gear and keep any pets out of the greenhouse. I have used this both as a powder and as a spray.

Isopropyal alcohol...you will have to buy quite a bit of it and spray twice a week for a few weeks to get rid of the scale. Fine for a few plants, but not practical for a few hundred.

If not using a systemic, once you think you have gotten rid of them, wash your plants well (with the hose) and then release lady bugs. They will find the few missed by the treatments. If you do use a systemic, buy a few citrus, jasmines, or coffee tree and the scale will attack those and leave your other plants alone.

Good luck!

---------- Post added at 04:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 AM ----------

Mosquitoes... Can a few 'feeder' goldfish be added to the abandoned pool? They are voracious eaters of mosquito larvae and quite tough. No need to feed them. If you cannot do that, could you buy some mosquito dunks and throw them in their pool? Maybe even buy them and ask the neighbor permission to add them every month?
I am sure your neighbors have no idea what to do with the pool. Pools are quite a bit of work and expensive to maintain so it might just be too much for them.

If you cannot do the above, try covering yourself with Noxzema skin cream...they seem to dislike biting through it. You could also call the health department. More and more mosquito-born illnesses have been making their way to the US so this should concern them.

It would be hard to cross state lines with the stuff as I believe Jersey and Connecticut also got rid of the stuff. I might try that idea about getting a pro.

I think these chemicals that were banned can still be used by pros, but I think that may be restricted to commercial agriculture. I can research more though.

It is unfortunate about the mosquito problem. The problem is that the neighbor passed away and the house is trying to be sold, but is vacant. I cannot entirely blame the pool though because we had very bad mosquito problems before this.

[Dimples]

If you explain that it’s a detached greenhouse (typically qualifies as a “temporary structure”) they may still be able to service your space. They may just have you sign a few wavers so their butts are covered.

---------- Post added at 11:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------

At this point, “breaking and entering” the backyard to add some mosquito fish to the pool would be the easiest solution.

California has a free mosquito fish program where they supply local aquarium stores, pond retailers, basically anybody that already keeps fish alive as part of their business, and they agree to give them out for free. I almost always end up buying something when I get fish, so it’s a win-win for everyone. Maybe your state does too?

---------- Post added at 11:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------

Or sneak in and toss a mosquito dunk in once a month?