Is this scale?

[SJF]

Is this scale on this Phal. leaf?

I have included pictures of the front and back of the leaf.

[Cym Ladye]

In my experience, if you can flick it off with your fingernail, it is scale. If it is a "bump" coming from the internal part of the leaf, it is something else,. I will not venture to guess without seeing the leaf more closely.

Cym Ladye

[cbuchman]

It certainly looks like scale. Like Cym Ladye, I just squish them under my fingernail. If it squishes it's scale.

[tucker85]

Yes it is scale. I use a soft or medium bristle tooth brush with a little soap and water. Supposedly once you dislodge them, they die and won't spread even if it falls into the media. If that's all you have, just take a wet paper towel and wipe it off. Check carefully around the base of the plant and especially the under side of the very bottom leaves. Often you'll find several there. Don't panic, here in Florida we're in a constant battle with scale.

[SJF]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

In my experience, if you can flick it off with your fingernail, it is scale. If it is a "bump" coming from the internal part of the leaf, it is something else,. I will not venture to guess without seeing the leaf more closely.

Cym Ladye

Thank you

---------- Post added at 01:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:00 PM ----------

Originally Posted by cbuchman

It certainly looks like scale. Like Cym Ladye, I just squish them under my fingernail. If it squishes it's scale.

Thank you. It is a new plant and I am glad I noticed it before I put it on a shelf with my others.

---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:01 PM ----------

Originally Posted by tucker85

Yes it is scale. I use a soft or medium bristle tooth brush with a little soap and water. Supposedly once you dislodge them, they die and won't spread even if it falls into the media. If that's all you have, just take a wet paper towel and wipe it off. Check carefully around the base of the plant and especially the under side of the very bottom leaves. Often you'll find several there. Don't panic, here in Florida we're in a constant battle with scale.

Thank you. I grow indoors and am going to do what you said and then keep it separated for a few weeks to make sure I got all of them

[Bud]

Like Tucker, I also use an old toothbrush and a plastic butter knife to scrape them off.

my mix:

10 drops dish soap
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
2 cups tepid water

spray the leaves until soaking wet than scrape the bugs off

spray the media mix in case theres eggs in there

repeat the next week until there is no more infestation

[SJF]

Originally Posted by Bud

Like Tucker, I also use an old toothbrush and a plastic butter knife to scrape them off.

my mix:

10 drops dish soap
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon extract
2 cups tepid water

spray the leaves until soaking wet than scrape the bugs off

spray the media mix in case theres eggs in there

repeat the next week until there is no more infestation

Thank you Bud

[Stray59]

If you have a small infestation, you can scrape the offending stragglers off; but, if you see quite a few of these little buggers then you may need to consider chemical means to eradicate all of the scale in their various forms.
According to the AOS website, scale has three stages, like most insects: egg stage, larval stage and mature stage. The females lay their eggs under the protective shells then die. The eggs hatch into what is called "crawlies", the larval stage. They crawl to where they want to mature, and set up "home", forming the scales. In some species, females form the lasting "scales", whereas in those species, the males form wings and take to the air; their job is to breed and die; in other species both female and male form scales as protective "shields". Then the cycle repeats ad-nauseum. The cycle can be from 2-3 weeks long in optimum conditions up to a 4-8 weeks under less than perfect conditions. Perfect conditions are humid with little air flow. But the cycles are staggered, so you have all different stages going on at the same time. AOS says that home growers may just use alcohol, liquid soap and water, but this is considered "maintenance" not eradication, as it you miss ONE scale, or "crawlie" you have allowed the scale to start over again.
My experience has been that a few of the "crawlies" tend to seek cracks and crevices to get into so they are out of the wind and protected by the plant. These are the ones that are sooo difficult to scrape off. As I have a lot of orchids, indoor and close together, I don't tolerate scale well. If I bring one in that has scale, I spray it with a mild insecticide, it really doesn't take that harsh of a chemical to get rid of them. Some growers use systemic insecticides which means that no bug can "hide" from the insecticide as it is in the sap of the plant.
Hope some of this help you decide how to go.
Best of luck with getting rid of these little beasties.
Steve

[NYCorchidman]

I would take them off and make sure nothing drops on the potting mix just in case.
I also read that once they are taken off the plants, they die, but I also read that as they are taken off, eggs that are in that "hard" shell also come off.

I once had hard time with scales. I used toobrush to dislodge them off my plant. They kept coming back. I think it was probaly all the little babied hatched from egss that were dropped on the potting mix. just my opinion.
Once I noticed that scales spread to my other plant, I tossed them. That was a few months ago and I haven't seen any scales since.

You want to also check all possible hidden corners of your plant and make sure you don't see any.
These little things are very good at hiding at any possible little crack.
Check the crown, check the area where leaves meet, the base and the joint where roots and base meet...check everywhere. You may find more!
Also, scales are highly mobile when young. These younger bugs are even harder to see as they are smaller.
They crawl and even travel in the wind.
So I would isolate the affected plant away away from other plants. Scales are VERY hard to iradicate once you have them.

As I mentioned, I tossed two that were infested after trying all I could but only found they were still around and driving me nuts!

It was a cattleya. I had another cattleya from the same seller on which I found two scale bugs. I gave the plant back to the seller for spraying with chemical. I am supposed to get the plant back in two months or so.

[SJF]

Originally Posted by Stray59

If you have a small infestation, you can scrape the offending stragglers off; but, if you see quite a few of these little buggers then you may need to consider chemical means to eradicate all of the scale in their various forms.
According to the AOS website, scale has three stages, like most insects: egg stage, larval stage and mature stage. The females lay their eggs under the protective shells then die. The eggs hatch into what is called "crawlies", the larval stage. They crawl to where they want to mature, and set up "home", forming the scales. In some species, females form the lasting "scales", whereas in those species, the males form wings and take to the air; their job is to breed and die; in other species both female and male form scales as protective "shields". Then the cycle repeats ad-nauseum. The cycle can be from 2-3 weeks long in optimum conditions up to a 4-8 weeks under less than perfect conditions. Perfect conditions are humid with little air flow. But the cycles are staggered, so you have all different stages going on at the same time. AOS says that home growers may just use alcohol, liquid soap and water, but this is considered "maintenance" not eradication, as it you miss ONE scale, or "crawlie" you have allowed the scale to start over again.
My experience has been that a few of the "crawlies" tend to seek cracks and crevices to get into so they are out of the wind and protected by the plant. These are the ones that are sooo difficult to scrape off. As I have a lot of orchids, indoor and close together, I don't tolerate scale well. If I bring one in that has scale, I spray it with a mild insecticide, it really doesn't take that harsh of a chemical to get rid of them. Some growers use systemic insecticides which means that no bug can "hide" from the insecticide as it is in the sap of the plant.
Hope some of this help you decide how to go.
Best of luck with getting rid of these little beasties.
Steve

Thank you for the information Steve.
to getting a plant with scale.