For the original writer, one cannot ask a question here some days without a
landslide of rudeness coming at you. What is the purpose of this arrogance and
cursing? You could just be silent if you are unable to countenance a comment.
Here is one side from an owner of Laurus nobilis or the bay tree. Malathion
is the same family of chemicals as Lindane. Lindane is what the doctor paints
your kids with if they come home from school with scabies. If you take a cruise
and put a patch behind your ear for mal-de-mer, it is an organo-phosphate.
Neither is a human disaster used in small quantities though the Malathion won't
cure the scale problem on just one try. These are organo-phosphates, a term
with organic gardener problems. The term sets off numerous uninformed
speeches. The same pesticide free gardeners use other chemicals making them
pesticide users usually condoning their practice by using one that is an old
product and therefore harmless. Nicotine, arsenic and copper sulphate were
favored for years. If you plan to use the bay leaves for home cooking, you
would want to use a pesticide formulated for vegetables.

The oil won't do the job either and will make a mess for you that is not
pleasant indoors. Scale occurs all year around. What we do with our bay tree
is be quite vigilant and clean off the scale physically with very small foam
paintbrushes soaked in alcohol followed with a soap (any dish soap) and water
bath. Leaf axils of the plant are hard to clean. This is not failsafe so you
will need to watch and repeat. The first stage of the scale insect is nearly
invisible so it is a difficult problem on a large plant. Scale prefer other
plants to bay trees so you usually do not get a heavy infestation.

On both the bay tree and on large citrus when scale infestation is heavy you
can completely defoliate the tree, every leaf. Then you can scrub the barked
over parts with a soapy solution of any pesticide you like. You do this on a
heavy layer of newspaper with the plant lying on it's side. Discard the
newspaper. In a cool sunny spot the tree will refoliate and if no other plant
in your collection remains to reinfect the bay, it should be clean. Keep Ficus
out of your indoor collection, it is a scale magnet.