Phisherman wrote:

The hort oil should work. Insecticial soap and using a soft brush
should work too. [...] For a more drastic cure, set the plant in a trash
bag, spray with malathion, and close up the bag for 2 days. Repeat
the procedure in 10 days. [...] I had two parlor palms heavily infested
with scale, and finally got rid of them using a series of systemic
insecticide treatments.

Agree with the above. In FL, we had several encounters with
scale on rare or otherwise desireable plants. The oil and/or
soap controlled minor infestations, but for heavy ones, I had
to resort to Orthene (a systemic), which seemed to me the
least frightening of a bunch of nasty chemicals.

Some synthetic insecticides can cause severe eye damage and
other problems if ingested or on contact. I followed label
instructions to the letter (gloves, long-sleeved clothing, eye
protection, washing all clothes separately after application)
and emerged unscathed. Saved some beautiful plants, too.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
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