0tterbot wrote:
"Jonno" wrote in message
...

0tterbot wrote:



i was going to recommend she try white oil to suffocate the buglets &
scale - but, don't many bugs carry fungi etc with them and may be
responsible for the black stuff too....?

any ideas? we are in canberra.
many, many thanks :-)
kylie



Where have you been?


to london to visit the queen..? :-D

no, i'm quite new to gardening as a wholistic concept. this time last year i
was a little boat awash in a sea of gardening ignorance (what a bad
metaphor), caring for someone else's lovely garden (it flourished!!!! i was
so proud) & doing courses on everything i need to know & catching up as
rapidly as i can! i just love it though, so learning is not difficult,
because it all Makes Sense.


The sooty mould (black Stuff) is caused by scale insects, which in most
cases are "farmed by ants" who milk them for their honeydew. The honeydew
causes the black mould.


ok, excellent.


Don Burke taught me all about this.


don burke makes me nuts. i just can't explain why, but there you are!


Anyway spray them with the white oil available from your local nursery for
the purpose..


good-oh! although i have a recipe for white oil (via gardening australia
iirc) if anyone was interested.


As well as the spray oil, you can get the aerosol spray cans to do the
job.


ok, excellent. i take it the mould will disappear eventually as the bugs are
gone & it's not a problem in & of itself then? am i right in thinking the
white oil should suffocate the mysterious (to me) little bugs as well as the
scale? i'll also mention the ants, vis a vis prevention in the future.


Also great time to make sure theyre fed and planted where the tree wont
get wet feet, but wont dry out. They love living next to chook
houses....As do all citrus trees....


thank you for all of that jonno, i'll make mention. (and keep it in mind for
when i've my own lemon & chook shed :-) ta again.
kylie



Yep I don't like Dons smug attitude at times, especially when I heard
the pittance he pays his staff...
But as you realised the black mould does disappear after the cause has
been sorted. I suspect you knew half of this already.
Try squashing the scale insects and youlls see they're a bit like tiny
turtles, with a hard shell. Suffocating them is what happens...
If you listen carefully you can hear them all choke out in unison. (But
not if you have a rusting holden nearby, that always drowns the sound
out) Thats mean isnt it...