On Thu, 26 May 2011 14:47:20 +0000, kay
wrote:


Ann Lancing;923091 Wrote:
I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so

bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

It will come back if you have missed any scales - you'll get young scale
insects which will then disperse across the plant, and will obviously
target young growth rather than old growth.

You can kill them with a systemic insecticide - one that is taken into
the plant, and therefor kills sap sucking creatures. But you might not
want to eat the blackberries.

I presume you are confident about your identification - scale insect is
not the first thing you think of in connection with blackberries.

Kay

Provado Ultimate Bug Killer is ok on a wide range of edibles
(including blackberries) in its newer trigger and concentrate versions
(of which the active ingredient is thiacloprid). The aerosol version,
however, is NOT considered safe for edibles as it's formuilation is
different.

In terms of edibles you can use it on and time between spray and
harvest for the thiacloprid-based versions, this link is the most
informative I've found:

http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/garden...ate-bug-killer

Please remember, spray early morning or late evening and don't spray
the flowers. Once absorbed through leaves it's fine but the tiniest of
tiny amounts on a flower or still wet on foliage will kill bees,
butterflies, ladybirds and all the other beneficial bugs as well as
the nasties you want to destroy.

Jake