In article ,
Steve wrote:

Katra wrote:
In article ,
Steve wrote:


Katra wrote:


.......................................
Ok... so what can I use for scale infestation on cactus?
San Pedro cactus...


I had to look up a picture of San Pedro cactus to see if it was covered
with spines or not. I see there is space between the rows of spines.
If you have it in a pot, and it's not too huge, you can do it the easy
way. Take some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and rub off every scale.
Spray, or otherwise wet the plant with alcohol about twice a week to
kill the microscopic young ones. Inspect the plant closely every week
for a while to watch for new scale. Get them before they have time to
reproduce.
If you live where you are growing this cactus outside, you'll probably
have to spray with something stronger.

Steve


It's in the greenhouse... That's what has me worried!
I've used some sevin', but have read that it usually takes an oil based
insecticide to effectively kill adult scale? But what are oil based
pesticides and how dangerous are they?


I have some doubt about what they mean by oil based insecticide. Some
insecticides are wettable powders to be mixed with water. Some in liquid
form are also water based. Some liquid insecticides are in an oil base
(you still usually mix that liquid with water). More often, these are
referred to as petroleum based insecticides. These can be harsh on
delicate plants. I wouldn't think cactus would be delicate but I'm not
sure. If you burn a few leaves on a plant that can grow new leaves,
that's one thing but if you burn your cactus, it's scared for life.
They may have simply been referring to products like the "SunSpray
Ultra-fine" oil that I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

Steve





Hmmmmm... I wonder if I mixed pennyroyal essential oil with some
vegatable based oil to act as a diluent? Scale as adults are sessile, so
those breeders I need to kill. :-P I can put the oil spray into a spray
oil dispenser used for cooking. AKA an "oil pump"

I'm finally getting pennyroyal established in one of my raised beds.
Great ground cover and acts as "green mulch" and is insect repellant.

D'you think this might work?

I have a small investment tied up in the San Pedros as landscaping cacti
and have been actively trying to propagate them. This damned scale
infestation could be a real blow!

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

In article ,
Steve wrote:

Loki wrote:

il Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:40:17 -0500, Steve ha scritto:


Katra wrote:


.......................................
Ok... so what can I use for scale infestation on cactus?
San Pedro cactus...


I had to look up a picture of San Pedro cactus to see if it was covered
with spines or not. I see there is space between the rows of spines.
If you have it in a pot, and it's not too huge, you can do it the easy
way. Take some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and rub off every scale.
Spray, or otherwise wet the plant with alcohol about twice a week to
kill the microscopic young ones. Inspect the plant closely every week
for a while to watch for new scale. Get them before they have time to
reproduce.
If you live where you are growing this cactus outside, you'll probably
have to spray with something stronger.

Steve


Do you have any idea how much alcohol one can use on any plant before
it turns up it's toes? I get occassional scale on various plants and
some can be rubbed off but the bay tree is loaded (mainly on the
trunks, not the leaves.


I'm pretty sure most plants can tolerate undiluted rubbing alcohol
(usually, it's isopropyl alcohol) sprayed as often as you want. It
evaporates fast and leaves no residue.
Alcohol will not kill adult scale. It's mainly to kill the newly hatched
babies. On a plant with too many scales to remove by hand, I would use
something else. The proper type of oil will smother even the adults
without harming the plant and it's quite non toxic.

Steve



That's what I thought. :-)
What kind of oil would you recommend?
I came in late to this thread so would appreciate
comments.

These damned creatures spread FAST!!!

Gods help me if they ever get on my one and only precious cycad. :-(

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Sun, 13 Feb 2005 14:50:12 -0600, Katra ha scritto:

In article ,
Steve wrote:

Katra wrote:

.......................................
Ok... so what can I use for scale infestation on cactus?
San Pedro cactus...


I had to look up a picture of San Pedro cactus to see if it was covered
with spines or not. I see there is space between the rows of spines.
If you have it in a pot, and it's not too huge, you can do it the easy
way. Take some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and rub off every scale.
Spray, or otherwise wet the plant with alcohol about twice a week to
kill the microscopic young ones. Inspect the plant closely every week
for a while to watch for new scale. Get them before they have time to
reproduce.
If you live where you are growing this cactus outside, you'll probably
have to spray with something stronger.

Steve

It's in the greenhouse... That's what has me worried!
I've used some sevin', but have read that it usually takes an oil based
insecticide to effectively kill adult scale? But what are oil based
pesticides and how dangerous are they?

Thanks!

Oil based, because they effectively suffocate the insect. That's why
Conqueror Oil is mineral oil, (think baby oil) not a pesticide. But
added with Orthene® (aephate) gives better results. [so the
manufacturer says]
but Orthene thins stone fruits and seems to be added for mealey bug.
So any plain mineral oil will be safe up to harvest time. But I guess
you don't want to eat the cactus.

I'm not planning on eating the San Pedro, well, maybe the fruit, but
future customers might so I do have to be careful! They are primarily a
landscaping cacti and, as I posted earlier, I'm trying to propagate
them. I have 20 successful cuttings growing off of 3 large 3 branched
ones I paid $75.00 each for. They ain't cheap!

Actually, I've not lost a good cutting yet. They need to be a minimum of
3" thick to survive. 5" to 6" do even better. I plan to re-trim stumps
for more buds as I remove the buds ready for callusing and re-planting.

http://home.centurytel.net/Katraslin...SanPedros1.jpg

One of my tip cuttings came down with scale and it had spread to the two
adjacent pots before I discovered it. :-( I've sprayed liquid sevin all
over the others and my cycad and finally cleaned off all three plants by
hand. The spines are short so I could do it!

The biodensity in Greenhouse #1 might need to be reduced until I kill
all the buggers. I don't know where it came from!!! I did those cuttings
about 3 months ago and the appearance of the scale was rather sudden! :-P

Just make sure anything you buy
tells you what's in it.

Oh yes...
One reason I'd rather attempt making my own.

At least the sevin biodegrades, but I used it before I'd read that
carbamyl (sp?) is not very effective against sessile scale...

I also do not wish to kill my greenhouse spiders. I have a kite spider
living in Greenhouse #2 that has been there for several months. That
greenhouse is clean tho'. No mealy bugs or scale.

Here she is:

http://home.centurytel.net/Katraslink/KiteSpider.jpg

She is a bitty little thing, but effective at keeping moths and gnats at
bay! :-)

Thanks!
Kat

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

Katra wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:
.................................
I have some doubt about what they mean by oil based insecticide. Some
insecticides are wettable powders to be mixed with water. Some in liquid
form are also water based. Some liquid insecticides are in an oil base
(you still usually mix that liquid with water). More often, these are
referred to as petroleum based insecticides. These can be harsh on
delicate plants. I wouldn't think cactus would be delicate but I'm not
sure. If you burn a few leaves on a plant that can grow new leaves,
that's one thing but if you burn your cactus, it's scared for life.
They may have simply been referring to products like the "SunSpray
Ultra-fine" oil that I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

Steve






Hmmmmm... I wonder if I mixed pennyroyal essential oil with some
vegatable based oil to act as a diluent? Scale as adults are sessile, so
those breeders I need to kill. :-P I can put the oil spray into a spray
oil dispenser used for cooking. AKA an "oil pump"

I'm finally getting pennyroyal established in one of my raised beds.
Great ground cover and acts as "green mulch" and is insect repellant.

D'you think this might work?.....................................


It might, but I have no way of knowing for sure. At this point you are
doing an experiment, so you are on your own! ;-)

Steve

In article ,
Steve wrote:

Katra wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:
.................................
I have some doubt about what they mean by oil based insecticide. Some
insecticides are wettable powders to be mixed with water. Some in liquid
form are also water based. Some liquid insecticides are in an oil base
(you still usually mix that liquid with water). More often, these are
referred to as petroleum based insecticides. These can be harsh on
delicate plants. I wouldn't think cactus would be delicate but I'm not
sure. If you burn a few leaves on a plant that can grow new leaves,
that's one thing but if you burn your cactus, it's scared for life.
They may have simply been referring to products like the "SunSpray
Ultra-fine" oil that I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

Steve






Hmmmmm... I wonder if I mixed pennyroyal essential oil with some
vegatable based oil to act as a diluent? Scale as adults are sessile, so
those breeders I need to kill. :-P I can put the oil spray into a spray
oil dispenser used for cooking. AKA an "oil pump"

I'm finally getting pennyroyal established in one of my raised beds.
Great ground cover and acts as "green mulch" and is insect repellant.

D'you think this might work?.....................................


It might, but I have no way of knowing for sure. At this point you are
doing an experiment, so you are on your own! ;-)

Steve




lol Ok, I just did not know if anyone had any experience with
pennyroyal. I know it sure works for fleas, and tends to keep slugs and
stuff out of the gardens where it is growing!

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

In article ,
Rick wrote:

On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 16:43:49 -0600, Katra
wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:

Katra wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:
.................................
I have some doubt about what they mean by oil based insecticide. Some
insecticides are wettable powders to be mixed with water. Some in liquid
form are also water based. Some liquid insecticides are in an oil base
(you still usually mix that liquid with water). More often, these are
referred to as petroleum based insecticides. These can be harsh on
delicate plants. I wouldn't think cactus would be delicate but I'm not
sure. If you burn a few leaves on a plant that can grow new leaves,
that's one thing but if you burn your cactus, it's scared for life.
They may have simply been referring to products like the "SunSpray
Ultra-fine" oil that I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

Steve






Hmmmmm... I wonder if I mixed pennyroyal essential oil with some
vegatable based oil to act as a diluent? Scale as adults are sessile, so
those breeders I need to kill. :-P I can put the oil spray into a spray
oil dispenser used for cooking. AKA an "oil pump"

I'm finally getting pennyroyal established in one of my raised beds.
Great ground cover and acts as "green mulch" and is insect repellant.

D'you think this might work?.....................................


It might, but I have no way of knowing for sure. At this point you are
doing an experiment, so you are on your own! ;-)

Steve




lol Ok, I just did not know if anyone had any experience with
pennyroyal. I know it sure works for fleas, and tends to keep slugs and
stuff out of the gardens where it is growing!

I am jumping in rather late, but here is something for you to
consider. Oils like mineral oil are bengn on the stems of leafy
plants, but catus breath through their skin. I do not really know for
sure, but oil on a catus seems like a bad idea to me. You may well
smother tha catus along with the scale.

-Rick

Okay... Just one more consideration. ;-)

Am wondering if sevin will kill the "crawlers" and I can just eliminate
the sessile adults by hand like I've been doing. I think once they get
established like they did, (I don't spend as much time as frequently in
the greenhouses during the winter) they are going to take a lot of work
to get rid of. I just pray they don't spread any further! :-P

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

il Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:36:11 -0500, Steve ha scritto:

Loki wrote:

il Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:40:17 -0500, Steve ha scritto:


Katra wrote:


.......................................
Ok... so what can I use for scale infestation on cactus?
San Pedro cactus...


I had to look up a picture of San Pedro cactus to see if it was covered
with spines or not. I see there is space between the rows of spines.
If you have it in a pot, and it's not too huge, you can do it the easy
way. Take some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and rub off every scale.
Spray, or otherwise wet the plant with alcohol about twice a week to
kill the microscopic young ones. Inspect the plant closely every week
for a while to watch for new scale. Get them before they have time to
reproduce.
If you live where you are growing this cactus outside, you'll probably
have to spray with something stronger.

Steve


Do you have any idea how much alcohol one can use on any plant before
it turns up it's toes? I get occassional scale on various plants and
some can be rubbed off but the bay tree is loaded (mainly on the
trunks, not the leaves.


I'm pretty sure most plants can tolerate undiluted rubbing alcohol
(usually, it's isopropyl alcohol) sprayed as often as you want. It
evaporates fast and leaves no residue.
Alcohol will not kill adult scale. It's mainly to kill the newly hatched
babies. On a plant with too many scales to remove by hand, I would use
something else. The proper type of oil will smother even the adults
without harming the plant and it's quite non toxic.

Steve

There are one or two houseplants that don't like oil. but as usual I
can't remember what they are. I suspect the Kentia Palm is one and
probably violets. I'd have to browse my books again and since I'm
really meant to be getting ready for work... Soft fluffy leaves
probably don't handle it well ;-)
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

il Mon, 14 Feb 2005 16:43:49 -0600, Katra ha scritto:


lol Ok, I just did not know if anyone had any experience with
pennyroyal. I know it sure works for fleas, and tends to keep slugs and
stuff out of the gardens where it is growing!

Bugs are very diverse, and what works for one won't always work for
another. Slugs are soft and squishy but scale are hard and it seems
that probably protects them from poison. The consensus seems to be to
suffocate them. But where there are scale there may be others, like
mealey bug, and they need poison. Greenhouse hygiene is a whole
science on its own. Best to study up on it through books and
university notes.
Goodluck. :-)
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

Marcella Peek wrote:
Last year my little lemon trees were attacked. A trip to the local
nursery with a trimming in a zip lock bag got me a diagnosis and a
bottle of spray. I had to spray weekly and seemed to just keep the
critters at bay. They went away for the winter but now are back.

Anyone have any recommendations for a solution? What I was using last
year was a spray for scale by "Safer" brand for fruit and vegetables.
One tree lost quite a few leaves and I'm thinking I need something a bit
more effective.

marcella

You didn't say how little your lemon trees were
but after using horticultural oil on my kaffir
limes last year, this year I just scrapped them
by hand when I saw the first couple scale bugs
when I brought them inside and haven't had any
problems since. Might've just been a good
year though.

In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Mon, 14 Feb 2005 16:43:49 -0600, Katra ha scritto:


lol Ok, I just did not know if anyone had any experience with
pennyroyal. I know it sure works for fleas, and tends to keep slugs and
stuff out of the gardens where it is growing!

Bugs are very diverse, and what works for one won't always work for
another. Slugs are soft and squishy but scale are hard and it seems
that probably protects them from poison. The consensus seems to be to
suffocate them. But where there are scale there may be others, like
mealey bug, and they need poison. Greenhouse hygiene is a whole
science on its own.

Indeed... ;-)

Best to study up on it through books and
university notes.
Goodluck. :-)

Thanks!

Right now I'll just clean them off by hand and pick up some pyrethrin to
hopefully keep the "crawlers" killed and see what happens!

I may have to set up some sort of quaranteen area for infected plants.

So far, the scale has only attacked my San Pedros.

Wouldn't you know they are attacking the only cactus I'm currently
trying to propagate to help pay for my plant hobby... :-P

For a nice healthy 12" to 18" San Pedro with some girth, I can get about
$25.00.

sigh

--
K.

Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

As we go through life thinking heavy thoughts, thought particles
tend to get caught between the ears causing truth decay- so be sure
to use mental floss twice a day. -- Swami Beyondanada

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra