Scale control - methods for indoor control?
After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in
comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
I agree on the Orthene, but Enstar is perfectly safe indoors, but another
alternative is a soft toothbrush, a cup of very soapy water, and some elbow grease. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info! "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
BruceM wrote:
After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. You could substitute an oil spray for the Orthene. http://www.berkeleyhort.com/roses/_p...traFineOil.jpg http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/cuespic/sunspray.jpg Oil sprays are probably less toxic that some of the cleaning products used in most homes. Common sense would tell me to use the Enstar before the oil, not right after. I have completely eliminated scale from one plant (or a few) by taking the the plant to the sink and just washing it. Regular dish washing detergent is fine because you can rinse it all off at the end. I scrub off all visible scale and soap up and wash all surfaces. This is easy with something like a Cattleya with not to many growths. Fairly easy with a Phalaenopsis. Not easy at all with something like a multi growth Paphiopedilum. With a Paph, I would follow up with the oil spray taking care to get it into the crevices between the leaves. I have never used Enstar II. It's kind of expensive and I've never been that desperate yet. Steve |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
one day i looked at my (numerous) amaryllii and discovered they had soft
scale--after considerable stomping about and use of four letter words, i set to with the alcohol and q tips and cotton balls, and when all that was done, sprayed the hell out of them with a commercially available premixed neem oil solution. i repeated the spraying a couple more times at weekly intervals, and haven't had a problem since. (and yes these plants are in the house.) what i *did* notice was that when i sprayed plants out on the deck with neem oil, the squirrels LOVED it. they pulled the leaves off the hibiscus and ate 'em like burritos. since i didn't find any squirrel carcasses, i can only assume the stuff's non toxic. this is what i use: http://www.gardensafe.com/ProductCat...de/Fungicide3/ i also spray down all the orchids with it a couple times a year whether they need it or not. --j_a |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
Bruce,
You could add a little oil and water to the soap/alcohol mix and spray them with it. The soap loosens their grip on the plant and lets the alcohol in, the soap and alcohol are toxic to the bugs, the oil smothers them just in case. For oil you can use the horticultural oils (or mineral oil I've read), vegetable or neem oil. Just add a tablespoon of oil per quart of mix. Spray once a week for 3 or 4 weeks. Takes care of the babys as the sprays don't kill eggs. Don't put them back in the sun (if they are in it) right after spraying with oil. Wait a day or they will burn. Ratios are not exact. A tablespoon each of oil & soap and a cup of alcohol to 2 3/4 cups of water should do it. Add the soap last. If the plants are not all in close proximity to the others you might only need to treat the infected plant. Bob "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Quote:
Weng |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
Thank you.... I think I will try soap and water with a tooth brush and
follow it with soap and alcohol or insecticidal soap spray. Unfortunately the 30+ plants are in close proximity, so I have a little bit of work inspecting and cleaning! It looks like the major problems are on 2-3 plants, but there a light signs on many others. Is it a good idea to water the plants and then drench the medium and roots with a soap and water or soap and alcohol mix? I have a older cat with kidney disease, and really want to avoid anything that will affect her if at all possible. "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
Bruce,
In India they use Neem oil as hair oil and in toothpaste. They also use it striaght out of the bottle as an antiseptic. I think you can consider it non-toxic and it does one heck of a job on scale insects (cheap too). I buy mine at the local Asian food store for $3/bottle. After use, just keep your plants out of the sun for a few days. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
I used neem oil as a drench last year when I had mites in the soil of my
african violets. The smell of them really did not agree with me. It had a kind of old onion oil smell that wasn't unpleasant, just really odd to come home to. It worked great on the mites though. I've heard there are some manafacturers who do a better job of hiding / removing that smell. I'll talk to our local organinc shop today and see what they have. I was thinking of the enstar when I can find a local supplier I really need to get a greenhouse so I can stop being picky!!!!!!! "a.bickell" wrote in message oups.com... Bruce, In India they use Neem oil as hair oil and in toothpaste. They also use it striaght out of the bottle as an antiseptic. I think you can consider it non-toxic and it does one heck of a job on scale insects (cheap too). I buy mine at the local Asian food store for $3/bottle. After use, just keep your plants out of the sun for a few days. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
To a.bickell,
Is there a brand name for the Neem oil at the Asian food store? I have used 2 kinds & want to use it as a preventative measure. Have you heard the story on how the Indians found out about Neem Oil for bugs? It is interesting. Cheers Wendy "a.bickell" wrote in message oups.com... Bruce, In India they use Neem oil as hair oil and in toothpaste. They also use it striaght out of the bottle as an antiseptic. I think you can consider it non-toxic and it does one heck of a job on scale insects (cheap too). I buy mine at the local Asian food store for $3/bottle. After use, just keep your plants out of the sun for a few days. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
A followup :
Thanks to the users here ofr their responses. I eventually settled for using Safer's brand Insecticidal soap and added Neem oil for backup. Watered the plats well, inspected for any hardscale, and carehully pried those off with a sharp scalpel. Sprayed the leaves top and bottom, thoroughly soaking the entire plant. Placed it back in the window with the blinds closed for a day to let it dry and so far so good. It has been about 3 weeks (I know I know) and I will spray a second time this weekend. "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
For future reference, a thorough spraying with soapy water, then moderate
scrubbing with a soft toothbrush dipped periodically in more soapy water will safely remove scale without risk of damage with a scalpel blade. If you really want to get serious about it, try my "Rise & Shine" concoction. Sold as a leaf cleaner, it is a combination of ingredients that quickly dislodges the critters, kills them and disinfects the plant surface, all in one. Yeah, I know that this is close to being an ad, but I just wanted to share the alternate route to plant maintenance. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info! "BruceM" wrote in message ... A followup : Thanks to the users here ofr their responses. I eventually settled for using Safer's brand Insecticidal soap and added Neem oil for backup. Watered the plats well, inspected for any hardscale, and carehully pried those off with a sharp scalpel. Sprayed the leaves top and bottom, thoroughly soaking the entire plant. Placed it back in the window with the blinds closed for a day to let it dry and so far so good. It has been about 3 weeks (I know I know) and I will spray a second time this weekend. "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
Scale control - methods for indoor control?
Unfortunatley I did not get properly prepared before I started. I keep a
drawer next to the sink with odds and ends of cleaning materials like tooth brushes, pipe cleaners and bottle brushes for hummingbird feeders, etc. I opened the drawer after I had started spraying the first one to find everyhting was gone. The only toothbrush I could find was a very hard one. "Ray B" wrote in message news:pcp2i.11940$1X1.7136@trndny02... For future reference, a thorough spraying with soapy water, then moderate scrubbing with a soft toothbrush dipped periodically in more soapy water will safely remove scale without risk of damage with a scalpel blade. If you really want to get serious about it, try my "Rise & Shine" concoction. Sold as a leaf cleaner, it is a combination of ingredients that quickly dislodges the critters, kills them and disinfects the plant surface, all in one. Yeah, I know that this is close to being an ad, but I just wanted to share the alternate route to plant maintenance. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info! "BruceM" wrote in message ... A followup : Thanks to the users here ofr their responses. I eventually settled for using Safer's brand Insecticidal soap and added Neem oil for backup. Watered the plats well, inspected for any hardscale, and carehully pried those off with a sharp scalpel. Sprayed the leaves top and bottom, thoroughly soaking the entire plant. Placed it back in the window with the blinds closed for a day to let it dry and so far so good. It has been about 3 weeks (I know I know) and I will spray a second time this weekend. "BruceM" wrote in message ... After reading many posts on scale cotrol, it looks Enstar II in comobination with Orthene WP would be a good way to go, but I am not sure I would want to use it on my plants kept in the house around pets. I only have about 30 pots, all kept in the house, and would prefer a less "nuclear" way to do it. At the moment I only have one plant that I can defintiely say has scale , and it is in bad enough shape I am just going to throw it away. Anyone have personal experience with using something available in common box stores (don't throw anything)? I alwasy keep lots of safer insecticidal soap on hand for my roses and think I may try that and / or a alcohol spray. |
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