Garden Pests and Diseases: Lemon tree - I think my tree is sick / brown spots, 0 by Mooncow

Mooncow wrote:
The thing is that these "pests" or "scales" are kinda stuck to the tree. I can remove them manually tho but a strong jet wouldnt do the job. Also there arent so many so probably removing them manually would be the best.


What kind of insecticides could I get and would that harm the tree itself too in any way?
Also could you define what is a "scale"?

Also a bit off topic: I would like to cut my tree to give him some shape. Would you guys suggest that? I attached a picture to show how does it look at the moment. I'd think about cutting it around the middle - where it starts to go upwards only.

Do you guys think that would help the tree to get bigger/stronger?