What is bugging my peace lily?

I was doing my weekly check on my houseplants that are spending the summer outside and found my peace lily covered with what looks like dark brown oblong shells? What is it? Somebody, HELP PLEASE!!!!!

Is it scale? :(

This message was edited Thursday, Sep 5th 6:11 PM

Melissa,
Here's a link with a good picture of scales.
You can try to save the plant if thats what it is, but make sure you isolate right away from your other plants
Becky

http://www.naturescontrol.com/pests.html

Thanks, BJT72. That was a great link, it answered other questions as well. GREAT 411! It is scale alright.

Would anybody happen to know the how to get rid of this without spending a fortune? I have already been scraping off the scales and using soapy water and a toothbrush. Any suggestions? Anybody else had a serious problem with scale?

Melissa

Scale insects do like peace lilies and they appear as you described. I do not recommend any pesticides because they are all hazardous to use and not 100% effective against scale. The best non-toxic treatment for mealybug and scale is called Brand X Foliage Cleaner (Yes, that's for real). It is available through Southwest Plantscape Products in California. Their phone is 1-800-333-7977. Go to ftp://ftp.southwestplantscape.com/Brandx.pdf for more information. It is a silicon-based product so it is very slippery. Its ability to penetrate is probably the key to its effectiveness because it gets into the tiny crevices that other sprays miss.

Alternatively, you may want to try spraying with rubbing alcohol that will help break through the hard outer barrier of the scale and kill it. Mix 1 part alcohol with 8 to 10 parts of water. The problem is that the young scale or crawlers are nearly transparent and very hard to see, so you are likely to miss some of them unless you carefully spray all plant surfaces until they drip. It is also best if you repeat this treatment all over again in 5 to 7 days to catch any crawlers that you missed the first time. After that, you should check your plant weekly to see if they return. This is a lot of work, particularly on large plants. Another option is to wash the plant down with soap and water (same dilution as when washing dishes) whenever the stickiness gets to be too much. This will not eradicate the scale, but it will keep it in check.

Whatever you use for treatment, thoroughness of coverage is the key to success.

WOW, willcreed! Looks like you've hit the nail on the head. I don't like using pesticide either. Hope you don't mind but I am sending you email. Just a little question and hope it won't be a bother. If nothing else works, I will definately give Brand X a try. It sounds like a fantastic product.

Thanks,
Melissa

I am happy to respond to plant-related emails. That is why I post my email address.

Cool, willcreed. I think I sent you mail, but got knocked off line so not sure if it sent or not. would you let me know if you got mail?:)

Melissa

Melissa,

I receive many email plant questions every day. If yours was among them, you would have received a reply by now. Please re-submit.

Will

Thanks, Will. Email is on the way!!

Melissa:)