Cottony Cushon Scale

How do I get rid of this pest? These nasty little guys love to line up on the stems of my hosta flowers, my lilies, and my coleus! I tried blasting them off daily with water. I tried neem oil. So far nothing is really working. Any advise?

I posted this question on the organics forum...but I think I might have stumped them! So far no answers. Any help here?

scale is harder to get rid of than a lot of other pests. they really need to be smothered with a light oil. i'm surprised that neem isn't working for you. the problem with oil is that on plants like coleus, it pretty much kills the leaves too. you can't blast it off with water or kill it with water. you could also try something like a systemic spray such as orthonex. i don't think there are too many organic solutions to scale. the plants you are describing it on tend to get more mealybugs. are you positive it's scale? if it's mealies, alcohol and water spray will kill them.

No....I'm not sure it is scale! Maybe you are right and it is mealy bugs. They do dislodge very easily. They are jumping little critters. So if I spray with water they all jump off. Then come back! What is the ratio alcohol/water to use? I'll get them this evening!

Robin, look at this thread. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/601720/ I used alcohol/water and it certainly killed them.... and all the leaves too! LOL Next time I'll use a qtip to apply the alcohol.

if they jump off and then come back, they aren't mealybugs either. do they fly or jump? if they fly, they are whitefly and if they jump and are kind of pointed they are leafhoppers.

They for sure JUMP...and they are arrow head shaped with a little frilly part on the back end. Smaller than leaf hoppers I have know but bigger than white fly. It is hard to get a photo because they are so small mycamera doesn't want to focus on them...but here are a few photos that will give you the idea.

One more

Last one...sorry about the poor focus on the little beast. My camera is just not good enough for this. Honestly I was out there practically standing on my head to take a decent photo.

ok, the 10:49 picture is a white leafhopper that i have also. there are like 2500 different kinds i think. they are wedge-shaped. i have to do some research. the last two pictures you posted could possibly be the nymphs or eggs. but that's just a guess. otherwise it looks like two different problems going on. let me see what i can google. i wish ceejaytown would pop in here. she bails me out when i get in over my head. lol here is one i just found. http://images.google.com/images?q=white+leafhopper&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

This message was edited Jun 15, 2006 11:15 AM

I think you are right...now that I have checked out the photos. The white mess in the other two photos is where they live. They create a white web type of stuff. Maybe that is where they lay eggs. Now for the most important question....how to kill?

i think if it were me i would start slow. that is, no oil or toxic junk that can hurt your plants. if this was a woody plant it would be different, but since it's coleus, etc. i think i would mix up a spray of one third alcohol to two thirds water and spray them down. hopefully your plants are shaded? i have really doused plants with almost straight alcohol with no long term effects other than killing the beasts. just go over them really good. undersides esp. i think i would do it every day for three days and then once a week. i don't know what the lifecycle of these guys are, but you can have more hatchings coming.

Thripmaster, your pics look a lot like what I'm finding in my garden right now. What I've got jumps when I spray the alcohol. Did you try the alcohol or something else with any success?

This message was edited Jul 19, 2006 7:08 PM

Well...I am a little embarassed to say that I went into a frenzy and nuked them with megadeath malathion. Sounds like you have the same critter though. Malathion worked great and they still have not returned. But I am sure that the colateral damage was huge. If there is another way I would suggest you go with it. I did not have alcohol to spray on them (other than a beer that I wasn't willing to part with!). I had already sprayed them with Neem Oil and they were back within 3 days and I just went nuts and nuked them. I am about to the same point now with the Japanese Beetles. But every day I look out and see the humming birds and I delay one more day thinking their season will pass.

Oh Robin....you go girl! I don't blame you for nuking them. I'm having such a problem with wit what I think is the same stuff. I even have a pot that they have covered the top of the soil and it is all white and crusty now!

Thanks for the reply, and I don't blame you for nuking them, either. Last night I went out and sprayed with a mix of part alcohol, part water, and a little oil for sticking. And then of course it rained.

But today they seem to be gone. I'll keep my eyes peeled and consider nuking if necessary.

Thanks again.
winging

The nymphs looked like a type of plant hopper to me. Either from family Flattidae or from family Acanaloniidae.

When they aren't numerous, they don't usually do too much damage, but they can if they get numerous. Lots of things like to eat them though - including dragonflies, yellow jackets, spiders, and wasps. So if you catch them early enough next time, I would suggest pyrethrins. That can do some collateral damage too, but the residual is low, so it will do much less damage than a more residual chemical.