Soft Brown Scale infestation.

Our Living with Nature Diary 10th May, 2015.

We need lots of rain but this cooler weather is the time to start planning your garden and start planting providing you are able to water the plants every day until it rains.  If you cannot water, then wait for the rain.    Unfortunately this cooler weather encourages slugs, snails, weeds and scales.  I have found a soft brown scale on our Eucalyptus forrestiana Fuschia Gum that we have growing in a large pot at the entrance to our nursery.  I cut off as much of the scale as I could and then put ring of  Vaseline around the trunk of the tree to stop the ants climbing up the tree.  Usually scales are associated with a large number of ants.  Ants frighten away the natural enemies of the scale and they also move the scale from one plant to another.  If the infestation is bad a thorough application of white oil at a rate of 20ml per litre of water is recommended.  Scales can also be removed with a brush or gloved fingers if the numbers are small.  The scale suck sap from the plant and as a result they produce large quantities of honeydew which is a sugary solution that the ants love.  The honeydew falls onto other parts of the plant and the result is a very unattractive sooty mould.

Soft brown scale infestation on Eucalyptus forrestiana.  The ants can be clearly seen in this photograph.