How to kill scale on ficus without hurting Cham?

[luckykarma]

Our indoor ficus always develop scale after a couple months. These are 7 foot trees so it makes it a drag when the get them. I know there a solution you pour into the roots but I worry it would possibly poison the Chams living in the trees.

Is there any safe method?

 

[Lancecham]

Sounds like you want to avoid anything that would be potentially poisonous. I have used a soap/water solution before on scale on my outdoor ficus plants and it has worked. Obviously, the chameleon must be elsewhere during the application. And before you put the chameleon back, rinse, rinse, rinse the leaves. I also fill and refill water to the container where the plant is and let it drain out. Do this several times as well.

 

[Mcfluffin]

Do you mean scale insects? Are we talking hard scale (diaspids)...sorry if I jumped to conclusions but this is my area of research....

If you mean scale insects, try using ladybirds...Chilocorus nigritus is very good on hard scale...If you tell me what the scale look like I can try to advise

(Wow...a question I might ACTUALLY be knowledgable on)

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

scale can be difficult one to get rid of in an closed environment
First thing I would try is to place it outdoors next to some bushes for a week or two
let mother natures predators have a chance at them.
It's amazing how infestations can get cleared up "overnight" like that

if that doesn't do the trick....

I would try using ice water
it's an OLD FASHION way of removing bugs long before poisons.

Take a spray bottle and fill it full of ice cubes
add some COLD water and stir it up.

spray in "stream mode" the entire plant with this so that all the little
critters get really wet and die from the sudden chill.
spray directly on them as much as you can.

If the plant is small enough you can turn it upside down
and dunk it for 10 min. in a large bucket of ice water
that'll get EVERYTHING zapped.

repeat in a week or so to kill any hatchlings you missed the first time

This won't work on all the plants... tropicals can't take it for example
but a ficus should be strong enough to handle the process. (YMMV)

bests

 

[luckykarma]

These are the black things that appear and you can remove with your fingernail. I took the tree outside a week ago and hosed it down with soapy water for ten minutes then spent another 20 going over all the branches with my fingernail. A week later they're back.

Do ladybugs eat these? I could never get them to stay in one place. Unfortunately these are trees with no cage (everyone is free range).

I could try the ice water.

And definitely, a week or so outside and they're all dead. But at that point the tree will be shocked and if I bring it inside it will drop all the leaves. We try to have at least one tree recuperating outside to rotate back in. This tree needs to go for another three months...

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Even if ladybugs eat them you do not want those in your freerange. Toxic to chams.

 

[mika]

Fake Ficus?

Seriously how bout this: You can use the ones that are non toxic:

If the black dots are sightly raised bumps that scratch off easily with a fingernail, then they are probably scale insects.

Scale can be hard to detect. When they are young these sucking insects are slightly oval, slightly raised, translucent bumps about an eighth of an inch long. They can be found along stems and on the undersides of leaves. They don't look like bugs and don't appear to move. As they get older, they develop a hard, dark brown shell and look like a small mole. As the infestation increases, these sucking insects will secrete a sticky substance called honeydew that falls onto leaves, furniture and floors. This stickiness is the most obvious sign of scale and the one that most people notice first.

The key to eliminating scale is to treat even the ones that you cannot see. That means thoroughly drenching all leaf and stem surfaces until they are dripping wet. It is also best if you repeat this treatment all over again in 5 to 7 days to catch any crawlers (the translucent young ones) that you missed the first time. After that, you should check your plant weekly to see if they return.

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. It is available through Southwest Plantscape Products in California (www.southwestplantscape.com). Their phone is 1-800-333-7977.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. However, Brand X does sometimes cause Ficus trees to defoliate temporarily.

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 5 parts of water. Add a little liquid soap to help it spread.

Sun Spray Ultra Fine horticultural oil is also mixed with water and effectively smothers the scale. Complete coverage is important.

Another good non-toxic spray is Hot Pepper Wax. Its main ingredient is hot cayenne pepper that overheats the plant pests. There is an information website for it at www.hotpepperwax.com.

Finally neem oil works similarly to horticultural oil. It should be diluted with water and Pine Sol to counteract the onion-like odor. All of these are available nationwide at plant and garden centers and also by mail order.

Important: None of these should be applied to plants in direct sun or in high temps.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions. If you would like to e-mail me some photos, I may be able to provide some additional insights.

If this information has been helpful, please click the Rate Volunteer bar below and enter a rating and nomination for me. I am a volunteer on this site so Ratings are the only compensation I receive for answering plant questions.

Visit my website at www.HorticulturalHelp.com

Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

Ref: http://en.allexperts.com/q/House-Plants-721/Ficus-black-dots-Scale.htm

 

[skajari1]

ever tryed Neem oil

ever tryed neem oil? its suppost to be an all natural bug spray. i use it on my bonsai and it dose the job, when mixed to correct dolution. i have used it on every on of my plants kept in the inclosue. you can spray it on the leaves or just watter your plants and has the same affect. you might want to resurch it further though. just a sudjestion, any one ever used neem oil?

 

[kinyonga]

Never tried this....but it might work...
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg005
Read "Cultural Control" and "Biological Control".

 

[luckykarma]

Thanks everyone. And thanks for the incredible compendium Mika.

I thought the ficus itself secreted the sticky sap that covers everything. I never knew it was this insects.

I'll try to round up the goods.

Anyone in the L.A. area know a good place to buy ficus trees? I need min 6 feet. Around the west side they're hundreds of dollars. There's a nursery in North Hollywood where they're about $40-50 but I don't have a Jeep anymore.

 

[luckykarma]

Just to follow up as I see there's other posts asking the same question.

The rubbing alcohol is very effective not only for scale but for the white insects that attack the leaves leaving a sticky residue behind. So if your ficus is dripping a sticky substance best to hose it off every week for two weeks according to nurseries for the small insects and alcohol for scale.

 

[thatbemegp]

the white on my tree doesnt look like scales. it looks as if the tree is producing a white substance on the leaves itself everytime i spray it with water.

 

[luckykarma]

Is there a sticky residue?

 

[thatbemegp]

no. ive been told its just the minerals in the water use, which is non filtered. im just going get filtered water for it.