What insecticide kills pine needle scale?
Set a hose-end sprayer to apply 1.5 ounces of 22.5 percent carbaryl pesticide per 1 gallon of water, and then completely coat the pine with the spray. Pesticides are best applied on dry days, and they may need reapplication in midsummer during the second crawler stage.
How do you treat pine needle scale?
Chemical Pine Needle Scale Control Dormant oil applied in March to early April can have some impact on the population but insecticidal soaps are even more effective. Apply after eggs have hatched and while crawlers are active, but before they settle down and form scales.
What insecticide kills scale?
When the scale feed on the sap, they ingest the toxic insecticide and are killed. Acephate, imidacloprid and dinotefuran are three commonly used systemic insecticides that are effective against scale.
What kills scale on pine trees?
Natural enemies, including insect predators and parasitoid wasps, can have a major impact on populations of pine needle scale. Two species of ladybird beetles, in particular, are common and important predators of this scale.
What is carbaryl used for?
Carbaryl is a man-made pesticide that is toxic to insects. It is commonly used to control aphids, fire ants, fleas, ticks, spiders, and many other outdoor pests. It is also used in some orchards to thin out blossoms on fruit trees. Carbaryl has been registered for use in pesticide products since 1959.
What causes pine needle scale?
Pine needle scale is more likely to be a problem on imported species of two-needle pines such as Scots and Mugo, but large numbers have been occasionally reported on red pine, spruce and Fraser fir. Pine needle scale feeds by sucking plant juices from the needles, causing them to turn yellow and eventually brown.
What is pine needle infestation?
Pine needle scale, Chionaspis pinifoliae, is a common insect pest of pines in Missouri. As the population increases, needles become covered with the white scale insects, which suck juices from the needles. A heavy infestation can cause whole branches to die, or in severe cases, kill the plants.
How do you treat Evergreen scales?
The majority (approximately three-fourths) of the ornamental plant species infested with armored scales that were identified in the last two years were evergreen plants. Dinotefuran soil treatment can be used in combination with horticultural oil sprays for improved control.
How do you treat a scale infestation?
To get rid of scale insects prune and dispose of infested branches, twigs and leaves. When scale numbers are low they may be rubbed or picked off of plants by hand. Dabbing individual pests with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab or neem-based leaf shine will also work when infestations are light.
What are white spots on pine needles?
Dots that look like small splashes of white paint or resin on the needles are the winter homes of an insect pest called pine needle scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae). These critters suck. Literally. That’s how they feed, and a bad infestation can damage needles and cause them to drop.
Why is carbaryl banned?
1, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) banned the sale and general consumer use of products containing the ingredient carbaryl, which the DPR says has played a role in scores of reported skin, eye, and respiratory illnesses over the past several decades.
When to use pesticides on pine needle scale?
Most chemicals have little effect on scale when they are in their cocoons. You have to get them when the crawlers are moving about. Registered pesticides may be used from May through early July. It is most important to get the first generation, as they will be the parents of the second generation.
What to do about pine needle scale in Colorado?
However, no highly effective natural enemies of striped pine scale have been identified in Colorado. Controls for striped pine scale are generally similar to those for pine needle scale. Horticultural oils used both in the dormant season or in the summer can be effective.
What do newly hatched pine needle scale look like?
Newly hatched scales are called crawlers. They are minute in size, a similar rosy-purple color as the eggs, and somewhat resemble tiny aphids. This is the only active period in the life cycle of the pine needle scale. Individual crawlers move about for hours to days before inserting their mouthparts into the needles.
What kind of plant feeds on pine needles?
The pine needle scale ( Chionaspis pinifoliae) feeds on the needles of most species of pines, spruce and fir. During outbreaks, needles may be nearly covered with the bodies of the scales, giving an appearance that the plant is spattered with white paint.