Scale varies in color, shape, and size, but most often appears as small, brown, rounded lumps on your plant's leaves and stems. Two main groups exist: armored or hard scales; and unarmored or soft scales. The names refer to the shell-like coverings which protect the insect body.

What does a scale insect look like?

The scale bug is small, oval and flat, with a protective tan to brown shell-like covering (scale). Scale generally targets the undersides of leaves and around leaf joints.

How do you get rid of scale insects?

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.

How do you get rid of scale on plants?

The safest effective way to control scale is with a horticultural oil spray. These insecticides contain oil in a form that will mix with water. When mixed and sprayed onto an infested plant, the oil coats the scale insects and clogs their breathing pores.

Where does scale bugs come from?

Scale bugs can be found indoors or outdoors. Finding scale inside generally means that you brought an infested plant indoors. It's easy to spread them to other houseplants, so check your plants carefully! A plant which is suffering from scale infestation may show signs of premature leaf drop or yellowed leaves.

How to Get Rid of Scale Insects (4 Easy Steps)

24 related questions found

How did my plant get scale?

Scales spread from plant to plant as newly hatched crawlers, which are very tiny, have legs and can move around. Crawlers are fairly easily controlled with commonly available contact insecticides. Unfortunately, scale crawlers are hard to detect. Most gardeners never notice them and miss the opportunity for control.

Do ladybugs eat scale?

Use: Ladybugs prefer to eat aphids and will devour up to 50 a day, but they will also attack scale, mealy bugs, boil worms, leafhopper, and corn ear worm. They dine only on insects and do not harm vegetation in any way.

How do you identify scale insects?

Identification: At first glance, many scale insects look like a small, circular bump that's part of the plant. Depending on the species, they vary in color from brown to cottony white and measure up to 1/4 inch long. Scale nymphs are known as crawlers and are similar in appearance.

How do you get rid of scale on plants naturally?

Mix about 5 tablespoons of insecticidal soap or a very mild dish soap into 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water. Pour the soap into a spray bottle and spray the plant, including the undersides of the leaves and stems, until the soap solution begins to drip. Repeat the treatment every four to seven days until the scales are gone.

How do you get rid of scale bugs on houseplants?

Wash off or crush any visible scale insects. Often they are found on the stems, underside of leaves, or along the leaf mid-veins. Treat with an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil labeled for indoor plants or a houseplant spray that is registered for use on indoor plants.

Are scale bugs harmful to humans?

The sucking of scale insects is mostly harmless, an indiscretion, an innocent obsession, but scale insects can kill trees and maybe worse.

What causes scale on trees?

It is caused by sooty mold that is growing on the sugary honeydew excreted by the scale insects as they feed. ... Ants, bees and wasps are attracted to the honeydew; their presence is another sign for you to look up into the tree for the scale insects. The scale insects appear as oval bumps along twigs and branches.

What does scale look like on houseplants?

What Does Scale Look Like On Plants? Scale insects are very difficult to see on a plant. Even if you do notice them, scale bugs on houseplants look more like a weird growth than a bug. They look like small brown dots or bumps, and they don't move.

How do you know its a scale?

If you see clusters of tiny shell-like bumps on the stems or leaves of a plant, there is a good chance you are looking at a scale. One of the primary ways gardeners realize they have an issue with scale is by the appearance of sooty mold on the plant.

How do you know if you have a scale?

What are some signs your plant has Scale?

1. Round/ovular bumps on stems or leaves.
2. Sometimes scale secretes shiny/sticky sap while feeding (called honeydew)
3. This honeydew can allow black sooty mold to grow.
4. Can cause: poor growth. a sickly looking plant. yellowing or discolored leaves.

How can you tell the difference between a mealybug and a scale?

Mealybugs look like little tufts of white cotton and commonly congregate at joints between stems or leaves. Scale insects look like little brown or whitish bumps on stems or leaves.

Do scale insects live in the soil?

Do scale insects live in the soil of indoor plants? Yes, they may infest plant even indoors. ... Scale insects look like brownish scales on the stem and roots .

What is the life cycle of scale insect?

Life Cycle

Scale insects have three distinct life stages (egg, immature, adult) and may complete several generations in a single year. Adult females produce eggs beneath the scale covering or in a cottony material, and in many cases spend the cold winter months in this stage.

How do you get rid of scale on plants outside?

To get rid of scales on plant, dab a cotton swab in 70% isopropyl alcohol and apply to scale insects to kill them. For larger infestation dip a cloth in rubbing alcohol and wipe the affected leaves or stems. The alcohol solution helps to breakdown the bug's protective waxy layer, causing them to dehydrate and die.

Are aphids and scale the same thing?

Scale insects are a large and diverse group (about 8,000 described species) in the superfamily Coccoidea of the order Hemiptera, closely related to aphids and whiteflies, but they look quite different from your typical insect (the mealybugs are part of this superfamily, too, but are not included in this article).

What does tree scale look like?

Notoriously hard to control, scales are sap-sucking insects that prey on most kinds of trees and plants. Resembling small bumps on twigs and branches, scales don't look like most insects; therefore, they can easily go undetected. ...

What does scale look like on a bush?

Euonymus scale appears on the stems and leaves of infested plants as tiny white lines, about 1/16 inch long, or as slightly larger, oyster-shell-like brown lumps. Heavily infested plants may be coated with white lines of scale extending along stems and leaf veins.

Will lady bugs eat whiteflies?

This native ladybug species is the best known garden predator available. The beneficial species of ladybugs kill aphids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worm, Colorado potato beetles larvae, spider mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, among other insects. ...

How do you remove scale from succulents?

Remove mealybugs and scale using cotton swabs dipped in alcohol. Spraying the plant with a dilute alcohol solution (1:3) may help control pests that are not easily visible but the solution may damage the epidermis of sensitive cacti and succulents. Test a small area before spraying the entire plant.

Why do ladybugs not fly at night?

Never release ladybugs during daylight hours.

The most common reason why ladybugs disappear is because they are released at the wrong time of day. Ladybugs can't fly at night, and they can't take off in the morning until their bodies rise above a certain temperature, so the best time to release them is at sunset.