Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

by rosemeadow 2nd September 2009, 23:10

Its getting on some of my big own roots in front of the house. They are in shade a fair bit of the day. Do scale live only in shade ?

by Admin 2nd September 2009, 23:24

Nope... they live on plant stems anywhere and generally become a problem when the plant is stressed by something... a spray with white oil will kill them. See this safe DIY link: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a look to see what's stressing them too. Sometimes it's just an old weak branch that needs removing, sometimes they need a feed to become stronger... etc it could be any number of many things.

Now... did I read somewhere that some people add bicarb to their white oil? I think people add all kinds of things to their white oil...

by rosemeadow 5th September 2009, 13:44

Thanks Simon, but I sure don't think these roses are stressed unless they wanted a bit more water and they had there first watering by hand about 1 and a half weeks ago. We have now just had 35 mls of wonderful rain.
I read in a second hand book shop that roses that have protection or other plants growing with them will get scale. If that is true I am starting to see why people years ago didn't grow roses with any other plants around them. It would be a massive job if I had to do every bush for Scale. I haven't seen any scale out in the paddock roses yet. The only difference they have is deep soil and all day sun, and they are away a bit from the roses with scale. I will have more of a look around the garden and also in some of my few rose books.
How long does white oil last for before its made up and what is the stongest mix you can you put it on ? Because the last batch I made of it didn't work. But I only sprayed it once. I will try it made up with the Bicarbonate too. The book said one of the cures was soapy water so I will give that a try as well.
I visited Meryl Thursday night and Friday morning ( my partner had to have a test done at the Royal Albert hospital ) and some of her roses have scale too.
Anyone else having trouble or had it and what are your ways of getting rid of it ?

by Bemo 5th September 2009, 18:52

Karen, whats about a diversionary tactic. We have a lot of this men from the fire department in our garden:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

but you can only find them near by the places where Malvaceae, Common Hollyhock, are growing

cheers
Bernhard

by rosemeadow 5th September 2009, 20:09

Hi Bernhard, what are these insects called ? Do they like eating Scales ?

by Bemo 5th September 2009, 20:41

rosemeadow wrote:Hi Bernhard, what are these insects called ? Do they like eating Scales ?

no, it's a scale too, (a member of the 'Hemiptera' Family), I've noticed now that you are referring to the (Schildläuse) Coccoidea. Forget my tip.

cheers
Bernhard

by rosemeadow 5th September 2009, 21:09

Okay, thanks anyway Bernhard.

by Ausrose 9th July 2014, 04:49

For many years I have dealt successfully with white scale by spraying it with a combination of oil and an insecticide originally white oil and malathion and these days with Eco oil and pyrethrum. After two sprays of the mixture I would hose off the unsightly residue with a jet of water quite successfully. Over the last couple of years I have found difficulty in removing the residue with the jet of water. After pondering the problem for sometime I had an idea to use a Gurni instead of an ordinary hose to remove the residue. I used a Gurni and it removed all the residue with ease. My one fear was the pressure might damage the rose stems. It would appear it hasn't in the short term but only time will tell in the long term. A point I would make is I didn't have the Gurni's nozzle close to the rose stem while removing the residue in distance about a metre. A case of necessity being the mother of invention.

by The Lazy Rosarian 9th July 2014, 06:18

Not a bad idea Doug, I guess the composition of the ingredients has changed. In your situation you would have to be very careful not to mark young growth for the bench.

by Ausrose 10th July 2014, 03:34

David I find little difference in the ability to kill the white scale between the two different solutions however the recent lot of white scale is so much harder to remove. I was listening to Graham Ross recently on 2GB and he indicated there was a particular white scale around that was particularly hard to remove and suggested using an old toothbrush. With 300 bushes you can see why i sought a new method eventually coming up with the Gerni method.

by The Lazy Rosarian 10th July 2014, 06:11

Doug, after you prune all the 300 bushes, could you not use a different "oil" to smother the scale prior to the bushes shooting for Summer. How much oil do you normally use for that amount of roses, I am thinking a different oil.

by Ausrose 10th July 2014, 08:25

Straight after pruning I spray my roses and the bed in which they are growing with winter strength lime sulphur and I've always been of the belief oil and lime sulphur shouldn't be sprayed on roses in the same period. With respect to the general control of white scale perhaps I should try Eco neem this being a very good insecticidal oil.

by Balinbear 10th July 2014, 19:26

If you dip a toothbrush in metho and the brush it the scale simply lets go.

I have been going to try spaying the scale with metho and then hosing it to see how it goes. Usually we just hose it off.

I do, however, find it amazing how one rose can have heaps of it while roses either side there is none. I am sure there are varieties that scale likes.

Of cause the question has to be asked is if scale cannot fly where does it come from?

by Ausrose 11th July 2014, 05:09

Just at the moment Laurie Newman is staying with us and while giving the AQ and I some pruning tips yesterday he noticed white scale on one of the roses being pruned and told us a successful way toget rid of white scale is to paint it with starch. From what he said it acts as a sufficant.

Balinbear if the scale is a little stubborn you might hose it off with a Gerni or the like as I described earlier in the thread. It certainly works.

by The Lazy Rosarian 11th July 2014, 06:25

Say hello to Laurie for me please Doug. I know it is off topic, but bad luck. Regards David.

by Ausrose 11th July 2014, 15:54

To go off topic to say hello to a living legend the like of Laurie Newman is worth the wrath of the boss. Wait a minute you are the boss so I guess problem solved. Unfortunately Laurie had gone by the time I had read your email however I will be speaking to him over the next couple of days so I will give him your regards.

by neptune 11th July 2014, 17:19

Ausrose wrote:
To go off topic to say hello to a living legend the like of Laurie Newman is worth the wrath of the boss. Wait a minute you are the boss so I guess problem solved. .

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Ausrose 12th July 2014, 17:00

Come on now John everybody knows Anna's the BOSS.

by neptune 12th July 2014, 17:33

Ausrose wrote:Come on now John everybody knows Anna's the BOSS.

Shhhhhh.....whisper when you say that......I could end up in the doghouse.... Scale, how do you get rid of it ? 17686032

by Sponsored content

Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?

Re: Scale, how do you get rid of it ?