Insecticides that may be applied for crawler control are acephate, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, cyhalothrin, malathion, permethrin, or insecticidal soap. See Table 2 for examples of contact insecticides for scale crawler control.
So, after treating your plant, we recommend wiping down the leaves and stems of the plant with hydrogen peroxide until no sign of the scale infestation remains. Wiping the leaves with hydrogen peroxide will help to kill off any insects or larvae that may have somehow escaped the suffocating spray.
Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol (70%) to gently dab the mealy bugs, as alcohol kills them on contact. You can also spray the plant with a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol (1:1 ratio). Alternatively, neem oil or insecticidal soap can be used to treat the infestation.
Apply Insecticidal Soap
Apply with a spray bottle or garden sprayer until all the leaves are dripping. A mix of 1 ounce of soap to a gallon of water is generally a good rule, but follow the package directions to be sure.
Vinegar sprays can sometimes work on soft-bodied scale, but they aren't effective against armored scale insects. If you choose to use vinegar sprays, be sure to dilute the vinegar with water and add a few drops of Castile soap to help the mixture adhere to plant leaves.
If caught early, scale insects can be rubbed off by hand, with a discarded toothbrush, or with a cotton swab soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Prune out heavily infested portions of the plant.
Dinotefuran (Green Light Tree and Shrub Insect Control with Safari 2G, Safari) controls most types of scales. Some of these products are for licensed professional applicators only. Some systemic insecticides can cause spider mite outbreaks.
Baking powder for limescale
Mix two or three teaspoons of baking soda with water to make a soft paste, rub it onto the spots and let it take effect. A few hours later you can easily and carefully scrub off the limescale.
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.
Scale insects derive their name from their barnacle-like appearance on host plants (figure 1). They are covered with a waxy coating or cover, which hides and protects the insect and its eggs underneath. Mealybugs have a white cottony/waxy body with no hardened covering.
Grain mites are known for leaving a brownish tinge called “mite dust” on contaminated food, and since their size is so small, this is often the best sign of their existence. If you find grain mites in your home, dispose of any contaminated food.
Take 1 ounce of apple cider vinegar and mix it with 2-3 ounces of water. Pour this liquid into a garden sprayer and spray in the evening. Apple cider vinegar stops the molting process of mealybugs, and will also help to kill the majority of pests on the plants.
White vinegar
The mild acid can dissolve limescale and disinfect. All you need to do is pour a generous amount of white vinegar down your toilet bowl, let it soak in overnight, then scrub with a brush. Then flush to rinse, and voilà, your toilet is back to its former whiteness!
Melissa Maker | Two parts hydrogen peroxide and one part dish soap creates a miracle stain remover that you will absolutely love!
Scale are an easy pest to remove and they do not travel very well (only the weak crawlers can jump to the next plant), so usually infestations are brought in from new plants. Although they can ride on the wind, this is generally uncommon, especially in cities.
Both vinegar and lemon juice will do a great job of removing any limescale deposits and freshening up your machines' innards at the same time. In a washing machine, use a large cup of either liquid in place of your usual detergent and run a normal washing cycle (without clothes).
Vinegar essence is therefore a better choice for harder-to-treat limescale – but it should always be diluted with water. Always wear gloves when cleaning with vinegar to protect your skin from the acid. A special tip: Coca Cola – this fizzy drink contains phosphoric acid which also removes limescale and urine scale.
How to get rid of scale naturally. The best way to get rid of scale is with oil, says Kevin. “You can use white oil or what they call horticultural oil. Or you can use the botanical type of oil – there's one called eco-oil, which is more natural, or you can use neem oil.”
Answer: The plant has scale insects, which can be killed with rubbing alcohol, BioWash and probably hydrogen peroxide. Mix up a spray of equal parts peroxide and alcohol.
Sevin Insect Killer Concentrate provides a simple and economical option to treat scale on small trees and shrubs as well as larger lawn and garden areas. Used with a pump-style sprayer, this product kills by contact and keeps protecting against scales for up to three months.
Neem oil is incredibly effective at eradicating infestations because it attacks pests at all stages of development, from larvae to adult. That said, a full blown scale infestation (because scale, like most common houseplant pests, can reproduce quickly) will require more work than simply dousing with neem oil.
The eggs are deposited underneath the female's body and hatch within a few hours into bright yellow crawlers. The crawlers settle along the midrib or along other veins on the underside of leaves where they feed for the summer.
Rubbing Alcohol: Another super powerful disinfectant, rubbing or isopropyl alcohol is a solvent. The argument can be made that isopropyl alcohol does an even better job than vinegar at disinfecting surfaces.
Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) is the most commonly recommended, most practical (or, rather, least impractical), and least expensive alcohol to use on plants. Rubbing alcohol is usually 70% alcohol, so it needs to be heavily diluted to be used correctly.