How to Control Scale Insects on Outdoor Plants
Getting an understanding on how to control scale insects on outdoor plants can be a very difficult task if you don’t have the right information to get there. A scale insect will do quite a bit of damage on your plants and in the end could kill them. Scale insects live off of the juices within your plants and when they live on them you’ll quickly see that the leaves of the plants become a yellow ting and the plant itself becomes less strong.
If you don’t take control of your scale insects fast they could end up killing off all the plants within your garden and make it difficult for you to start over.
What is a scale insect?
A scale insect looks like a little oval that is approximately 1/10 to 1/5 an inch in sizes. They look like a little bump on your plant as they have no legs. These insects can be one of the hardest insects to see on your plants unless you look very closely to them.
How to control a scale insect infestation?
When you think that you may be dealing with a scale insect infestation you should get control of it right away. If you don’t get control of your scale insect infestation quickly you could see your entire garden dying off quite rapidly.
You should begin investigating all your flowers whether they look like they are being affected or not. Usually scale insects like underneath the leaves and leaf joints so look in these locations first. They will eventually travel to the leaf portion and softer stems to investigate all areas of the plant. Make sure that you look closely as they are very difficult to see right away.
If you notice that you have an increase in black leaves or stems you have a scale insect infestation as they tend to put a lot of honeydew onto your plants causing mold and fungus to grow.
To get rid of the scale insects prune away the areas that are affected including the stems. Some occasions you may be best removing plants entirely if they are badly infected. Try to avoid the use of pesticides if you can, as these can do more damage on your plants, but if things are completely out of control then you may have to use them. Go for organic pesticides if you need to use them for a little added protection against the chance of damaging your plants further.
Learn how to control scale insects on outdoor plants the right way the first time and save yourself loss of many plants in the near future.
Thomas B. Chuong is currently writing about topics related to home improvement & decor, personal fitness, and home & garden. Find out more by visiting these sites Grill, and Air Purifier.
