Managing Scale Insects: Protect Your Ornamental Plants 🌸
Scale insects can infest ornamental plants, causing yellowing leaves and stunted growth. Here’s how to manage scale insects effectively.
1. Pruning: Prune and dispose of heavily infested branches and stems.
2. Natural Predators: Introduce natural enemies like parasitic wasps and predatory beetles.
3. Horticultural Oil: Apply horticultural oil during the dormant season to suffocate scale insects.
4. Alcohol Wipes: Use alcohol-soaked wipes to remove scale insects from leaves and stems.
5. Systemic Insecticides: Use systemic insecticides for severe scale infestations, following label instructions carefully.
Tips:
- Regularly inspect ornamental plants for signs of scale insects, such as sticky honeydew or sooty mold.
- Maintain plant health through proper watering and fertilization to reduce susceptibility to scale insects.
- Quarantine new plants before introducing them to your garden to prevent scale insect infestations.
