Thank you! I have been reading through forums - will neem oil be the best way to get rid of them?

I think so- it will take a few applications to kill the eggs and all. Also, I just read that lowering the temperature, even just at night, as well as having good air circulation will help keep the spider mites away. If you happen to see scale reappear, you can treat them with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, but your current infestation is too dense and needs the neem oil.

There are several other recent posts on here with the same issues (and pictures too!)- read through them and see if you can find more information that might be helpful to you :)

I would start by physically removing as much as possible, either with your fingers or with a Q-tip and diluted alcohol. You have a very serious infestation that took a lot of time to develop and will take a lot of time to control.

Do as John said and remove as much scale as you can physically. Then give the trees a shower with water to wash away as much of the spider mites as possible. Then spray with neem oil following manufacturer's instructions. Repeat the neem treatment weekly for a month. (Use a drop cloth or put the trees in the shower stall when you spray with neem oil.) The damaged leaf is not due to insects.

I really appreciate your advice, everyone. The scale is only very extreme on two upper branches. Should I prune those, and treat the rest or do they have a chance of recovering? I just ordered neem oil and will spray that as soon as it gets here.

I would either pull the scale off or prune off the affected areas. Do NOT use a systemic if you plant to eat the fruit from these trees. The neem oil will help with the spider mites.

Easy, no picking off anything..Just mix a bottle of water water mixed with Neem and alcohol along with an emulsifier such as Coco wet, Dyna-gro Protect or a good natural soap...

If you don't have that, you could use a good horticultural oil such as 'All Season',....

Spry once a week for three weeks, good to go..

Then rinse your tree with a warm soapy water in between!!

Thanks! I've already successfully removed the scale using a 5:1 water/rubbing alcohol ratio, and I'll try this spray as soon as the neem oil arrives.

One question - after spraying, is rinsing the tree with warm soapy water necessary? The pot is big and heavy so I can't really move it.

No need to rinse.

No need That is exactly right but I like To keep my leaves clean and free of dead bugs and oil build up! Usually I wash leaves before another spray should of said that I guess

of course too it does t hurt to scratch off the very top layer of soil of dead bugs and debris.

Your photos are well done; easy to see the two different pest issues you have.