Jeff, could you take a couple of good pictures so that we can see what kind of scale it is?

Is it still being grown in a container?

Is neem the only horticultural oil that you've used? If so, what brand of neem are you using?

Here's

Are some other pictures.

I would get the big gun out and use malathion. Not organic but it does the job.

Bayer Advanced (imidacloprid) is a systemic which will handle scale as well.

Hi Jeff, I think you’re doing a pretty good job picking them off - but I know it is a constant battle. Yesterday I noticed my potted key lime tree is infested with scale (I enclose a photo). I spent a good hour or so with cotton buds and rubbing alcohol wiping them off. My hands look like I’ve been playing with kittens!

The systemic that Fruity Paws recommends comes in a formulation specifically for ‘fruit, citrus and vegetable insect control’. I’ve used this in previous years and it works. I’ll be treating my key lime with it today. Good luck!

How long is the systemic stuff in your tree? What if you have fruit? Will it be safe to eat?

I have a potted Meyer lemon that is five feet tall and gives about 70 lemons a year. For reference we now live in a Chicago suburb so for half the year it lives in the basement under an led grow light. I have had scale issues in the past and use the neem oil and wash the tree with soap and water in addition to the neem oil. It is a day long process and I get scratched up like crazy, but avoid the chemicals because our lemons are used to make martinis and I for one am not a fan of drinking chemicals.

Hi Denise, the Bayer systemic says not to harvest fruit for a particular number of days after treatment - (between 7 - 30 days depending on the fruit). As citrus is on the tree for months before harvest, I believe it is okay to treat when the fruits are small. I made many key lime pies last year and there were no taste issues at all! (Of course, because I couldn’t taste anything doesn’t mean traces of chemicals were not present). The instructions also say not to treat more than once per year.

I might try the malathion you recommend if I need to treat a tree more than once a year. I assume it’s a contact insecticide you spray. The handy thing about the bayer systemic is you do a soil drench, so no horrible spraying!

Imidicloprid soil drench (Bayer) takes 3-4 weeks to distribute throughout the leaves and stems of tree, and remains in the tree for 3 months. According Cal. Dept. of Agriculture, it does not enter the fruit. You can also reduce scale by scrubbing them off with a scotch brite (or similar) pad.

Get rid of the ants with bait that the ants take back to their nests.

I bought a 10 lb bag of Imadan more 20 years ago and still have leftovers which I still use.

It is a not available now in the old form, it’s milder and use for homeowners. I use a tbs per one gallon of water, use a small pump up sprayer. I am cautious and wear thin gloves.

Btw, I add a tsp of surfactant in my mix. Am I worried, no!

I feel sorry for vegetarians, all the stuff that they eat are sprayed with stuff on a regular spray cycle. Go figure.

I confronted a guy that was selling organic peaches at a farmers market, the peaches were perfect looking, ya right, no way!!, I know better.

Just wanted to thank everyone for there advice. Two weeks ago I gave in and pulled out the big guns for my scale problem. I applied a heavy does of Malathion to all of my citrus trees. First off, wow, that's one powerful smell! But two weeks on it must also be a powerful chemical because the scale problem is completely gone.

The trees are finally growing again with a ton of new branches and leaves. It looks like I've even been able to save some of the larger fruits. Thank you all again for the great advice, I was really worried my trees were on there last leg.

Jeff, glad to hear your scale problem is gone. I don't like spraying my trees period. but it's better than scrubbing a tree by hand with cottonballs and alcohol or spraying multiple times with Neem oil. Too much time and energy wasted when you do it once with malathion and it's done and gone with one application.