Scale insects

I just thought I'd put these pictures up over here in the infirmary. I think this is a scale insect, but I am not sure. Here are a number of pics of damage and a pic of the only evidence I can find on the plants. This was another grow, but this pest still plagues me and I'd like to properly identify it.

This is the only visible evidence I find from time to time on the bottom of leaf stems and on the stalks at times.













The damage looks like this:







Anyway. There is not another picture that looks like these anywhere on any cannabis forums, nor any discussion of scale insects. At least now it is cataloged here while I continue to try to deal with it.

Last run I used neem one time then dumped almost 15,000 ladybugs during the course of the grow. The ladybugs helped some, but they die off quickly, but while they're active the infestation seems to slow to almost nothing.

Since they haven't licked it last run I'm going to try repeated doses of the neem oil every 4 days for at least a few weeks. I mix the neem with a drop of dish soap to help dispersion. If it is indeed scale multiple applications will be necessary to catch all of the crawlers. Scale's shell protects them from most sprays.

Anyone with any further info on this pest that would like to post it, please feel free.

Here's a piece on scale insects but I don't know if these odd balls with the hole in them fit the descriptions.

Scale Insects

Scale insects are a peculiar group and look quite different from the typical insects we encounter day to day. Small, immobile, with no visible legs or antennae, they resemble individual fish scales pressed tightly against the plant on which they are feeding. There are over l50 different kinds of scales in Virginia. Many are common and serious pests of trees, shrubs, and indoor plants.

Damage
Scale insects feed on plant sap. They have long, threadlike mouthparts (stylets) six to eight times longer than the insect itself. Feeding by scales slowly reduces plant vigor. Heavily infested plants grow poorly and may suffer dieback of twigs and branches. Occasionally, an infested host will be so weakened that it dies.

Control
Adult scales are protected from insecticides by waxy coverings. Control measures, therefore, must be aimed at unprotected immatures (crawlers) or the overwintering stage. Dormant oils are effective on the overwintering stage of most species, but they can only be applied in early spring before leaves appear. During the summer, control requires accurate identification of the pest species so that hatching dates of crawlers can be determined. Once the pest is identified and proper timing known, any one of several common insecticides can be used. Consult your local Extension Agent for current insecticide recommendations.

Armored Scales
Scale insects can be roughly divided into two groups: armored scales and soft scales. Armored scales are so named because they secrete a protective cover over their bodies. Most species overwinter as eggs beneath the female cover. In spring, eggs hatch into tiny mobile crawlers which migrate to new feeding sites. After a few days, crawlers settle, insert their mouthparts, and begin feeding. Soon they secrete a protective cover and lose their legs. Large populations can build up unnoticed before plants begin to show visible symptoms. Our most common armored scale pests are described and illustrated below.

Click to expand...

Rest of article: http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/scalein.html

More information on different types of scale. I must be the ONLY person on planet earth that is dealing with scale on cannabis.

I have found that horticultural oils are the preferred treatment of scale. Other products I have seen recommended include Ortho's Rose Pride Orthonex, Cygon/Dimethoate, neem oil (trying that), and I even found a place that sells a nematode supposed to control scale (see below).

http://www.uvm.edu/extension/publications/el/el132.htm
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/current_ipm/alert8.html
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/scale.htm (orchid scale, sorta helpful)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/entomology/extension/KIN/KIN_2003/kin-8/03ksnew8.htm

A nematode that may control scale insects available for purchase here:

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/sho...-session=shopper:42F941E302b6303D20mTFF44DC2F


So....most of this can be found doing a google search. I have inspected my plants closely at 100x magnification and have only barely been able to observe anything. I have found spherical egg sacks that seem to look like a very cloudy trichome gland with no stalk.

I also notice what almost looks like black spots attached at the base of the cystallic hairs. There is one scale insect that has a sort of tail that this could resemble, but at this point I am not sure. Looking closely at leaf stems there is clearly black spots along the stems that are extremely tiny. Mainly only occurring on the stems of the plant and on leaf veins. Nothing is clearly visible on the leaf surface except the rust spots.

Rust spots:



The white sack in this photo I only find rarely here and there on the bottom of leaf stems. Usually fan leaves. I suspect this is the female sack from which crawlers emerge, but I am not positive. If you look closely however, you can see the black spots on the leaf stem which are EXTREMELY tiny and appear to be at the base of the cystallic hairs.



Here are the same black spots more prominently shown on the leaf stem of a blueberry leaf:



Any help on this topic is appreciated. Possibly this will help someone else in the future.

My inability to positively ID this pest almost makes me wish I had something like spider mites just so I could really know what the heck I'm dealing with. Microscopic scale insects are very difficult to detect and to kill.

More information on different types of scale. I must be the ONLY person on planet earth that is dealing with scale on cannabis.

I have found that horticultural oils are the preferred treatment of scale. Other products I have seen recommended include Ortho's Rose Pride Orthonex, Cygon/Dimethoate, neem oil (trying that), and I even found a place that sells a nematode supposed to control scale (see below).

http://www.uvm.edu/extension/publications/el/el132.htm
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/current_ipm/alert8.html
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/scale.htm (orchid scale, sorta helpful)
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/entomology/extension/KIN/KIN_2003/kin-8/03ksnew8.htm

A nematode that may control scale insects available for purchase here:

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/sho...-session=shopper:42F941E302b6303D20mTFF44DC2F


So....most of this can be found doing a google search. I have inspected my plants closely at 100x magnification and have only barely been able to observe anything. I have found spherical egg sacks that seem to look like a very cloudy trichome gland with no stalk, and I notice what almost looks like black spots attached at the base of microscopic cystallic hairs. There is one scale insect that has a sort of tail that this could resemble, but at this point I am not sure. Looking closely at leaf stems there is clearly black spots along the stems that are extremely tiny. Mainly only occurring on the stems of the plant and on leaf veins. Nothing is clearly visible on the leaf surface except the rust spots.

Moderators, please delete the above post. It is a double post. Icmag is flaking out on me and giving me technical errors every time I try to post or edit for some reason, hence the double post. Grr....

Here is a link to some natural scale predators. Be careful should you decide to go this route. I have tried ladybugs and they work decent, but can not wipe out the population.

Before you order you must clearly identify the scale insect and purchase the correct predator. The predators are extremely expensive, but effective if you make sure to use the correct ones.

This place carries a few types:

http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/catalogue/getsub.cgi?Scale Controls

I don't know what's going on with my thread, but I have posted 3 times and it isn't bumping the thread up. Each time I post, I'm getting this error:

There seems to have been a slight problem with the International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums database.
Please try again by pressing the refresh button in your browser.

An E-Mail has been dispatched to our Technical Staff, who you can also contact if the problem persists.

We apologise for any inconvenience

Click to expand...

Hope this post makes it, but if the thread doesn't bump nobody will know anyway.

Bump.....thread stuck in limbo.

More pics of scale on cannabis. My DP blueberry to be exact. Seems I might have an oyster shell scale or a type of pine needle scale. Not exactly sure still.

At this point I'm using a pyrethrin and cannola oil spray. Stepping up to spraying every 2-3 at the very least. It seems over time indoors the cycles of crawlers overlap and damage can multiply VERY rapidly, so controls must be used more frequently.

Normally, different types of scale have specific life cycles, and controls are timed to those cycles outdoors, but indoors is a whole different story from my experience.

I'm going to continue to fight these for another week or two and try to make it through flower with my crop. I have before.

However, short of this last ditch effort with repeated pyrethrin sprays in veg, the only thing I can do I clone off and make new mommas and try to innoculate them before they get so large.

Scale:






Anyway...maybe somebody will appreciate this info one day.

I know....I may be wasting my time, but I have this problem, and nobody anywhere has addressed this issue with cannabis.

So, here I am documenting scale insects that have raped my success for the past four years, and wishing I had spider mites instead......SERIOUSLY.

I have a few more pictures of the damage to add. The black spots you are seeing in these photos are sooty mold caused by secretions from the scale insects.

I recently noticed a jar of bud smelling moldy and couldn't figure out why. It had been thoroughly dried and cured over a month. I nose checked it before sealing and it smelled FABULOUS. Anyway, I open a bud up and there is the sooty mold deposits on the stem inside the bud.

So, not only are the hindering growth for me, but they are making the bud un-smokable. Thankfully, I only noticed this happening in one jar, but it took a while for me to nail it down to this.

I'm continuing my attacks with pyrethrin/cannola spray like End All, but the crawlers live underneath the mothers inside the scale secretions and are protected from the spray. Then more crawlers emerge and damage continues after a spray. Overlapping stages of these suckers are wreaking havoc and making it almost impossible to stop at this point. The plants are very large and trained into a 3x5' screen. I may lose the whole crop because with sooty mold the bud is worthless to me.

Here's the photos.

Stoned2Death you are not the only one who have this problem I have also this ****ing scale insects. Have you figure it out the best solutions for them? Got to gow to work now, will type later a little bit more Have a nice day

Well, you can see I've done a lot to document them to help people. I hope some info is of use to you. The best thing so far is the pyrethrin and cannola oil spray. There are many brands with these ingredients. The thing is, you must have small plants. Large flowering plants can't be treated sufficiently to defeat them. I am working on killing the last bit off my momma plants which are kept small. The spray does work, but takes MANY applications. They really must be kept in isolation completely during treatment as well because these insects may travel in on your clothing very easily. Clean clothing must be worn into the grow area at all times with no outside mess being brought in. This pest is a SOB that takes every measure to defeat, IMHO.

I'll be glad to hear your input etc. when you have time Medved.

Well here is the pic of my scale insects These stem is drying, but have a lot of problem with that. Here is the pic

Ahh heck...you got the big suckers! Mine are so tiny I never see the crawlers. They're microscopic. I think it's only the mommas or the immobile ones I ever see.

Scale insects

Hi mv,im no expert in the matter but i think your infestation is aphids i had the same problem with some garden plants this year, not mj.i used a product called PERFEKTHION its main ingredient is DIMETOATO,but as i live in Spain i dont know if that is an international name for the product,but you can try it in your local gardening shop,it clears up the problem in a week.good luck

Those aren't aphids, they're armored scale for sure. They produce a honeydew just like aphids do, but they are MUCH more difficult to kill because of their armored shells. These suckers eventually settle down on one spot on the plant and sink a sucker into the stems wreaking major havoc. Ants will farm scale insects just like they do aphids.

darn it S2D i am thankful for your work here . i have a scale problem in some of our plants too . and they are a pain . they are doing the same damages to our plants too! dang bumps ...... well i've heard that they can be removed with a synthetic non metal scouring pad rubbed on the stalks to manually remove them . .... i'm gonna do some experiment and report back here soon
many blessings, hidingtree

Yes, you can scrape a lot of them off, and treat it GOOD with pyrethrin spray and cannola oil spray. The problem I had with mine is where I scraped them off it would turn into long fissures in the stem, and I just couldn't stop them on the blueberry. They are MUCH more ferocious on strains with woody stalks.

I hoped this info would come in handy some day, and I'm very glad to see it being beneficial to one of my good friends!

I finally got rid of the blueberry and have no more scale at the moment. I hope to NEVER see them again!

2 more pics of that ****in scale insects, grrrr I hate them!

here a pics that they are on leaves under my LED project





Have a nice day, and stay away from scale insects

bye

Damn medved, you've got the big ugly suckers still! I feel for you man...100%. Thanks for adding more pics. Cannabis is not immune to this pest, but it isn't exactly common. It seems this thread has done some good over time though...Good luck with the battle! If you have the seed stock, it might be time to give up the mommas and start over.

stoned2Death I have 3 mommas but there aren't any scale insects, and I think that they come only in flowering.

Will try to upload some more pics with scale insects on the stem.