I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

On May 26, 10:02*am, Ann Lancing wrote:
I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. *The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

Horticultural soft soap,

On 26/05/2011 10:02, Ann Lancing wrote:

I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

Quite likely. I am amazed scale insect can actually be a nuisance
outside in the UK after the last couple of winters. Maybe the ladybirds
got zapped by the cold too. This is one pest like woolly aphid where I
would be inclined to use a systemic insecticide like Provado or
something a bit more effective/noxious and abandon this seasons fruit.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?PID=224

Lists all the options.
Soft soap tends to just end up with nice clean scale insects.

Regards,
Martin Brown

On May 26, 11:12*am, Martin Brown
wrote:
On 26/05/2011 10:02, Ann Lancing wrote:



I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

Quite likely. I am amazed scale insect can actually be a nuisance
outside in the UK after the last couple of winters. Maybe the ladybirds
got zapped by the cold too. This is one pest like woolly aphid where I
would be inclined to use a systemic insecticide like Provado or
something a bit more effective/noxious and abandon this seasons fruit.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?PID=224

Lists all the options.
Soft soap tends to just end up with nice clean scale insects.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Is that on a scale of 1 - 10 ?

On Thu, 26 May 2011 09:02:26 +0000 (UTC), Ann Lancing
wrote:


I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?


Yesterday a friend discovered scale insects on my stephanotis. I had
seen some clusters of flower bud appearing, after 3 years of waiting.
The friend inspecting the plant and found the scale. ( I don't see
such things easily becauseof my sight.) She cut off the worst affected
leaves for me. Now how do I deal with any other scales there may be?
I don't think a systemic insecticide will work as the leaves are waxy.
Is it a case of wiping the bottoms (LOL) of all the leaves? I heard
once on GQT that whisky is the thing to use, on a bit of cotton wool.
Any other suggestions?
The plant is twined round a circular wire, and quite a tangle of
leaves.
Incidentally I got fed up with training the long shoots around in a
circle so this Spring I started cutting them off. I wonder if this
has triggered flowering.

Pam in Bristol

On May 26, 12:49*pm, Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 26 May 2011 09:02:26 +0000 (UTC), Ann Lancing

wrote:

I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. *The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

Yesterday *a friend discovered scale insects on my stephanotis. *I had
seen some clusters of flower bud appearing, after 3 years of waiting.
The friend inspecting the plant and found the scale. *( I don't see
such things easily becauseof my sight.) She cut off the worst affected
leaves for me. *Now how do I deal with any other scales there may be?
I don't think a systemic insecticide will work as the leaves are waxy.
Is it a case of wiping the bottoms (LOL) of all the leaves? *I heard
once on GQT that whisky is the thing to use, on a bit of cotton wool.
Any other suggestions?
The plant is twined round a circular wire, and quite a tangle of
leaves.
Incidentally I got fed up with training the long shoots around in a
circle so this Spring I started cutting them off. *I wonder if this
has triggered flowering.

Pam in Bristol

Whisky or more normaly Meths is used for Mealy bugs as it disolves the
waky coating they have,

"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On May 26, 12:49 pm, Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 26 May 2011 09:02:26 +0000 (UTC), Ann Lancing

wrote:

I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

Yesterday a friend discovered scale insects on my stephanotis. I had
seen some clusters of flower bud appearing, after 3 years of waiting.
The friend inspecting the plant and found the scale. ( I don't see
such things easily becauseof my sight.) She cut off the worst affected
leaves for me. Now how do I deal with any other scales there may be?
I don't think a systemic insecticide will work as the leaves are waxy.
Is it a case of wiping the bottoms (LOL) of all the leaves? I heard
once on GQT that whisky is the thing to use, on a bit of cotton wool.
Any other suggestions?
The plant is twined round a circular wire, and quite a tangle of
leaves.
Incidentally I got fed up with training the long shoots around in a
circle so this Spring I started cutting them off. I wonder if this
has triggered flowering.

Pam in Bristol

Whisky or more normaly Meths is used for Mealy bugs as it disolves the
waky coating they have,

You will find an old tooth brush as effective as anything for squashing
adults but it seldom gets rid of the problem, as the plant is indoors make a
large bag out of net curtaining to go over the plant and order the bio
control insects for scale (the bag stops them wandering off)

The original poster's plant is outside, this is more of a problem and I have
noticed a lot of scale around this year mostly Camellias and hollies, the
problem may well reduce during the summer as things start to eat them.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

It will come back if you have missed any scales - you'll get young scale insects which will then disperse across the plant, and will obviously target young growth rather than old growth.

You can kill them with a systemic insecticide - one that is taken into the plant, and therefor kills sap sucking creatures. But you might not want to eat the blackberries.

I presume you are confident about your identification - scale insect is not the first thing you think of in connection with blackberries.

On 26/05/2011 10:02, Ann Lancing wrote:

I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so
bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?


I have a large (2 x 3m) Pittosporum tobira on a SW-facing wall which was
heavily infested with scale insect last year. All the leaves under the
scale insects were covered in "soot" which could not be removed
completely, even with a high-pressure water spray or rubbing with a soap
solution. In the end I cut off the branches which were worst affected.

In mid-March I sprayed with Plant Rescue and watered with a systemic
insecticide (Provado2, IMMSMC). So far so good, I think - but it is not
that easy to tell a live scale insect from a recently dead one!

--

Jeff

On Thu, 26 May 2011 14:47:20 +0000, kay
wrote:


Ann Lancing;923091 Wrote:
I have scale insects on a cultivated blackberry. The infestation was so

bad that I cut out all the stems.
Will it come back with the new shoots, if so how can I kill them?

It will come back if you have missed any scales - you'll get young scale
insects which will then disperse across the plant, and will obviously
target young growth rather than old growth.

You can kill them with a systemic insecticide - one that is taken into
the plant, and therefor kills sap sucking creatures. But you might not
want to eat the blackberries.

I presume you are confident about your identification - scale insect is
not the first thing you think of in connection with blackberries.

Kay

Provado Ultimate Bug Killer is ok on a wide range of edibles
(including blackberries) in its newer trigger and concentrate versions
(of which the active ingredient is thiacloprid). The aerosol version,
however, is NOT considered safe for edibles as it's formuilation is
different.

In terms of edibles you can use it on and time between spray and
harvest for the thiacloprid-based versions, this link is the most
informative I've found:

http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/garden...ate-bug-killer

Please remember, spray early morning or late evening and don't spray
the flowers. Once absorbed through leaves it's fine but the tiniest of
tiny amounts on a flower or still wet on foliage will kill bees,
butterflies, ladybirds and all the other beneficial bugs as well as
the nasties you want to destroy.

Jake