Black scale on my olives

[Olivecrazy]

Just noticed ive got black scale on my olives one is bad the ones next to it have started to get them now right now im unable to shift the bad one as all mine are planted in the ground
I could kick my self for this haven't been paying much attention till lately when Ive decided to get back into to bonsai again. Anyway been busy reading up on this an have read the best thing to use is pest oil has any one got any tips on how to get rid of these things any help would be greatly appreciated

[Andrew E]

Black scale love olives. Pest oil or depending on the level of infestation, hand pick em off. You'll more than likely need a couple of treatments

Cheers Andrew

[Olivecrazy]

Thanks andrew ill get onto it in the morning ill let you no how it goes , by the way how long between treatments ??

[matlea]

I had some of these monsters on one of my plants. Ended up picking them off over a period. Did spray but physical removal worked the best for me. Takes time though!

[Olivecrazy]

Im thinking i might take the chance on the badly affected one an dig it up its right next to my best 2 olives which are only lightly affected maybe not the best time to do it but maybe easier to control if i move the bad one.

[bonzaidog]

Hi olivecrazy usually a couple of weeks between treatments,check the product info...but make sure that you eradicate any ants in the immediate area as they look after the scale from predators and farm honeydew from them...this honeydew can also lead to sooty mould down the track as well,but control the ants and scale and sooty mould shouldn't become a problem
Cheers....Dog.

[Olivecrazy]

Have a update on my olive i gave it some seasol yesterday an had a lot of rain over night an sort it now or never spayed the trees with pest oil an lifted the bad one (it was realy bad) picture below show the under side of the leaves they where all like this.
Have pictures below of the tree as i decide to trim out some foliage to get the next lot of spray into it next week its a strong tree use to grow like a weed its got heaps of roots so it should be ok

[Matthew]

Mate

That is quite bad ,action is needed. I dont know alot about scale i think when they turn that black colour that is the outer shell? some pesticides dont penatrate it, some people pick them off i think something like pest oil may work as it needs to suffocate them but someone who has had them b4 might know? ive never had them at yet and there not welcome either, good luck with them

[Olivecrazy]

Im back been an looking on internet i think i dont have black scale but its oleander scale been finding pictures showing the difference ill post pictures later. Tuff little suckers to remove been at it for hours today still have a few to go hahaha but will get there im sure once the tree shows strong growth ill remove the old leaves as i can as most are damaged from the scale.

[TheNumber13]

I've given 3 doses of pest-oil to scale on a finger-lime over the past few weeks. There was no change, possibly a slight reduction. Many of them were black, and I guess all the little ants would have helped spread them each time. So I reckon you've gone the right route with picking them off.

After reading this I went and tried to pick them all off my lime. I was trying to help the tree, but it just kept stabbing me anyway

p.s. thanks for adding this in dog, I hadnt heard it before and it's good to know

...but make sure that you eradicate any ants in the immediate area as they look after the scale from predators and farm honeydew from them...

[Olivecrazy]

Starting to win this war on this scale after 2 lots of pest oil an rubbing as many of the leaves as i can. Used a spray bottle an was able to wash of most of the critters (must of been the dead ones) . Starting to see signs of new growth will give another spray with pest oil an keep up with the daily checks
Been checking an spraying all my olives to make sure i get them all as well theres no where for them to hide hehehehehe

[thoglette]

Starting to win this war on this scale after 2 lots of pest oil an rubbing as many of the leaves as i can. Used a spray bottle an was able to wash of most of the critters (must of been the dead ones) .

I've got a similar problem - most likely Aspidiotus nerii (Oleander scale). Normally I can keep these devils under control by manual removal but they went mad on my olives this summer.

The downside is that oil is reportedly ineffective except when the wee bairns are afoot - but there's no clear guidance on when this happens (just references to "when temperature and humidity are right" or similar.

[Andrew F]

Iv noticed a few of the little *expletives* on my biggest macrophylla, so its going to have to be a full reduction come mid spring.
But seriously O.c thats the worst iv ever seen them

[Olivecrazy]

ive killed all the scale on this tree lost count to how many times i sprayed it with pest oil tree hasnt re-shot yet i think it would of been better to de-foliate the tree going to give it another 3-4 weeks if it still hasnt done anything ill prune it back abit an see what happens

[Olivecrazy]

Well i waited an waited an nothing was happening so decide to remove all the leaves about 3 weeks ago in the hope it would make the tree respond an today seen the first signs of active growth since it was affected from the scale . This tree was my fastest growing olive needed trimming every other day looks like small buds are coming on some branches with some strong buds pushing out of the base which can be seen in picture below really hope it returns to it high vigor it had before