Optimal Conditions
Dry, warm environments
Signature
Shell- or oval-shaped dots attached to the underside of your plants, typically amongst the honeydew that ants have come in to feed on.
Prevention
Growing healthy plants will make them more resilient and in better shape to deal with scale
Coping
Small amounts of scale can be rubbed off with your fingernail or a hard-bristled toothbrush, while larger infestations should be trimmed from the plant. Cleaning the plant of the honeydew – with a soapy spray and sponge – will diminish the ants’ interest in proceedings. Note that ants often protect and spread the scale to protect their food source.
Eradicating
Using a pyrethrin spray (a mix of the pyrethrin daisy extract and oil) will help smother and kill the soft scale, the hard scale however will resist such attempts. A homemade version of this can be made by mixing 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of liquid soap with 1 litre (34 fl oz/ 4 cups) of water and spraying the affected foliage
