cottony scale treatment?

[macrocarpa]

Cottony scale on 44 bradford pears, heavy infestation. I have not ID'd the exact species yet but am figuring treatments will be the same?

I'm thinking hort oil, I can see the crawlers out and moving.

I've read that messing up the beneficial population is an issue and am figuring hort oil will be the best bet to avoid messing up the balance even more.

Any suggestions?

 

[nuthin_special]

If you can see the crawlers then hort oil right now. Don't know a reason why it could be harmful to non targets and it should be highly effective.

v

 

[zale]

If there are beneficial predators present, wait and see. You can always treat with a oil at a later time. Are the trees showing signs of injury?

 

[macrocarpa]

No real signs of injury other than they were all just topped, ha.

The scale is certainly all over the remaining foliage (what is left after topping). The condo board (client) has made up their mind they want the trees treated.

I have been trying to get them to remove and replace 10 pears/ year with a more suitable species. They have another tree co. top them every 3 years because they are on the buildings and too wide for the location + splitting prevention. Waste of $.