PEST OF THE WEEK
Pests of the Antelope Valley
   
 
Cottony Cushion Scale is a common insect pest in the Antelope Valley that is slightly easier to see and control during the winter. With less leaves on most plants you may find white fluffy patches on branches and underside of leaves.
 
This white fluffy material is most likely the adult Cottony Cushion scale covered with eggs. The cottony cushion scale is a yellowish-orange insect with dark legs. As the insect matures it is covered with a powdery lint or cotton looking substance. The full mature female insects look like a large puffy scallop shell. One end of the insect is still the yellowish-orange insect, out of which comes several long white egg sacks. The egg sacs make the white part of the insect look like white cotton combed straight back.
     
 

The problem with any control method for cottony cushion scale is that the insects live on the branches, not the leaves. When you spray an insecticide most people spray the insecticide on the leaves, which runs off the leaves and does not come in contact with the scale on the branches. If you gently spray your plants the insecticide will hit the leaves and drip off. Make sure that you spray inside the plant reaching all of the branches.

Almost any insecticide will work on cottony cushion scale and you need to follow the direction on the label. If you want to be organic then you can use either Insecticidal soap or horticultural oils. Insecticidal soap has some affect, but takes several applications, because of the wax material produced by the insects, which repels the spray and the large number of insects involved. A better control method is horticultural oils or summer oils. The oil covers the insects and suffocates the insects. Horticulture oils are best used during the winter and spring. Using horticulture oils may burn your plants, especially if the temperatures are above 90 degrees lowering its use this summer. Check the label to make sure your plant can tolerate an oil spray, waxy leaves are usually tolerant whereas soft, fuzzy leaves are often damaged or killed by horticultural oil. Mock Orange or Pittosporum is a common plant in the Antelope Valley and is often attacked by Cottony Cushion Scale and is very tolerant of horticultural oil. When using an oil spray try spraying just a small area of the plant. Wait a few weeks to make sure the oil does not harm the plant before applying the oil to the entire plant.