Is there someone would could come out to my yard to assess the damage? - Ask Extension
I have 3 20ft. holly trees that a tree cutting co. said was infested with scale. this is the 2nd year of infestation and it goes up 1/3 to 1/2 of the...
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Is there someone would could come out to my yard to assess the damage? #189909
Asked June 10, 2014, 9:03 AM EDT
I have 3 20ft. holly trees that a tree cutting co. said was infested with scale. this is the 2nd year of infestation and it goes up 1/3 to 1/2 of the bottom of each tree. What do I do? I looked on line and saw that one could use an oil mixture or something nasty like insecticide. I have lots of birds in the trees, especially the young. Don't want to hurt them.
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
Your holly tree has an infestation of cottony camellia scale. The webbing is a spider web and has no relationship with the scale insects and is not harming the tree. You should spray the tree with a summer dilution of horticultural oil. The optimum time to spray is when you see the tiny hatchlings crawling around the tree (they are actually called crawlers), and on a cloudy day when the outdoor temperature is no higher than 80 degrees. You should also spray the tree again during the dormant season (winter) with a full-strength, dormant oil.
Horticultural oil will not harm the birds or predatory insects.
LS
Horticultural oil will not harm the birds or predatory insects.
LS
