One way to get ride of scale.

mango season is going to be bad this year. most people i know in florida lost everything. i think a few areas escaped...
 
Do you think the freeze kill off all the ants in your yard? If not, the scales would keep coming back.

You can't eliminate the scales without eliminating the ants that farm them.
 
grasshopper said:
Do you think the freeze kill off all the ants in your yard? If not, the scales would keep coming back.

You can't eliminate the scales without eliminating the ants that farm them.
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The ants only protect from natural predators, you can easily defeat scale while still having ants although it’s a little tougher. Biggest thing is spraying the young before the shell hardens and squishing any adults. The ants pretty much just stop other bugs or keep them contained where they want the scale to stay
 
Bofig said:
The ants only protect from natural predators, you can easily defeat scale while still having ants although it’s a little tougher. Biggest thing is spraying the young before the shell hardens and squishing any adults. The ants pretty much just stop other bugs or keep them contained where they want the scale to stay
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The ants not only protects the scales, they host scales' eggs and spread them on the trees. I watch ants do that all the time. If you don't eliminate the ants, they would keep putting scales back on the trees, no matter how many times you spray.

Scales are fairly immobile in most of their life cycles. It would take them forever to spread and kill a tree by themselves. Ants, on the other hand, "farm" the scales including spreading them on to different parts of the trees. Eliminating ants are not as simple though, especially many nests have multiple queens.

Most ant control products are not organic and shouldn't be applied to food crops. Read the labels carefully before you sprinkle. I can weaken a nest easily but eliminate one is a lot tougher without using serious poison.
 
grasshopper said:
The ants not only protects the scales, they host scales' eggs and spread them on the trees. I watch ants do that all the time. If you don't eliminate the ants, they would keep putting scales back on the trees, no matter how many times you spray.

Scales are fairly immobile in most of their life cycles. It would take them forever to spread and kill a tree by themselves. Ants, on the other hand, "farm" the scales including spreading them on to different parts of the trees. Eliminating ants are not as simple though, especially many nests have multiple queens.

Most ant control products are not organic and shouldn't be applied to food crops. Read the labels carefully before you sprinkle. I can weaken a nest easily but eliminate one is a lot tougher without using serious poison.
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I understand they keep eggs safe as well. I just was noting you can have a scale problem cured while still not curing an ant problem. The scale need to mature before releasing viable eggs therefore being diligent on removing any one you can see even an inch below the surface is the only way to eradicate them. I had scale infesting plats without an a colony hosting them, the younger scale move a lot more, the older it gets the less it moves. From what I’ve seen once they get a darkened shell they are pretty much permanent where they are located.

As for ant control, I’ve found the most infested root balls will die without some effort on my part so I’ve used chemical solution dunks as a last resort. Putting anything 10 gallon and smaller completely submerged until bubbles stop and this is about the only thing to remove an entire colony. Some I’ve had to bare root and spray off with the hose then pot up with new soil, this is extreme and the tree gets set back an entire season usually.
 
grasshopper said:
The ants not only protects the scales, they host scales' eggs and spread them on the trees. I watch ants do that all the time. If you don't eliminate the ants, they would keep putting scales back on the trees, no matter how many times you spray.

Scales are fairly immobile in most of their life cycles. It would take them forever to spread and kill a tree by themselves. Ants, on the other hand, "farm" the scales including spreading them on to different parts of the trees. Eliminating ants are not as simple though, especially many nests have multiple queens.

Most ant control products are not organic and shouldn't be applied to food crops. Read the labels carefully before you sprinkle. I can weaken a nest easily but eliminate one is a lot tougher without using serious poison.
Click to expand...
Using Borax on ants worked for me....
 
grasshopper said:
Which brand? Or did you DIY? and how? I have tried borax before and sure it killed ants and weakened the nests but they bounced back.
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It wiped out the nest.....I didn't see an ant for the rest of the summer and reduced my aphid problem....
 
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