Popular methods of combating scabies on the sink

Scutellaria is a small insect whose females and larvae draw nutrient juices from plants. Often it affects fruit trees, which negatively affects both the state of the plantings and the crop. To avoid this, the gardener should be familiar with the methods of dealing with the scale shield on the sink.

Pest Summary

Scabies (Latin name - Diaspididae) - a family of insects that live around the world. They are known as pests of wild, cultivated and ornamental plants, causing great damage to gardening. 2400 species are assigned to science, of which plum, comma and California scabies are most often affected by plum. The latter, despite its foreign name, is distributed in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and other neighboring countries.

Insects breed by laying eggs. Soon, larvae appear, and then adults. They are characterized by pronounced sexual dimorphism: females are very different from males in both appearance and features of life:

1. The body of the females is protected by a hard shell - a round shield, reaching a diameter of up to several mm. Its color depends on the species and age of the individual. She has no legs, mustache, wings and even eyes. Female scale insects spend their whole lives in one place, sucking on a plum shoot.
2. The male looks completely different: it is a small winged midge with antennae, paws and eyes, painted in purple-red. The male circles around the plants, but does no harm to them: only females and larvae feed on plant juices.
3. The larvae molt several times, gradually becoming similar to adults. For growth, they need nutrients, and they suck them from the shoots of plums. Starting from the second age of the larva, the male has a division into the head, chest, and the beginnings of the wings. Female individuals are surrounded by a dense shield, and their wings and eyes are reduced.

Scabies visually look like growths on the plum bark. They live mainly in colonies consisting of insects of different age. Single individuals are extremely rare.

Harm to plums

The harm from the scab on the plum is that it spoils this fruit tree, eating its juices. This is to the detriment of the general condition and growth of the crop. The insect multiplies rapidly: in the mid-season climate, up to 2 generations of the pest appear per season. Each female scale insect under favorable conditions can give life to 120 - 400 new individuals.

If the situation is left to chance, then the pest colony is growing rapidly in number and area of ​​damage to trees in the garden.

Plums are weakening. With the presence of insects in the garden for many years, planting may not produce any crop at all. The risk is high that without using effective methods of killing the pest, the trees will begin to dry out and completely die.

Signs of infection

It is possible to suspect that the scab has been struck by a scab, according to the following signs:

1. The appearance on the shoots and leaves of a tree of flakes of yellow-brown color, which are very difficult to remove.They can be either slightly flattened or convex.
2. At the bark its natural luster disappears.
3. The formation on the branches and trunks of plums of frozen juice smudges.
4. Leaflets stick together.
5. The branches of a tree dry up.
6. Slows or completely stops the growth of the plant.

If such signs appear, then you need to thoroughly inspect the plum tree and neighboring plantings in order to assess the criticality of the scale of infection. Based on this, they choose the means to combat the pest.

The main methods of struggle

The insect has a protective shell, which makes the process of dealing with it time-consuming. If the scale insects have multiplied, then chemical insecticides cannot be dispensed with. The plant is sprayed with them in 3-4 procedures until the destruction of the scale insects. When there are very few pests or a crop is ripening, which does not allow the use of toxic substances, then folk or biological agents can be used.

To make the fight easier or to protect the garden from scale insects, you need to maintain it in order:

• trim and thin out the crown as necessary;
• clean the trunk of dead particles of bark, moss and lichen;
• cut infected shoots and burn them;
• remove shoots in the root zone.

Each new plant brought to the site should be carefully inspected and quarantined. The seedling should not be placed in the garden until it is completely free from pests.

Chemicals

Chemical insecticides show very good results in the fight against scale insects. They contain toxic substances that cause the death of the pest. But, so that the poisonous compounds do not accumulate in the fruits of the plum, processing must be carried out either long before ripening, or after harvesting. The exact dates are indicated in the instructions for each drug.

"Working" insecticides against scale insects:

1. ““ Drug 30 (B) ”, used early in the spring, until the buds have appeared. It will destroy the larvae wintering in the bark.
2. "Aktara" is a systemic insecticide that is used both for spraying and for root watering of young plum seedlings.
3. "Actellic" containing organophosphorus compounds. An effective, but toxic remedy, which is not recommended for use near the house.
4. "Biotlin."
5. "Confidor Extra."

It is recommended to change insecticides so that immunity is not developed in the insects.

One-time processing will not bring results. Scaffolds are reliably protected by a wax shell that protects them from poisons. Therefore, at least 3 sprayings of the plum, carried out after a week from each other, will be required.

Folk remedies

The fight against scabies on the sink can be conducted with the use of folk remedies. But such methods will bring the desired result only if there are very few insects. In the recipes for the treatment of fruit trees there are no compounds that poison the person, and their use of folk remedies is safe for health. Here are some of them:

1. A simple solution of 10 g of laundry soap shavings in 10 liters of water.
2. 50 g of green soap diluted in water with a volume of 10 liters.
3. 10 g of soda ash per 10 l of water.
4. Infusion of "caustic" plants: garlic, walnut, shag and wormwood.
5. Emulsion of engine oil and soap solution. The optimal proportion is 1:10. Can be used 1 time per decade.

Such tools are used to spray plums. Processing, as with the use of chemicals, must be carried out with a frequency of 7-10 days.

If there are very few shields, then the affected area can simply be wiped with a cotton swab dipped in one of the funds or folded with gauze.

Biological

Biological studies have identified the natural enemies of scale insects, which today are used to combat pest:

1. Ladybugs, especially the kidney-shaped and two-point chylocorus, reduce the number of scale insects by 50–70% if released in the garden in May. One individual can eat approximately 700 larvae.
2. The small rider Prospaltella perniciosi is also effective against the pest.
3. To destroy the scab, you can use popular biological products containing nematodes or fungi: "Aversectin", "Avertin" and "Nemabact".

They do not contain toxic substances, so after their use the crop will be safe. Biological products do not harm the sink itself.

Choosing a way to deal with scale insects in the sink, it is necessary to correctly assess the scale of infection and the real threat. To make the result better, you can combine chemical, folk and biological products with each other. It is important to follow the instructions and not to forget about the regularity: skipping one processing, you have to start all over again.