How to Get Rid of Scale Insects And Their Identification

Hey there, gardening friends! Have you ever tenderly cared for your houseplants, maybe wiping down a leaf or enjoying fresh growth, only to find some bizarre, immovable bumps that won’t come off the stems or leaves? You might have even seen a strange sticky substance on the leaves or the shelf below and wondered what might be causing it. If this sounds similar, you’re not alone. Many plant parents have found this and it can leave them feeling confused and worried.

If you’ve seen these strange shapes, it’s quite likely that you’re dealing with scale insects. These pests come in many different types and can be hard to deal with if you don’t know what to look for. But please don’t give up! The first thing you need to do to get rid of scale insects and bring your plant back to health is to learn how to tell the difference between hard and soft scale and how to get rid of them. This article is meant to be your all-in-one resource for learning how to tell the difference between the main varieties of scale, correctly identify an infestation, understand their life cycle, and, most importantly, put into action effective removal and preventative techniques.

Don’t allow these stationary suckers get the best of you! Let’s learn about scale insects, how to identify them apart, and the best ways to keep your green friends safe.

What are these things called “scale insects”? Getting to Know These Hidden Pests

So, what are these little bumps that have chosen to live on your plant? Scale insects are tiny bugs that suck sap and are part of a big and varied superfamily named Coccoidea. There are thousands of various kinds of scale, and they can look very different from each other, but they all have some things in common.

Most adult female scale insects lose their legs and antennae when they find a good place to eat. This is their most unique and defining attribute. After that, they grow a waxy or armored covering to protect themselves. This is the “scale” part that you can see. This covering protects the soft-bodied bug underneath as it eats and reproduces. It’s this covering that makes them look more like a weird growth or a natural part of the plant than a normal, moving insect. Their size might change a lot, but most of the time they are between 1/16th and 1/4 of an inch (1.5 to 6 millimeters) long, and some species are significantly bigger.

How do they hurt? Scale insects have long, thin mouthparts called stylets that they stick directly into the plant’s tissues, usually stems, leaves (particularly along veins), and sometimes even fruit. After that, they suck out the sap, which is full of nutrients, taking away the plant’s energy and important fluids. This frequent feeding can make the plant a lot weaker over time.

There are a lot of different kinds of scale species, but the ones you’ll find on your houseplants or in your garden usually belong to a few common families. The first step to dealing with them well is to learn about their basic biology.

Understanding the Defenses: How to Tell the Difference Between Hard Scale and Soft Scale for Better Control

When it comes to scale, it’s very important to know the difference between the different types of scale insects, especially when it comes to how you manage them. Knowing whether you’re dealing with Hard Scale or Soft Scale can have a big effect on how you control it. This part is all about how to tell the difference between hard scale and soft scale so you can control them better.

Let’s look at the two primary groups:

Hard Scale (Armored Scale, mostly from the Diaspididae family):

• This is the main difference: a protective covering. The waxy covering on hard scales is a separate, hard structure that looks like a shield and isn’t part of their body. Imagine it as a small, custom-made suit of armor. You could try to flick this armor off very carefully, maybe with a pin, and you would often find the little, soft-bodied bug underneath (albeit it might get squished in the process!). The shape of this armor can be round, oval, oyster shell, or lengthy.
• Here’s a big hint about honeydew production: hard scales do NOT make honeydew. If you notice scale insects but there isn’t any sticky stuff on the leaves or surfaces below, you probably have a hard scale.
• Mobility: After the female hard scale settles down, choose a place to eat, and makes her armor, she loses her legs and can’t move for the rest of her life.
• Looks: They are usually smaller and flatter than soft scales. They can be any hue, from brown to gray to black to even white.
• Effect on Control: Because of its thick, separate armor, hard scales are hard to kill with many contact pesticides since the spray may not easily get through to the insect underneath.

Soft Scale (from families like Coccidae, Lecaniidae, and others):

• Protective Covering: The waxy covering of soft scales is either a part of their body or a waxy secretion that they make and that stays on them. It is softer and can’t be easily removed off the insect’s body, unlike the armor of a hard scale.
• Honeydew Production: This is the most obvious sign of soft scales! Soft scales DO make a lot of a sticky, sweet liquid excrement called honeydew. This honeydew often covers the leaves and stems of the plant, making them feel sticky. It can also trickle down onto things underneath the plant. This honeydew often causes the growth of sooty mold, a black, powdery fungus.
• Mobility: Most people think that mature female soft scales can’t move, but some species can keep their legs and move, even if it’s extremely slowly, especially if they are disturbed or their feeding site becomes less desirable.
• Soft scales are frequently bigger, rounder, or dome-shaped than hard scales. They can feel smooth, waxy, or even a little bit like cotton (like cottony maple scale). They can also be different colors, including brown, black, or yellowish.
• Effect on Control: Soft scales may be a little more vulnerable to some contact sprays than hard scales, even if their waxy bodies still protect them. Not only is the honeydew they make sticky, but it can also draw ants, who may “farm” the scales for this tasty delicacy and even keep them safe from predators!

So, why is this difference so important? You know you’re dealing with soft scale if you observe honeydew and sooty mold. Your treatment may also need to deal with the stickiness and ants, if there are any. If there isn’t any honeydew, it’s probably hard scale, and you’ll know that getting through their armor is the hardest part.

How to Tell If Your Plants Have Scale: Look for the Signs and Symptoms

Now that you know what hard and soft scale are, let’s talk about how to tell whether you have an infestation in the first place. Scale bugs can be hard to find, especially when they first appear, so you need to pay close attention.

Here are some common indications and symptoms that could mean scale insects have moved into your plants:

• Seeing the scale insects themselves is, of course, the most obvious sign! Look for the little, immovable lumps or shell-like structures that are firmly bonded to
  • Stems and branches: This is a very common place.
  • Leaves: They are often on the bottom, although they can also be on the top. They are often lined up along the midrib or other veins.
  • Fruit: Some types of scale also live on the fruit of outdoor plants. Depending on the species, they might be different colors (brown, black, gray, white, yellowish) and shapes (round, oval, oyster-shell, convex). There could be only a few of them, or they could be very close together.
• Honeydew (mostly with soft scales): If you see a clear, sticky, shiny substance on the leaves, stems, or even dripping onto the pot, shelf, or floor below your plant, this is a strong sign of soft scale or other sap-sucking pests like aphids or mealybugs that also make honeydew. When you touch the leaves, they could feel sticky.
• Sooty Mold: You can usually find sooty mold when there is honeydew. This fungus is black, powdery, or sometimes crusty and grows on the surface of the honeydew, not on the plant tissue itself. A lot of sooty mold on a plant’s leaves can block sunlight from getting to them, which can stop photosynthesis and make the plant appear bad. (For your team, a clear picture of sooty mold on a leaf, maybe with some scale insects or honeydew nearby, would be very helpful.)

• Chlorosis, or yellowing leaves, and premature leaf drop happen when scale insects eat the sap of the plant, taking away important nutrients and water. This can make the leaves become yellow, which is a sign of poor health, and they may even fall off too soon.
• Stunted Growth and Less Energy: If a plant has a lot of scales for a long time, it may start to look like it’s getting worse. This can mean that new development is slow, there isn’t enough energy, and the plant looks sickly or “failing to thrive.” Even twigs or little branches could start to perish.
• Ant Activity (Usually with Soft Scales): Ants love sweets! The sweet honeydew that soft scale insects make often draws them in. You might see ants crawling on your plant, which means they are “farming” the scales for their honeydew. The ants will even guard the scales from predators in the wild at times. If you notice a lot of ants on a houseplant, it’s a good idea to look for scale or other pests that make honeydew.
• Distortion of Plant Parts (Less prevalent): Even though it’s not as prevalent as with some other pests, particularly severe infestations of some scale species can sometimes cause small changes in the shape of leaves or young stems.

Keep in mind that the symptoms can be different depending on the type of scale bug, the plant it is living on, and how bad the infestation is. The best technique to find an invasion early is to look closely at all areas of your plants on a regular basis.

The Life Cycle of Scale Insects: How They Stay Hidden and Strong

Knowing a little bit about the life cycle of scale insects will help you fight them more successfully. Knowing how they grow and reproduce will help explain why they can be so hard to get rid of and why you need to be just as persistent in your efforts to do so. Different periods of life have different weaknesses, and it’s important to tackle them correctly.

There are dozens of different types of scale, but they all have similar life cycles:

• Egg: The first step in the cycle is eggs. Female scale insects lay their eggs in a very safe way.
  • For hard scales, the female usually lays her eggs under her protective armor. The eggs will still be safe even if the female dies.
  • For a lot of soft scales, the female lays her eggs under her body, or she makes a separate ovisac (egg sac) that is sometimes cottony or waxy where the eggs are kept. This ovisac also keeps things safe in a big way. Depending on the species, a single female can lay anything from a few dozen to several hundred or even thousands of eggs.
• Crawler (First Instar Nymph): This is the stage that is very crucial to know about for control and spreading. After a certain amount of time (which depends on the temperature), small nymphs hatch from the eggs. The “crawler” stage is the initial stage of the nymph.
  • Crawlers are very little (you can hardly see them with the naked eye), usually yellow or orange, and most importantly, they have working legs and can move around a lot.
  • Their job is to find a good spot on the plant to live and eat. They could crawl a long way on the plant, or the wind could carry them, or they could hitch a ride on clothes or animals (even us!) to new plants. This is how infestations become worse.
  • The crawler stage is also the most dangerous because they haven’t grown their protective waxy or armored covering yet. This makes them easy to kill with contact pesticides.
• Settling and Development: When a crawler finds a favorable place to eat, it sticks its long, thin mouthparts into the plant tissue and starts to eat the sap. It starts to make its characteristic waxy or armored covering not long after it settles.
  • Then, it will go through a number of nymphal stages (instars), getting bigger each time it molts.
  • After the first molt, most female hard scale species lose their legs and antennae and can’t move at all under their growing armor.
  • Female soft scales may still have their legs (though they are usually much smaller) and may be able to move about very little, but they usually stay still.
• Adult Female: The adult female scale insect stays under her protective covering, eats, and when she is old enough, she lays eggs, which starts the cycle all over again. She usually stays where she is eating.
• Adult Male (A Short and Often Unseen Role): Adult male scale insects are very different from adult female scale insects. If they do exist (certain scale species can reproduce without men), they are very little, often have wings (like tiny gnats), and their mouthparts don’t work, so they don’t eat. They only live for a day or two, and their only goal is to find and mate with adult females. You probably won’t see them very often.

Reproduction and New Generations: Many scale species can make one generation per year outside, but in the steady, warm circumstances of our homes, many common houseplant scale pests can have numerous generations that overlap each other each year. This implies that you might have eggs, crawlers, growing nymphs, and adults all on the same plant at the same time, which makes it harder to control them.

Why Their Life Cycle Makes Them Hard to Control:

• Protective Coverings: The waxy or armored coverings on adult females and developing nymphs protect them very well from many contact insecticide applications.
• Eggs deposited under the female’s scale or in a waxy ovisac are likewise well-protected.
• Immobile Adult Stage: Adult females don’t move after they settle down, so they just sit there, eating and breeding, unless someone forcibly moves them.
• The Elusive Crawler time: This is the time when crawlers are most vulnerable, but they are also very small and easy to notice. They might just be busy for a little while before they calm down.

When dealing with scale insects, you need to use a lot of different methods and, most importantly, keep treating them over and over again. You should go after the susceptible crawler stage as it comes out and try to break down the defenses of the more protective stages.

Mission: Get rid of the scale! Your Effective Strategies for Getting Rid of

Okay, you’ve figured out that those persistent bumps are scale insects. You know if they’re the hard or soft kind, and you know how long they live. It’s time to get to work on “Mission: Scale Removal!” Getting rid of scale insects takes a lot of work and a lot of steps, and it usually involves both physical removal and specialized treatments. Remember that being persistent is your best friend here!

Here’s your plan for how to fight, starting with the least harmful ways:

Step 1: Get rid of the plants that are infested right away!

This is always the first thing you do when you think you have a problem. Scale crawlers can move around and spread to plants nearby. While you figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it, move any plants that exhibit indications of scaling to a different room or area, away from your healthy green plants.

Step 2: Pruning (If it’s possible and helpful)

If the scale infestation is mostly on a few select branches, leaves, or stems, and trimming these sections won’t hurt or change the look of your plant too much, this can be a simple approach to get rid of a lot of the pests.

• Use scissors or pruners that are clean and sharp.
• Make sure you get rid of the pruned material in the right way. Put it in a plastic bag and throw it away outside. Don’t add it to your compost pile because the bugs could live and spread.

Step 3: Manually or physically removing (This is very important for scale control!)

Because they have protective coats, the best first approach is frequently to physically remove as many scale insects as possible, especially for lesser infestations or before using sprays.

• Isopropyl alcohol (70%): This is the easiest way for me to get rid of scale.
  • Put a cotton swab, Q-tip, small soft artist’s paintbrush, or even a soft cloth in 70% isopropyl alcohol.
  • Gently brush or dab each scale insect that you can see. The alcohol breaks down their waxy outer layer, which kills the bug inside. You might need to gently push them to get them loose.
  • This approach works well and is quite specific, although it can take a long time on plants that are very infested.
• For scales that are harder to get rid of, you can try to carefully scrape them off with your fingernail, the edge of a dull knife (be very careful not to cut into the plant tissue), or an old toothbrush with soft bristles. Once more, being gentle is the most important thing to do to keep your plant safe.
• Water Spray (Not Very Effective on Adults): A powerful stream of water from a hose or shower might knock off some of the mobile crawlers or very young, disturbed scales, but it doesn’t work very well against the firmly attached adult scales that have protective covers. But it can help you clear off honeydew and sooty mold after you’ve taken off the scales by hand.

Step 4: Use spray treatments again to kill crawlers and weaken adults.

After you’ve taken off as many scales as you can by hand, give the area a thorough spray treatment. This helps find those that were missed, and more crucially, it focuses on the weak crawling stage when they come out of their eggs.

• Horticultural oils, which can be narrow-range, summer, or all-season oils, are typically thought to be one of the best ways to get rid of scale insects since they kill them by smothering them. The oil covers the insect and its protective shell, which keeps its breathing holes (spiracles) from working. If you cover them well, they can work on all stages of life, including eggs and adults that are hiding behind their scales.
  • Always pick a product that says it can be used on houseplants or the sort of plant you are treating.
  • Full coverage is really important. For the oil to work, it has to touch the scale immediately.
  • Be careful while using this: Don’t spray it directly in the hot sun or when the temperature is very high (over 85–90°F or 29–32°C), since this can make some plants more likely to have leaf burn (phytotoxicity). If you’re not sure, test a small, hidden part of the plant first. Plants with blue waxy coatings (like some succulents or conifers) or highly fuzzy leaves may be susceptible to oils.
• Insecticidal Soap: These soaps can kill the mobile crawler stage and may aid to break down the waxy coats on some soft scales. Their armor is harder to break through, therefore they don’t work as well against hard scales.
  • As with horticultural oils, it is important to cover everything completely and touch the insect directly.
  • Try it out on a tiny area first.
• Neem Oil (Cold-Pressed, 100%): Neem oil can also help get rid of scale by suffocating them and acting as an insect growth regulator (IGR), which can stop them from molting and reproducing. It might work better on younger scales and soft scales.
  • Follow the guidelines on the package for mixing (typically with a little mild soap to help it mix).
  • Most of the time, you need to apply it more than once.

Step 5: Application Method—Being thorough is the most important thing!

It doesn’t matter whatever spray you use; careful application is key to getting rid of scale:

• Spray all parts of the plant until they are completely wet and dripping. This includes all stems, branches (top and bottom), the tops and especially the undersides of leaves, and deep into any cracks or leaf axils where scales might be lurking.
• The spray ought to touch the scales directly or cover their protective coatings completely.

Step 6: Keep going and don’t give up! This is very important!

Because the egg stage is protected and new crawlers keep coming out, one treatment (manual or spray) is almost never enough to get rid of a scale infestation.

• You will have to do your chosen treatments (manual removal and/or sprays) every 7 to 14 days for a number of cycles. For stubborn infestations, I normally suggest at least three or four full sprays, and sometimes more.
• The exact time will depend on the product you use (look at the label) and how fast the life cycle is going to go in your home.
• Keep a close eye on your plant between sprays and take off any new scales you see by hand.

When to Think About Systemic Insecticides (Only as a Last Resort for Houseplants—Use with Caution)

If you have a lot of important plants that are really badly infested and the aforementioned approaches haven’t worked after many tries, you might want to think about using a systemic pesticide.

• Plants take in systemic insecticides through their roots from a soil drench or granules, or sometimes through their leaves from a spray. The chemicals then move through the plant’s tissues. Scale insects eat the sap and the insecticide at the same time.
• Check the labels to make sure they say they are safe to use on indoor plants and to get rid of scale insects.
• IMPORTANT: You MUST carefully read and follow ALL label instructions about dosage, how to apply it, safety precautions (wearing the right personal protective equipment like gloves and a mask, making sure there is good ventilation, and keeping pets and children away during and after application), and how to get rid of it properly.
• Systemic pesticides can work very well, but they can also be more dangerous if they are not handled correctly. They could also hurt helpful insects if the plant is ever taken outside. After trying alternative, less harmful procedures thoroughly and consistently, they should only be used as a last resort.

Biological control (more common in greenhouses or outside)

Bringing in natural enemies of scale insects can be a very efficient and long-lasting way to control them in greenhouses or outside. Some types of predatory lady beetles, including the Vedalia beetle, which is a well-known predator of cottony cushion scale, and small parasitic wasps that lay their eggs inside the scale insects are some of these. This isn’t usually very useful for most indoor plants, but it’s excellent to know about.

How to Keep Scale Insects Away from Your Plants

The best way to protect your plants from pests is to attack them first. It’s much easier to stop scale insects from getting into your home in the first place than it is to get rid of them once they’ve moved in. You can make your indoor garden a lot less appealing to these armored attackers by following some solid plant care and cleanliness tips.

These are my best ways to stop things from happening:

• Check new plants carefully and keep them separate from other plants. This is without a doubt the best way for scale insects and other pests to get into our houses.
  • Before you buy a new plant, make sure to look it over very carefully at the store or nursery. Check the stems, branches, and undersides of the leaves very carefully for any signs of scale or other pests.
  • Even if the new plant looks healthy, you should keep it away from your other plants for at least two to four weeks. A separate room is best. During this time of quarantine, check it often and carefully for any evidence of scale crawlers coming out or settled scales getting bigger. It’s far easier to fix a problem on one plant than to let it spread to all of your other plants!
• Regular, Close Inspections of Your Existing Plants: Make it a habit to spend a few good moments every week closely looking at your plants. Pay close attention to the stems, the undersides of the leaves (particularly along the veins), and any little spaces where scale insects like to hide. If you have one, use a magnifying glass. It can really help you find those small bugs or scales that are just starting to grow. It’s lot easier to handle when you find out about a few people early on.
• Keep your plants healthy and practice good plant hygiene:
  • Plants that are healthy and strong are usually less likely to get pests than plants that are stressed. Make sure that each of your plants has the best possible growing circumstances in terms of light, water, humidity, and nutrients.
  • Don’t water your plants too much or too little, as both can make them stressed.
• Use a soft, wet towel to wash down the leaves and stems of your plants every now and then. This is especially important for plants with smooth surfaces. This not only gets rid of dust that can get in the way of photosynthesis, but it can also physically shift any newly settled scale crawlers or even some adult scales before they get too comfortable.
• Be Careful When Exposing Them to the Outdoors: If you bring your houseplants outside for the summer, they are more likely to get scale insects and other pests from the outside. Check them very carefully before bringing them back inside in the fall. If you’re worried, you might want to give them a prophylactic treatment with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap.
• Don’t overcrowd your plants: Good air flow around your plants can make it harder for some pests to live there, and if the leaves get wet, it can help them dry out faster, which lowers the danger of some fungal problems.
• Regularly clean your pots and tools. If you’ve been working with a plant that you know or think has a scale infestation, make sure to wash your hands and disinfect your pruning tools (with rubbing alcohol or a weak bleach solution) before going on to other healthy plants. This stops crawlers from accidentally moving from one place to another. Before putting something new in an old pot, clean it well with hot, soapy water and then sterilize it (for example, with a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, followed by a thorough rinse).

If you make these preventative steps a regular part of how you care for your plants, you’ll make your indoor garden much harder to get into and lower the chances of a severe pest invasion by a lot.

Conclusion: We won the fight against those pesky scale bugs!

Well, dedicated plant parent, we’ve made it through the often hard world of scale insects! These bugs might be hard to get rid of since they seem like they’re hiding and have armor to protect them. They need a sharp eye, some patience, and a lot of determination. But, as I hope this complete guide has proven, they are not unbeatable!

To really be successful, you need to know the differences between hard and soft scale insects, how to identify them, and how to get rid of them. Knowing your adversary, being able to recognize them early, and using the optimal mix of physical removal and treatments will make all the difference.

Don’t let those minor bumps get you down or make you feel bad! Taking care of plants means dealing with pests, and every problem you solve makes you a better and more confident caregiver. If you put in the time and effort, pay close attention, and use what you’ve learned from this guide, you may effectively protect your treasured plants from scale insects. This will keep your indoor garden blooming magnificently and provide you joy and peace for years to come. Happy planting, and may your stems never have any scales!

Your most common scale insect questions answered

You could still have some queries after learning a lot about scale insects. That’s very typical! Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get from other plant lovers when they are dealing with these armored attackers:

What is the real source of scale insects? How did they suddenly show up on my houseplant?

It does seem like they come out of nowhere a lot, doesn’t it? Scale insects are experts at sneaking in! The most common ways they sneak into our homes and onto our plants are:

• On new plants: This is by far the most common way. It can be hard to find them on plants at the supermarket or nursery. (This is why it’s so vital to keep new plants apart from the rest of your plants!)
• If you utilize pots or instruments that have already been used to hold an afflicted plant without cleaning and sterilizing them well, they can become contaminated.
• Wind dispersal of crawlers (less common inside but possible): Tiny, light crawlers can get in through open windows if there are afflicted plants outside nearby.
• If you’ve been among plants that are infested, crawlers can even catch a ride on your clothes or pets.

Is the sticky substance on my furniture and leaves (honeydew) bad for the plant?

The honeydew itself, which is the sweet poop of soft scale insects and some other pests, isn’t actively feeding on or infecting the plant tissue. But it can cause a number of issues:

• It gets dirty and sticky, which makes surfaces unpleasant and attracts dust.
• Ants may be drawn to it because they can “farm” the scale insects for honeydew and even keep them safe from predators.
• Honeydew is the best food for sooty mold to develop, which is the most important thing. This black, powdery fungus covers the leaves. It doesn’t hurt the plant, but a thick covering can obstruct sunlight, which makes it harder for the plant to photosynthesize, which can weaken it over time. So, yes, honeydew can be bad for you in a roundabout way.

Why aren’t my therapies working? The scale bugs just won’t go away! This is really annoying!

I entirely understand why you’re upset. Scale may be really hard to get rid of! If people keep coming back, it’s likely for one or more of these reasons:

• Protected Life Stages: The eggs are safe from many contact sprays since they are concealed under the female’s scale or in waxy sacs, and the adult scales have armor on them.
• Missed Crawlers: The tiny, mobile crawler stage is when they move around and settle in new places, which are often hard to see. If your therapies don’t get rid of these, additional populations will form.
• Not enough treatments: You need to do treatments every 7 to 14 days for numerous cycles to stop the lifecycle of the crawlers and safeguard the eggs. It nearly never works to spray once.
• Sprays don’t cover everything: Scale bugs hide in small cracks, leaf axils, and on the backs of leaves. Some parts of the plant will live if your spray doesn’t go to all of them.
• Reinfestation from an Untreated Source: Is there a plant nearby that is also affected but you haven’t treated it yet? Or are they coming in from outside?

Is it okay to merely use water to wash off scale bugs off my plant?

A vigorous stream of water might knock some of the very young, agitated crawlers or some fragile scales that aren’t very tightly bonded off. But for mature scale insects that are already there, especially the hard scale types with their armored coats that are firmly attached, just washing them with water usually doesn’t get rid of them or kill them. You usually need to scrape or use rubbing alcohol or a suitable oil/soap spray to cope with the more developed phases.

Is it easier to manipulate hard scales or soft scales?

This is a great question! Contact sprays, like insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, may be easier to use on soft scales than on hard scales. This is because the soft scales’ protective layer is a part of their body, and treatments can occasionally get through it more easily. The honeydew they make can also make it easier to see them, which can help others find them sooner. Hard scales are frequently harder to kill with contact sprays because the poison has to pass through their separate, armor-like layer to get to the insect. This is why it’s often very vital to remove hard scales by hand first, as by scraping or dabbing with alcohol. But you should keep in mind that you need to be persistent and thorough in your efforts to regulate both forms of scale. Neither of them is easy to get rid of totally!

I really hope that this detailed tutorial helps you feel more ready and confidence to deal with any problems with scale insects that come up. Keep in mind that patience and determination are your best friends in this.