andy@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andy Clews) (03/20/90)
A previous poster enquired about white plant lice on herbs. I have a similar problem. I have two small citrus trees (Moroccan Orange, and Grapefruit), both about a yard high with their pots, and they are fairly heavily infested with scale insects. The sticky residue that these creatures `spit out' has caused many leaves to go black with sooty mould. I don't like using sprays, and the ones I've tried seem to do little good. The only way I've been able to clear the plants to any extent has been to clean the leaves INDIVIDUALLY with a soft brush and warm soapy water! Takes ages and is very very tedious and those thorns hurt! I would therefore like to try the following method. I would like to "hang" the trees upside down so that they are submerged in a large tub of water for enough time to (a) drown the scale insects and (b) clean the leaves. What I'd like to know is - would this work or can scale insects last a long time under water? Would this method harm the trees? (the pot would be above water and thus roots would have an air supply). I'm talking about two or three days submerge time. Any help appreciated! -- Andy Clews, Computing Service, Univ. of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QN, England JANET: andy@syma.sussex.ac.uk BITNET: andy%syma.sussex.ac.uk@uk.ac