cycad scale

[cencalpalmguy]

I just purchased a small dioon palma sola off of Ebay from a seller nearby in Bakersfield. This is the fourth cycad I have bought from this seller with no complaints. I noticed when i got this one it had very small white insects about the size of a grain of sand, on the under side of the leaves. None on the insects were moving so I'm hoping they are dead. Never the less I mixed up some instant coffee in a spray bottle and soaked the plant, pouring some into the pot as reccommended by some growers. I also notified the seler so he could check the rest of his plants. Does anybody have further insight or have pics of what scale looks like? Thanks, Chad.

[virtualpalm]

Chad, what you are seeing is almost certainly some type of scale... but what kind is anyone's guess. There are lots of small, white scale insects that can infest cycads, the worst of which is the dreaded cycad aulacaspis scale (CAS). You can find lots of information on CAS on the following website:

http://www.cycadsg.org/pages/CAS.htm

There is also a new scale insect known as poliaspis cycad scale that has been reported on species of Dioon here in Florida. You can find information on this species here:

http://www.cycadsg.org/pages/PCS.htm

Jody

[Kansas]

Just throwing this out, but I heard that if you put coffee grounds ( I get them from STARBUCKS as they give it to you FREE) on them and on the soil, it would get rid of them. SO I tried it....And it is a MIRACLE. IT WORKS GREAT!

[cencalpalmguy]

Kansas, my local starbucks wont give out used grounds and I don't drink coffee. I can get all the instant coffee I want for free from work, so I mixed up some in a windex bottle and sprayed it. What was left in the bottle I used to water it with. Think that will work? Oh, and thanks for the links Jody.

[palmislandRandy]

i don't know if instant coffee (freeze dried) will have the same properties of brewed coffee. Why not buy a pound of cheap coffee & boil it up?

[freakypalmguy]

I'm not sure about this but I think you need to be carefull with full strength coffee. I believe you are supposed to apply used coffee grounds and if you make a spray, it is supposed to be brewed with the used grounds. I'm not sure if the studies have been performed with full strength Java.

It does sound like scale to me as well.

Matt

[cencalpalmguy]

I recieved a emial from the seller that said he had some mealibugs on some of his other plants and that is probably what it is. Anyways I found a

starbucks that gave me a 13 gallon trash can full of used grounds. I should have enough to last a while since i only have a handfull of seedlings, lol. I brewed some of the used grounds and sprayed them on all my cycad seedlings. I then spread grounds around the base of all of them. This seems to have worked well. All the insects are gone or dead now. I'll re-apply the grounds in a few months for safe measure. Thanks for the advice. Chad

[surferjr]

Just throwing this out, but I heard that if you put coffee grounds ( I get them from STARBUCKS as they give it to you FREE) on them and on the soil, it would get rid of them. SO I tried it....And it is a MIRACLE. IT WORKS GREAT!

Nailed on the button!!

This is the trick!! And natural

[SunnyFl]

Just throwing this out, but I heard that if you put coffee grounds ( I get them from STARBUCKS as they give it to you FREE) on them and on the soil, it would get rid of them. SO I tried it....And it is a MIRACLE. IT WORKS GREAT!

Nailed on the button!!

This is the trick!! And natural

I've been putting used coffee grounds on my plants for some time now. It has cut down on the pests and also helps acidify this limey sandy soil we have.

I get them from our local Circle K where I usually get a morning cup of coffee. Sometimes they have a bag of grounds waiting for me.

[palmislandRandy]

I talked to the manager of my local Starbucks, now they always have 4-6 bags by the door

[cycadjungle]

I agree that you shouldn't use fresh brewed coffee on the plants. The used grounds work real well, mainly because much of the alkaloids are being brewed out the first time. There are all kinds of alkaloids in coffee, which include chemicals that suppress root growth and act as a pre-emergent herbicide, yet alone the acid pH that you don't get with the already brewed grounds. If you really didn't have any restaurant that you could grub some used grounds from, you could buy some cheap coffee, brew it yourself and then just use the used grounds for either direct application, or brew it a second time and use that material as a spray.

[tropicalb]

Tom is correct....second time brewed coffee spray is the way to go. Works GREAT!

[Mark_NoVA]

You guys are putting it on the plant itself? Are you placing it on the portions that have scale? Do you just leave it on there without washing it off?

Interesting about that 2nd-time brewed coffee spray--2 for 1, spray, and grounds.

Just throwing this out, but I heard that if you put coffee grounds ( I get them from STARBUCKS as they give it to you FREE) on them and on the soil, it would get rid of them. SO I tried it....And it is a MIRACLE. IT WORKS GREAT!

[cycadjungle]

I mainly use it as a spray for every day use on scales in general, and mealy bugs, on cycads AND on palms. Sometimes I get those white, flat, scales on the cerifera europeans and the spray works well. all I do is make up a 55 gallon drum of it by using a bag of the Starbuck's grounds and that lasts about 4 months. After that, I wash out all the old stuff and start a new batch, which takes about a week to brew outside in the sun. I use it as a mulch for Asian scales when I treat sagos in people's landscapes, but in my own place, I really don't have to deal with those and just spray when I see a problem coming up. For what its worth, here is a copy of my article in the Cycad Society website. You can see my barrel I made in the article. I now, have not had to use an insecticide at my nursery in 2 1/2 years.

http://www.cycad.org/documents/Broome-Coffee-2007.pdf

[Mark_NoVA]

Thanks for the information!

I mainly use it as a spray for every day use on scales in general, and mealy bugs, on cycads AND on palms. Sometimes I get those white, flat, scales on the cerifera europeans and the spray works well. all I do is make up a 55 gallon drum of it by using a bag of the Starbuck's grounds and that lasts about 4 months. After that, I wash out all the old stuff and start a new batch, which takes about a week to brew outside in the sun. I use it as a mulch for Asian scales when I treat sagos in people's landscapes, but in my own place, I really don't have to deal with those and just spray when I see a problem coming up. For what its worth, here is a copy of my article in the Cycad Society website. You can see my barrel I made in the article. I now, have not had to use an insecticide at my nursery in 2 1/2 years.

http://www.cycad.org/documents/Broome-Coffee-2007.pdf