White Stuff on Fronds

[yabazid]

Hey guys, checkout the photos please and let me know what is this! Do I need to worry or is it serious?  How to get rid of this?

Its appearing on the Sabal Palmetto, Brazoria and the minor only. It didnt get on the Birmingham or other non fan shaped fronds.

 

[Jeff985]

It’s a headless insect called scales. It’s pretty common. There are sprays for it you can pick up at most garden centers. It’ll probably take multiple applications to get rid of it. 

[mgmccabe]

You could try neem oil of little insecticidal soap to start.

[PalmatierMeg]

Yes, scale. All Sabals seem to get it occasionally but don't seem fazed by it. You could also try imadacloprid (Bayer) drench for systemic use.

[Merlyn]

Yep, imadicloprid is good for all "soft scale" and dinotefuran works for all soft and hard scale.  Malathion or Acephate are good foliar sprays for scale.

[NickRB223]

This has worked well for my Sabals

[GottmitAlex]

10 minutes ago, NickRB223 said:

This has worked well for my Sabals

In my case I had a spider mite infestation last November.

The one you have seems better than the one I employed on my coconuts last year. Mine says 30 days protection, but to be fair, the spider mites have not returned since. I applied it three times, seven days apart.

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by GottmitAlex

[yabazid]

I worry about little kids and pets if I use chemicals. I would also hate to kill bees! 

Would a bag of 1500 lady beetles do the job?  

[joe_OC]

Try a 1:30 ratio of Simple Green to water.   Should kill soft bodied insects and is 100% safe and bio-degradable  

Edited August 25, 2019 by joe_OC

[Jeff985]

I tried a few all natural options on my Sabal last year and it had no effect. I had to use malathion to take care of it. 

[GottmitAlex]

6 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

I tried a few all natural options on my Sabal last year and it had no effect. I had to use malathion to take care of it. 

Yes. I tried neem oil to no avail.

 

[subsonicdrone]

i might get this in the fall when the plants come in

https://www.koppert.com/cryptobug/

 

[yabazid]

Should I spray the fronds with this? 

[GottmitAlex]

6 hours ago, yabazid said:

Should I spray the fronds with this? 

I wouldn't. That is for soil.  Not fronds.

Look for one that states "for use on shrubs/trees" on its label.

Edited September 4, 2019 by GottmitAlex

[Jeff985]

Also make sure it specifies it works on scales. 

[Merlyn]

On 9/4/2019 at 8:07 AM, yabazid said:

Should I spray the fronds with this? 

The active ingredients in Bayer Complete are Imadicloprid (systemic soil-active and foliar-active) and B-Cyfluthrin (non-systemic foliar pyrethrin).  It should work, as long as the scales are "soft."  Generally the only ones that Imadicloprid doesn't work on are "armored scale" like the ones found on Sagos (Cycas Revoluta).  You can check the type of scale on your palms, just pick a couple of them off with your fingernail.  If they have a hard outer shell and are like little rocks stuck to the palm then they are the armored type.  If they are slightly "fuzzy" or otherwise relatively soft, then Imadicloprid will be a good systemic insecticide.

Malathion, Acephate (Orthene) and B-Cyfluthrin will all kill the immature "crawler" stage as a foliar spray.  But you will have to spray them down every other week for 1-2 months to get all of them.  That's why a single soil drench of a systemic like Imadicloprid or Dinotefuran is a better choice for scale.

[yabazid]

Got this

[Khemaar]

Have tried Neem Oil with zero results.  Now trying Malathion today hoping to help.. Question.  Should I trim off the bad infected new fronds to help prevent spreading or will that stress the plant too much?