Cottony cushion scale
132 host plants
Last updated
Cottony cushion scale produces distinctive pink, fluffy egg sacs on rhododendron and other plants in the Puget Sound, creating a very visible cottony appearance on stems and branches. You will see the white to pink ovisacs particularly in spring and early summer. Scale insects feed on plant sap, weakening affected branches. Heavy infestations cause branch dieback and yellowing of foliage, though damage is typically less severe than with cottony maple scale on other hosts.
Conserve vedalia beetles and parasitoid wasps for biological control; avoid broad-spectrum insecticides. Prune lightly infested twigs by hand. Spray insecticidal soap at crawler emergence in early summer. Maintain plant health through proper watering and pruning.
Quick Reference
Cultural Controls
- biological control Larvae of green lacewings and other insects are aggressive predators of scale.
- A number of parasitic wasps will attack scale insects.
- However, biological control does not necessarily prevent significant scale infestations.
- Management-cultural control Scale can be rubbed off plants by hand with a glove or toothbrush.
- Major infestations can be pruned off.
- Tanglefoot, \"stickem,\" or a similar adhesive can be applied around infestations of adult scales to catch the crawler stage....