Re: TBs: Cult: New pest

Hello, Iris-talkers,

This year I have discovered a new parasitic pest in my irises.  It is some kind of scale.  The tiny, pink, soft bodied insects live in the hollow part of the leaves.  They leave a white residue in the creases of the fans.  Inside the leaves they create a moist, dirty mess that can facilitate rot.  Ants are always present when a clump is infested.  I imagine they have the same simbiotic relationship that ants and aphids do.  

I have been fighting this scale all summer.  Not wanting to spray liquids on my irises in this heat, I first used a garden insect powder.  It slowed the ants down for a very short time; then they were back and I'm not sure the scale ever left.  Next I tried spraying with insecticidal soap, which specifically states that it's for scale.  That worked better in that it can penetrate the leaves and overcome the protective coating on the scale.  It didn't faze that ants a bit.  Every iris rhizome I'm digging is getting a bath in the Clorox solution, because that really seems to do them in.

Have any of you ever seen this problem?  If so what do you do about it.?

Francelle  Edwards   Glendale  AZ   Zone 9


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