A natural remedy for scale on dipladenia?

cotton balls and isopropyl alcohol. Wet cotton with alcohol, apply to scale individually.

You've got a few natural treatment options for scale insects on your Dipladenia, and most require some ongoing treatment, as these insects do multiply and sometimes the scale protects the insect under it, where it will slip out and form another elsewhere.

Getting them off by hand is obviously one option, but it depends on how severe the infestation is.

There are natural predators that you can introduce to your plant too, but these die when there no scale insects for them to prey on. You can get these from specialist growers. Aphytis melinus works well, and you can find some info here:

http://greenmethods.com/site/biocontrols/aphytis/

I advise you to find a local stockist, so that you can get legal shipments, and they are not in transit for too long. The site above also sells them, alongside a range of other natural predators.

Insecticidal soaps (though often derived from petro-chemical sources!) can also work, though the scale sometimes acts as a protective barrier, hence the need to repeat. You could also use some herbal / horticultural oils, which work well too - just ensure that the sources are well managed, and not causing natural plant destruction! The oils are typically diluted in water, and must not be applied during intense direct sunlight, otherwise you could harm your plants.

You might start with manual removal followed by an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, to shift many and then add some of the predators, to help clear the rest. Your soap will kill your predators, so don't treat whilst they are in residence! Remove potentially dead scales, as they may harbour eggs which will hatch and move on. Don't give up if you don't get a 100% success rate either, but persist in your treatment.

Hope these ideas help. Good luck! Rob

Reynwater has given you the answer.

Scale is really an insect that protects itself with the scale. Isolate it from your other plants so they don't all get infected.

The Muse

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