Scale Insects on Apple Tree
How to identify and get rid of scale insects on Apple Tree. Size: 1–5mm.
Identifying scale insects on Apple Tree
Small brown, grey, or white shell-like bumps clustered on branches and twigs, particularly on older wood, sometimes coating stems densely enough to look like part of the bark.
Life cycle
Crawlers emerge from under scale and disperse. Settled scales are immobile under protective shell.
Damage to Apple Tree
Scale insects sap-suck along branches and twigs, weakening growth and causing dieback in heavily infested limbs, with honeydew from some species attracting sooty mould.
How to treat scale insects on Apple Tree
Apply horticultural oil during the dormant season (winter) when the tree has no leaves, which smothers overwintering scale effectively without harming the tree.
Preventing scale insects on Apple Tree
Inspect branches during winter pruning when scale is easiest to spot on bare wood, and prune out and destroy heavily infested branches.