lemon pests

Discussion in 'Citrus' started by Melissa_RJ, Apr 24, 2020.

  1. Melissa_RJ

    Melissa_RJ New Member

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    Hello. I'm having trouble with my meyer lemon, planted outdoors in zone 10. It put out new leaves this spring and a host of blossoms, but it doesn't look healthy. It's got some kind of infestation because I can see ants on it, but I'm having trouble figuring out what it is. I found some branches with ants on them with scale, which I have removed with my fingers, but the ants are also tending other branches which do not appear to have scale. Also the leaves have yellowing and are coarse and small, with a sort of shiny coating on them. There are lots of blossoms but they tend to fall off and not produce fruit. Some of the leaves have some black powder on them, which I think may be sooty mold - I've been cleaning that off with a cloth.

    I try to give it a good soak once a week now that the rainy season seems to be over. I gave it some iron a few weeks ago and some citrus fertilizer a few months ago.

    Some photos are below - any advice would be very much appreciated!
     

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  2. Will B

    Will B Active Member

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    You most likely have scale throughout the plant. Scale can be extremely hard to spot until it gets quite large (for scale). Ants tend to and spread scale to harvest the honeydew that scale produces. Honeydew is most likely the shiny coat you mention, and it does cause sooty mold to grow quickly. You should probably spray the plant thoroughly with something effective against scale. Trying to deal with scale by removing it by hand will never work. You also need to deal with the ants as they will continue to spread the scale. Here is a link on dealing with scale on citrus:
    Controlling Citrus Scale – How To Treat Types Of Scale On Citrus Plants
     
  3. Melissa_RJ

    Melissa_RJ New Member

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    Thank you so much! I will give it a go with neem oil, and try tanglefoot to get rid of the ants.
     

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