A tall (@ 35 ft.) sugar maple in my front yard has white wooly insects on the under leaves. They are like fluffy scale or mealy bugs like houseplants get. When I stand under the tree and look up I can see them. The tree is really infested and I do not know what to do. There is no way I can spray high enough, if I knew what spray to use and could afford it. Is this something that will eventually kill the tree over time and I should just treat it as a normal event? There is another maple of about the same height, but a different variety growing 35 feet away and it does not have these mealy bugs. I have called my extension service about this but no one has called me back. Can you advise me?
I am replying to my own post here. I met with someone from the Cornell Cooperative Extension this morning . I brought along my wooly scale samples. She assured me my red maple has a case of Maple Mealy Bug Scale. This year is a big year for it. Nothing to be done but wait for the insects and birds to show up an eat them. They cannot be washed off because they are gripping and sucking in a fused manner. Just a naturally occurring maple tree event. Ho-hum...
bump. I'm having a real outbreak of wooly scale on my collection of maples. I've been using a horticultural insecticide spray, and some regular aphid spray for good measure. Also some aggressive pruning where they are really bad. It seems to be working, but I turn my back and they seem to re-appear. I guess my question is two-fold - is anyone else noticing this in their garden, and secondly what other options do I have to get rid of the b*stards. It seems to take quite a toll on any plant they infest, and that makes me nervous.
The horticultural insecticide spray seemed to do the trick. Two weeks of intensive spraying, and it seems to be in sharp decline. Thanks for all the help.
