Scale on Hedy and Rhopie

[Foggy Paul]

The oldest leaves on my Hedyscepe and R. ‘Chatham Island’ were both looking a little ragged, and there wasn’t much green left, so I cut them off today. I was surprised to see quite a bit of scale on the underside of both. I checked the other leaves and didn’t see anything, but blasted them with water anyway as best I could (it’s hard to get back there with a hose). Is there anything I can do to protect these? Let me know and thanks. 
 

[Jim in Los Altos]

The only palm species I’ve had scale problems with is Cyphophoenix nucele. Certain times of the year it has been a big problem. The fix? Bayer Rose and Flower care with systemic insecticide. One application to the soil beneath the palm did the trick and worked for several months. I reapplied twice over a several month period last year. Haven’t had any scale at all this year so no treatment necessary. 

[Foggy Paul]

@Jim in Los Altos It seems maybe this product can’t be sold in CA any more?

[PlantMorePalms]

I'd wipe/spray off all the scale you can every couple of days, and put a bunch of ant traps around the base of the palms, as well as anywhere else you see ants coming from (assuming there are ants). Neem oil can help but could also burn the leaves if they get direct sun so best to put it on in the evening.

 

[Harry’s Palms]

I have only had occasional scale problems . I use a mild dish soap and water with a paper towel . Remove the scale and spray with a vegetable pesticide . It usually requires multiple applications but it works . Harry

[DoomsDave]

4 hours ago, Foggy Paul said:

@Jim in Los Altos It seems maybe this product can’t be sold in CA any more?

Home Depot sells it.

[DoomsDave]

I get scale on my Rhopalistylus and they don’t cause any harm and I don’t worry about them.

[Foggy Paul]

13 minutes ago, DoomsDave said:

Home Depot sells it.

$20 plus $80 shipping…Not available for pickup 

[DoomsDave]

Just now, Foggy Paul said:

$20 plus $80 shipping…Not available for pickup 

Hmmm

Might be worth a drive to suburbia.

[Jim in Los Altos]

6 hours ago, Foggy Paul said:

@Jim in Los Altos It seems maybe this product can’t be sold in CA any more?

Amazon Prime apparently still ships it. 

 

 

[happypalms]

This will kill em real quick!

[DoomsDave]

36 minutes ago, happypalms said:

This will kill em real quick!

That’s great on aphids and the like but not so much on scale. Those waxy shells protect them from contact with the poison, which also dissipates rapidly.

[Darold Petty]

I use acephate, but only within my greenhouse, never outdoors.  I buy it at a lower price than HD on Ebay.  It is both a contact pesticide and a systemic.  It won't kill pest egg capsules however,  so I apply it three times at a weekly period.  After this application my greenhouse will be pest free for months.  

CAUTION:  I use extreme caution about protective clothing, rubber boots, rubber laboratory apron, rubber gloves above the elbows, and a half face respirator with screw on cartridges, rated for aerosols.

@Foggy Paul Since your palm doesn't have flowers yet, there is no risk of secondary poisoning of birds or other beneficials.

(the reason I never apply it to outdoor plants)

[Foggy Paul]

9 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Amazon Prime apparently still ships it. 

 

 

You're right @Jim in Los Altos , I was looking at the concentrate, not the granules. Thanks!

[Darold Petty]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167856544612?_skw=acephate+pesticide&itmmeta=01K8NKQMEZ54SSR8FBG0JMHQND&hash=item2715079b64:g:EucAAeSw6hto7DeK&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1eZomHMTi4sWNakX%2BBTh%2FXSg--yoc2LUB3nWq0QfikiCBziURDFCWX%2B3EC66KYjWDv3FV0m70VmaFluAVjbUF9k6koIjYNGnOtugP9a4ShZpYKFCC0iob6ya2%2FO7QDz6PEZtS1ZDxWyCc%2FAzY2I%2Bq8OY9vTljoB7loqX0VtD7DijDweRftnmgW9TXc4yqys3avb4m0gKiEaZvBmaV%2F1BkLhZX%2B9gBbEPoPgvcYJ%2BLkwU15m%2BIlBqrtqQQq3%2Ffdr%2BnwgMDTBAReadhPvme6BnxpHcMzF7xrc2%2FldBM6vVjinSQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABFBM0Mfes8Vm

[Foggy Paul]

Purchased. Thanks @Jim in Los Altos and @Darold Petty . Jim, do you think the 'rose' product is safe for indoor use? I have ongoing scale issues with our Rhapis multifida and it is a pain to haul it outside to water blast it.

[Mazat]

11 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Amazon Prime apparently still ships it. 

 

 

Jim, that's really good 🤗

The gardener I know recently told us about this product, even though he was in a hurry.

We wrote it down, but misplaced the note...☹️

[Rivera]

In my experience, scale can be scrubbed off and it will take them a while to get going again, though I haven't had a problem outdoors. 

Other chemical controls will work, but perhaps their greatest shortcoming in treating your issue is that they also negatively affect many of the natural predators of your pests (lacewings, ladybugs, other beetles?), setting you up for the same issue to repeat in the future. Insects are also known vectors for fungal colonization (which may be beneficial in keeping pests like scale in check). 

One approach is to just kill the pest. Another is to treat acutely and also try to draw more life into your garden. Like taking a probiotic with an antibiotic. 

Just a perspective. I know nothing. Good luck. 

[SeanK]

22 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

The only palm species I’ve had scale problems with is Cyphophoenix nucele. Certain times of the year it has been a big problem. The fix? Bayer Rose and Flower care with systemic insecticide. One application to the soil beneath the palm did the trick and worked for several months. I reapplied twice over a several month period last year. Haven’t had any scale at all this year so no treatment necessary. 

Thanks for the heads-up. Scale devours Sabal minor and I need to take aggressive measures.

[Harry’s Palms]

16 hours ago, happypalms said:

This will kill em real quick!

We can’t get that in California anymore , as far as I know . It was fantastic for ants! Harry

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Harry’s Palms said:

We can’t get that in California anymore , as far as I know . It was fantastic for ants! Harry

It’s only affective on scale at a certain time of year. That’s the problem with scale knowing when to apply to get them. I won’t use winter oil on my palms I never liked it. 
Richard 

[Foggy Paul]

4 hours ago, Rivera said:

One approach is to just kill the pest. Another is to treat acutely and also try to draw more life into your garden.

@Rivera I’m sympathetic to this perspective and adhere to it in general. I suppose I’m overprotective of these two plants in particular. One thing though, I’m not too worried about a lack of insect and other life in our garden. We have plenty! I’ll start with Jim’s recommendation and only break out Darold’s if the issue persists. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

On 10/28/2025 at 9:47 AM, Foggy Paul said:

Purchased. Thanks @Jim in Los Altos and @Darold Petty . Jim, do you think the 'rose' product is safe for indoor use? I have ongoing scale issues with our Rhapis multifida and it is a pain to haul it outside to water blast it.

Paul, I ordered the product on Amazon and it was delivered the next day just this week. I don’t see any reason not to use it on an indoor plant unless you have a pet that sometimes nibbles them. 

[Tyrone]

For scale you need a systemic pesticide and now they are becoming hard to find. The active constituent Imidicloprid works on scale if you can find it. We used to have a product called Confidor which had it, but it’s now banned because it can kill bees. People must have been just fogging their garden with it to kill bees. If you were smart you would just carefully spray it when bees weren’t around. Once it soaks into the plant only sucking insects were affected. Then there was Rogor. Another banned product. That was very effective but stunk to high heaven. We used that a lot in the palm nursery I worked in. That probably was a nasty one. 

[Mazat]

10 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Paul, I ordered the product on Amazon and it was delivered the next day just this week. I don’t see any reason not to use it on an indoor plant unless you have a pet that sometimes nibbles them. 

So good and fast 🤗🐝

[Foggy Paul]

19 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Paul, I ordered the product on Amazon and it was delivered the next day just this week. I don’t see any reason not to use it on an indoor plant unless you have a pet that sometimes nibbles them. 

Haha, our cat used to nibble on the multifida but in addition to a few physical barriers, we have added a highly effective shock mat that has kept her away for good. So I think I'll try it. Thanks.