Come to the workshop and learn about methods for sampling citricola, the complex of parasites that attack it, and current and future insecticides that are effective in controlling it. Citricola scale is very sensitive to the broad spectrum insecticides Lorsban, Supracide, and Sevin that we have used for California red scale for many years. We stopped using those insecticides for California red scale in 1997 because many populations of red scale were resistant to them. In 1998 and 1999 many growers used Esteem to control red scale and it did a great job on that pest. Esteem does not work very well on citricola scale.
Esteem affects molting and citricola scale only molts twice per year.
Citricola scale is popping up in quite a few orchards throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Be on the lookout young citricola scale nymphs infesting the leaves in the Northeast corner of the trees. If you have citricola scale in your orchard, Esteem will not help you and you need to go back to a Lorsban, Supracide, or Sevin treatment for scale control.