I had a scale-infested Ficus for years, just kept removing the twigs they were on but it took a lot of time. Then I bought a house and moved the Ficus outside. Bought ladybugs. Sprinkled them at the base of the ficus. Scale vanished. Hard to believe but I did it myself. Have not had a scale problem since --- that was 10 years ago, Long Island, NY, USA Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com> wrote: Joe Shaw wrote: I wish there was a local bird that controlled scale and mealy bugs on potted plants. My Opuntia collection is a magnet for scale and mealies. ======================= Yes, a scale eater would be an excellent idea. Slugs and snails have rasping mouthparts which surely could scrape off scales. All we need to do is train them. Diane Whitehead _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar.