A couple of months ago, I began researching tactics we could use to help our backyard trees look a little more alive. For the last few years, they have begun to lose leaves and develop huge bubbles of “sap.” If my completely unprofessional, Google research is any indication, we have a scale infestation. Tree scale, a tiny little bug, sucks all the nutrients out of the bark and poops sap, forming hard, protective coverings over themselves.
Although several methods were mentioned, most were herbicides/insecticides. Since we try and use natural remedies whenever we can, we decided to “invest” in 1,500 ladybugs. Predators of other insects, ladybugs came (somewhat) recommended to help control tree scale insects. Unsure if it would work, I ordered 1,500 ladybugs off of Amazon, because, who doesn’t need a swarm of ladybugs in their backyard?? And for the whopping price of around $11, a small bag of my daughter’s favorite bugs were delivered to our house.
Over the course of about two weeks, the big kids and I squirted the trees with water for the thirsty ladies, released a few hundred at a time onto the trees and watched them devour the tiny bugs.
Did our tree scale problem go away? Not so far as I can tell. It has maybe been minimized. But, for the small cost, the great joy the ladybugs brought was worth every cent.
The Natural Lens 