That is interesting, I have had lots of this stuff but only saw the “female” version (I am sure there were males as well but I didn’t notice).
My simple treatment is to put on garden gloves and rub them off, then spray to catch the ones I might have missed (soap usually if I recall - has been a few years). Once I started doing this it largely disappeared. An extra added bonus is the satisfaction of the squishing when rubbing them off!
That makes sense since Lime-Sulfur is specifically used to combat many types of scale. And will kill all insect eggs, at least according to the label. and all fungal spores. Although I’m sure some may be resistant. I love the product. The only fungicide I use, which can be used to kill certain fungi, not just a preventative. Awesome stuff, highly recommend using it when the need arises.
Just a note to kill fungal spores and insect eggs you must use during the winter with hort oil. I also like to add some pinene also (Nu Film 17 sticker). Another fantastic product with multiple uses. All info in this post comes from the High-Yield Lime Sulfur Label.
It’s a good day to spray so I will be spraying today my fruit trees, including fig trees. I have never seen Peach scale, but I do spray lime sulfur religiously every winter. Which is probably why I never seen it.
I used a lime sulfur oil spray to tackle the scale myself. It is a pain having to try to saturate a whole tree, though.
Scott
Dennis, Copper is phytotoxic, and it can accumulate in soil, so I would not use it that frequently. For several years I had complete control of PLC and shot hole of apricots with a single copper/NuFilm spray 4-6 weeks before bloom. I think every month or every other month during the dormant season is way overkill.
Thanks Ahmad for your advice. Out of precaution, I will revise my plan and use only lime sulphur until just prior to bud break when I will go back to the Bordeaux formula! Appreciate your help
Dennis
Dear All,
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions!
I went out today to check on my peach trees with a magnifying glass. It definitely IS peach scale. I saw some bumps on tree truck, but didn’t see the fried egg structure. maybe my magnifying glass is not powerful enough. But there are a lot of the white stuff, male scale. Some underside of the branches are covered. It really creeps me out!
I didn’t notice it shows in my original picture:
So I am going to follow your suggestions to start the treatment now, alternating with lime sulfur and white oil.
So here are my questions:
where do you all get lime sulfur? I googled, it came out mostly lime sulfur dip for pet’s, and sulfur powder. And one place sells 5 gallon 29% lime sulfur. I have 4 peach trees, 2 plum tree and 3 small pear trees. 5 gallon seems a lot.
When you guys say spray lime sulfur in the winter, do you actually mean spray it when it is freezing?
@Hillbillyhort Exactly how do you make white oil with canola oil and soap? What kind of soap, Dish soap? What’s the ratio of canola oil and soap? I like the idea of smother them to death.
Does it matter that the white (male) bugs will drift away with wind upon touch? Are they going to infect some other trees?
White oil
I use 1 or 2 tablespoons of canola with half as much soap per gal.
Soap ,I have used ivory dish soap or Dr Bronners
Make a concentrate emulsion first then Dilute in sprayer.
Best to do your own google search for this , various recipes on line
Recommended rates may vary. …have seen rates up to 5tbs./ gal.
Have seen precautions to not use above 90F or when freezing.
I use this mostly on citrus ,etc. before bringing inside for the winter.
For control of mites , scale . This will kill , suffocate adult hard scale on citrus ., in 2days they they are dead, slide off plants easily, no longer attached.so it will kill even adults.
(Contrary to the literature that says it only kills the crawlers)
Repeated , thorough applications are often necessary to control scale completely. It will control 99% of them ,it seems there’s always one that makes it. Lots of nooks and crannies.
It looks like the product shown is not available in the U.S. and you will have to mix sulfur with lime to avoid buying too much. Not a big deal to do that as far as I can see.
However, if it works it should only require a single app and if it doesn’t you can come in with hortoil during the growing season, which is, after all, much more widely recommended as a control than lime-sulfur. If lime-sulfur was the panacea claimed here, odds are it would be the first recommendation for control. If it works as described it should be more idiot proof than oil.
Thank you! That seems easy to do. The weather is still nice, above freezing. I can spray it today while I am trying to figure out where to buy lime sulfur.
BTW, the scale are not currently doing any damage to your tree, as I understand it. The consequences seem to occur during tree growth.
Regular hort oil also kills all stages of scale, if you don’t want to try mixing up your own.
For the growing season, the new Sevin (zeta cypermethrin) will kill scale.
If you are going to make lime sulfur, make sure you don’t breathe the fumes.
Thank you, Alan! I will look up how to make lime sulfur online.
I figured as much. But if I can get rid them or most of them now, it will be less pressure in the spring.
I went out to look at the tree this morning, and found a big branch were covered with the female scale. Really gross!
By the way, can I do some of the pruning now? Trees are dormant and the weather is still nice.
Thank you, Mark! Is home made white oil as effective as Hort oil? It seems easy to mix, I have everything at home.
Thanks for the warning about the fume when making lime sulfur! I will read up about first and ask questions here before I do anything.
Sara,
My guess is either one will work. I like hort oil because it’s safer to use during the growing season and I keep it on hand.
Lime sulfur may be a good choice for scale if you are trying to raise peaches organically. Pyrethrin is also organic and will kill scale during the growing season.
If you are using insecticides to control internal feeding grubs of peaches, just about any synthetic insecticide will work on scale during the growing season. Most scales are very easy to control. Neonic, pyrethroid, etc. They just about go away by saying “boo”.
I agree, and Lime Sulfur is a bit of overkill. Although I have found annual treatments keep stuff like scale out of your garden. Plus it’s not as toxic to the environment as copper. It works on so many fungi too. I use it as a dormant spray or to treat powdery mildew. It even can help a touch against brown rot.
I know many better products work against brown rot, yet the only time I saw it in my orchard was when I skipped the annual lime-sulfur spray. I also grow Einset grapes and without a lime sulfur spray or two I get mummy berry and mildew on them. What’s great is it will stop those fungi if already present, otherwise it would take my entire crop. I’m trying another grape to replace it. I would rather not spray anything.
If you want to try it do not make it. It’s easier just to buy it. You know it’s made perfect. Although with postage it will be expensive. New products that are synthetic are replacing lime sulfur, but I prefer to stay organic when possible. Other places sell different brands. I only have a link to this one, check grape sellers, they usually carry it, or the DIY pest websites. I found this to be the best price, but I have not looked in a year or so. A lifetime supply, well at least a decade!. I bet people would split it with you like many of us backyard growers do for other commercial products. I found 3 local people, all members here and we split things like this.
No, I really mean when dormant. Best to use in a warm spell like right now! As long as you can apply before freezing during the day. Best to apply before freezing night temps, but I did not make it. I applied mine yesterday.
I always wait until threat of extreme weather is over before pruning peaches. Some think early pruning makes them come out of dormancy sooner but my fear is a sudden change in weather after pruning. I’ve killed young peach trees by pruning right before a sudden drop, and it wasn’t even that cold- in the single digits, but the trees were very young. I don’t know if the mild weather makes it more dangerous or safer to prune early. I also don’t know whether the wounds harden off like they do with apples, that can be pruned most anytime you aren’t expecting temps to drop well below negative 20F. And even then, it needs to do that shortly after pruning as the wounds do harden off.
Let us know how the lime-sulfur works. I think you can just buy lime and sulfur packaged for spraying plants separately and mix them- I doubt it matters which goes in the tank first.
@alan I read up about making lime sulfur, it seems that you have to boil this thing for an hour or two, that’s hard. And it will probably stink up the neighborhood! 
I made white oil and had my husband sprayed the tree yesterday while I am trying to figure out lime sulfur.
Thanks for the advice about pruning, I will until early spring to prune to be safe.
To control PLC, I did spray triazicide on on my peach and plum trees from pedal fall until early June every couple of weeks, shouldn’t that have killed the scale? I think I started seeing the white stuff in late summer or early fall after I stopped spraying. I don’t deliberately grow organic, but do try to minimize the spraying of pesticide/fungicide.
I will take your advice and get some commercially made horticulture oil in stock.
@Drew51 How often do you spray lime sulfur beside the annual dormant spray? What concentration do you use? I am trying to decide whether I should bite the bullet and order the 2.5 gallon one or buy a 16 oz pet dip.
I have been reading about lime sulfur for the past couple of days, it seems it can do so many things: pesticides, fungicide,…
I usually spray copper once a year for leaf curl, now I can use lime sulfur instead.
All these decisions I have to make… … 
You can figure out dosage using pet dip. First it’s the same chemical, Calcium Polysulfide, or sulfated lime. The dip is almost 100% CP, The horticultural product is almost 30%, so dilute by about 2/3 volume to make a 30% solution. Somebody with better math skills should figure this out exactly. Then follow directions on horticultural product. Since these days you can only buy commercial product, doses for backyard use are not readily available. Luckily sites keep the old consumer, or retail label on their sites. Save the PDF to disc, as they one day may remove it.
See label for spray amounts. I only use it on my trees once. I do use it mostly for my grapes, which I spray at a much lower rate as per label directions for grapes. About 3 times a year. I also use for any scale, powdery mildew on other plants. Label lists many plants and what fungal problems it can help with. .
@Drew51 Thank you for all the information! The retail label of lime sulfur is very useful, thank you!
I did some digging about lime sulfur as pet dip and got different conclusion. I think the pet dip has the similar strength as the one for plant . I know you don’t use pet dip, so this doesn’t impact you, but I will put it here anyway in case others may want to consider using it.
Lime sulfur pet dip label says sulfurated lime solution 97.8%, but it doesn’t say what’s the strength of the solution. Further digging found in one place that states the solution is calcium polysulfide 25g in 1000 ml. So pet dip is not stronger than the one for agriculture.
As I write this, I did another search and found another thread that confirm this:
I think I will just go ahead and buy the 2.5 gallon lime sulfur from the place you mentioned. I have some large ornament trees that could use some anti fungal spray.
Thank you again for your help!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
If you have any ornamental cherries on your property, look closely for scale. The first site I ever found it on peaches I discovered a dead, huge, flowering cherry and a still living one next to it infested. The owner was actually paying a well known, expensive, and nationwide tree care chain to regularly scout his ornamental trees and shrubs (endless boxwood) on his very fancy landscape for pests. You don’t always get what you pay for, especially when the employee only gets a fraction of what you are paying.
