Controlling Crape Myrtle Bark Scale in North Myrtle Beach

A lawn care customer in North Myrtle Beach called me concerned about their Crape Myrtle trees. They described the issue as "black, sticky stuff all over the leaves and branches." My on-site visit determined his trees were covered with Crape Myrtle Bark Scale. Crape Myrtle Bark Scale appear as small oval white dots. The scale attaches to the stems and the bark of the Crape Myrtles. As the scale feeds they excrete honeydew on the tree. This honeydew is what becomes the black, sooty, mold on the trees.

The solution was an immediate curative insecticide application and performing one of our Insect Control Programs in the spring. An immediate treatment was applied to the entire tree to kill the active scale on contact. I am treating the Crape Myrtles again in the early spring to control the next generation of Crape Myrtle Bark Scale. This treatment focuses on the bark, branches, and base of the tree. This will keep the Crape Myrtle Bark Scale from causing further damage and will reduce the ugly, black, sticky, sooty mold that grows on the trees and leaves.

Crape Myrtle Bark Scale is a relatively new insect pest in the North Myrtle Beach area and it can be confused with Aphid damage. Both will cause the black sooty mold growth on Crape Myrtles.

Location: North Myrtle Beach, SC