Spring is here, and so are the bugs.
Over the past week, residents in Old Southwest Reno said they're seeing a lot more scales on their trees. Scales are small, round, and come in a variety of colors.
Scales are dark-colored, round pests that can gather on trees.
"I was walking around underneath my weeping cherry tree, and I saw the sap on the tree. And then that's when I looked up and started seeing little black dots on the branches," Jeanette Cerna said.
Cerna said she's not the only one in her neighborhood fighting the bugs.
"When I was out picking them all off of my crabapple," she said, "people would come by and say, 'oh, so you're dealing with that too?'"
A local arborist says we're seeing more scales because of more forgiving weather so far this year.
"We had a really gentle spring with warmer weather than normal, and it was able to have the scale insect wake up a little earlier than normal,"Â said Gary Jentink with Arbor Pros LLC.
Megan Andrews has studied entomology for several years and has received a bachelor's and master's degree in the field from Michigan State University. She said the bugs themselves could cause some damage, but your tree's life isn't at risk from the bugs alone.
"But they are capable, if you have other issues with your trees, they can kill your trees. It could be the final nail in the coffin," she said.
Jentink says stone fruit trees, such as plum and peach trees, are the most susceptible, even if they don't fruit.
There are multiple warning signs that your trees might be overwhelmed with scales.
"Honeydew is a really common warning sign," Andrews said. "It's that really sticky, clear substance that if you walk under a tree, and it feels like you're raining, that's honeydew landing on you. You can also see it in puddles under the tree where they're really sticky on the sidewalks."
Left unattended, honeydew can attract other pests.
"It's really basically sugar water," Andrews said. "It then brings in ants who love to eat it. They will carry it back to their nests. And it will produce mold growth. So, you have to really be on the lookout for sooty mold, because that will then impact your plant's health even further."
Cerna said she's had luck using a hose to remove honeydew from the ground.
The best preventative measure is keeping your trees healthy.
If scales do show up in droves, Andrews said you can just pick them off, but it won't prevent future issues.
"Mechanical controls really do work, but it is labor-intensive," she said. "With scale insects, because you can't see the crawlers, you're only seeing adults, you will still have further issues in the future."
Insecticidal soaps and summer oils can address these issues; just make sure your trees are well-watered before you apply, and don't apply when it's over 90 degrees outside or rain is coming. Jentink said you shouldn't use these to prevent scales because it'll kill other important insects.
You can visit the University of Nevada, Reno's pest solutions page for more information on how to handle common insects.
