What is this black stuff?

MiN

I've highlighted the tiny little black stuff growning on my leptospernum. It's about 0.2 cm long and it comes off easily if i pick it off.

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blackstuff.jpg (57.6 KB, 67 views)

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TreeBay

Maybe scale. It's a little hard to distinguish in the photo and they for some reason chose the dark part of your photo to hide in.

Regards,

Matt

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MiN

Moved? Oops did i post it in the wrong place? Sorry.

Daytona said it might be borer bugs (in the chatroom) as well. He recommended a systematic treatment of Marathon. But if it's scale, then i'm thinking neem oil would do the trick? Should I just use both and see if it works? Can they both be used at the same time?

Oh, and they didn't pick the dark parts, it's pretty much all over the tree, but that was the best shot I could get of it, my camera has problems focusing on little tiny things. I don't think the fact that that tree is so bushy helps either. But i'm afraid to cut any more off of it, I read the tea tree doesn't take too kindly to heavy pruning, messing with roots, or even being looked at for too long, heh.

TreeBay

We sent your photo into the FBI/CSI crime lab for photo enhancement. Looks like one of those buggers is out there on a twig. Lower right. Borers don't mess around out there usually. Preliminary reports suggest scale.

If you scrape them off with your fingernail it might be a little sooty or downy underneath but there wouldn't be a hole with sawdust. Hole + sawdust = borer of some kind.

Regards,

Matt

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MiN

Ohh the miracles of technology! Okay, I'll be sure to check out the black thingys again tomorrow. Thanks!

Will_Heath

FBI = Fanatic Bureau of Insects?

thejimmyrigger

Fabulous Butchers of Icky's/ Consistent Scale Identifiers.

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MiN

Ok, I googled leptospermum and scale and it turns out, they are very susceptible to it... So I tried to google neem oil, and I got a lot of results, but I just didn't know where to get it from, esp with the different concentrations, grades, i dunno.. just wondering where some of you guys get yours from?

Thanks!

p.s. Oh, and I realized all my trees are covered with spider mites too... What I thought was regular spider webs wasn't... and then i remembered seeing tiny red spiders. I know neem oil is also good for that too, but from what i read on this forum it seems that spider mites pretty much come in from the environment? well, my backyard area isn't enclosed, there's a big hill right behind my house and trees growing everywhere, along with a jade plant right next to my trees (i hate those jades... succulents are creepy). so are spider mites something i'm going to have to deal with/spray for all the time? Haha, sorry the postscript is longer than the message itself...