What is Crape Myrtle Bark Scale?
Sorry, but I had to do it, I had to Google “what is Crape Myrtle Bark Xcale”. It’s a long , um…word? Musical term? Disease? Bug? Pest? Flower? Part of a tree? From it’s name (pre-Google of course) it sounds like it could be any of those things. Post Googling, wow. It took a few minutes of looking at images to understand what I was seeing before digging deeper.
Come on 2020, enough of this.
Crape Myrtle Bark Scale is a type of insect/pest that attaches itself to the trunk of a Crape Myrtle tree. The Bark Scale starts to suck the sap (and life) from your tree. As it lives there, it puts a thick, moldy layer on the tree trunk. If you have aphids on your trees, this black moldy covering starts pouring black soot down upon everything underneath. Sidewalks, driveways, shrubs and flowers underneath the tree, garbage cans, pools, toys, whatever is under the infected tree will get a black, moldy, sooty stain. Not only that, the mold prevents sunlight from reaching the tree. Sunlight being blocked from a tree is not a good thing, we can agree.
Did I mention this is an insect?
The Crape Myrtle Bark Scale is not the loveliest of all creations, it is flat and resembles a scale of some sort. It is light gray in color and feels like felt. It may take a few looks to realize that this is an insect, not a weird growth on your tree. When trained technicians check your Crape Myrtle to see if you have this problem, they can cut or press one of the insects to test.
Brace yourself.
The Crape Myrtle Bark Scale insect, when cut, poked, or pressed…bleeds pink (or red, but pink?) Thank you, Google. Perhaps I was better off thinking this was a musical term. Moving along, this relatively new pest has been spreading its’ way across the South, starting in Texas in 2004. Crape Myrtle Bark Scale has reached North Mississippi and is now being treated by licensed lawn and pest technicians like Lawn and Pest Solutions in New Albany, MS.
Systemic is a word we use a lot, what does it mean?
In medicine, systemic means affecting the whole body, it is in contrast with topical or local. Our Lawn and Pest Solutions attack on CMBS is a systemic treatment started by injecting treatment at the roots of your Crape Myrtles. This will slowly and methodically begin treating the entire tree and ridding it of the pest.
But what about NOW?
The second step of treatment attacks the Crape Myrtle Bark Scale directly, it has more immediate results, removing the felt like covering on your trunks. At the end of the season, an oil is applied to the whole tree to prevent the return of the Bark Scale. Our pros recommend that after this three step program, we return to freshen up your systemic treatment and prevent this from happening again. Even if you don’t have Bark Scale now you might consider this preventative treatment.
Lawn and Pest Solutions has a great system of treatment for your Crape Myrtles. Before this Crape Myrtle Bark Scale has a chance to infect your trees, call us. Our licensed technicians can come by and see if you have already “been exposed” or not, and guide you in the right direction for treatment and/or prevention. Crape Myrtles are some of the most beautiful flowering trees we have in the the South, they enhance our properties, parks, cities and lawns. Contact us today to check on your investment!
