Landscape - Scale on Holly

I recently had an question from a landscaper about the control of elongate scales on Holly. I posed the question to Brian Kunkel, UD Ornamental IPM Specialist, on what type of scale it might be (without a sample) and what potential controls there are this time of year. This is his response.

An elongate scale on holly could be Japanese maple scale, especially if it is elongate, white, and on branches. Elongate and white on leaves could be a couple different types. If sooty mold or honey dew is present, it could be cottony camellia scale. Oil is going to be his better option when plants are dormant. The insects will probably go dormant once we have a good frost as well. Safari applied now may provide control if he gets it down now. It would need to be a drench or soil injection. Casey Sclar and I did work with boxwoods with an application in October and dinotefuran (ai in Safari) moved into the plants relatively quickly, two weeks or so, compared to imidacloprid products. Imidacloprid won't do anything to armored scales (no honeydew) and if the plants have had problems with Southern red mites in the past imidacloprid would probably make them flare-up. Imidacloprid often takes a month to move into the plants when applied in the soil.